Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for ...

Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for Growth"Issue 6. We don't have any market discriminators or niches;we're plain old vanilla.• Develop strategies and supporting tactics to provide youwith future discriminators (see Chapters 7 and 8).• Consider acquisitions.Issue 7. We don't know what business we're in—we're all overthe place; we don't focus our business pursuit in our corecompetencies.• Define the products and services you will sell and the clientsyou will pursue (see Chapter 7, Mission Statement Question1). When pursuing new business, ask yourself, "Is thisopportunity in support of my business plan?"Issue 8. We need marketing tools (e.g., brochures, capabilitystatements, etc.) or we need to improve our current tools.• Develop a budget and plan for upgrading your marketingcollateral.• Retain a marketing consultant.Issue 9. Our sales staff doesn't possess the proper experience,expertise, contacts, or networks to be effective; we lackbusiness-development leadership.• Spend more time with your sales staff—develop salesobjectives with them and manage their progress.• Spend time with them in front of customers.• Train or replace your sales staff.Issue 10. We don't sufficiently qualify our businessopportunities; we do a poor job of gathering marketintelligence, our business pursuit is too shotgun, and we'rebidding on things we shouldn't be.• Develop a prospect questionnaire to be used when pursuingnew business.file:///C|/Documents and Settings/gasanova/Local Settin...Forward_MBA_in_Business_Planning_for_Growth/e-book.html (55 of 219)16.02.2005 13:54:23