What is your Business's Top Goal

What is the one goal that you are focusing all your company's resources to accomplish over the next three to five years?  Think about your answer, if you have not done it before ask yourself "What business do I want to create over the next three to five years". Then approach your answer in two ways: quantitively and qualitatively.

Quantitatively:

Begin by choosing three to five of the most important quantitative ways to describe your future business. These are items that have hard numbers associated with them.

What does your future business look like in terms of things you can measure and count?

What are your annual sales?

Your gross profit margin?

Your annual number of transactions?

Your percent of market share?

Your average sales per customer?

Your gross profit margin?

Your operating profit margin?

Your retention rate of clients?

Your sales per employee?

Qualitatively:

What does your business look like in other ways that you can't easily measure or count, but still matter greatly?

Once again, pick three to five of the most important qualitative ways to describe your future business.

Who are your key customers?

What is your brand?

What is your market reputation?

Who do you have on your team helping lead the business?

Which markets do you serve?

What key products or services do you offer?

What impact do you have on the lives of your customers?

What is your future role as the business leader?

After you've combined both the top quantitative and qualitative descriptions of your future business into one single target, whittle away at this picture until you are left with a tight, clear statement that can guide your company's focus over the next several years.

Here's an example of what your top goal might look like:

By December 31st, 2024, we've built ProfitPlus into a thriving business with £20 million in annual sales and a 20 percent operating profit margin. We have become the UK market leader in Business Plans and Business Growth Services and are the go to people for quality, robust and live business plans whether an established business or a start-up. We have strategic relationships with the key banks, accountants and finance houses and service five franchises, helping their franchisees finance and plan their business We continue to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 percent or higher.

Of course, your top goal depends on your industry, business model, and your personal objectives, for example do you have an exit plan. The key is that you want to end up with a clear and concise plan that describes the one target all of your team is focusing on helping the business reach. And of course there is no point in having it gather dust, you need to use it and refer to it and make it part of the company's culture, month in, month out.

If you would like to discuss your business plan needs please contact me here. A ProfitPlus PlanningCLUB combines creating a business plan, business coaching, advice, interactive software and business tools to help you through your business planning process simply and effectively. The interactive two-day workshop will result in an outstanding 5 year business plan to help you develop and plan your business for success, giving you higher profits, greater cash flow and increased value.