A growth plan is really the future of sales, leadership, technology, and marketing. No longer can these key business drivers operate in seperate silos. Thriving, growing, successful businesses know that these priorities are aligned and working together to grow your business.

It's all about ROI

Over and over we talk to businesses that are frustrated. Either they feel like they're constantly trying to do more with less, or their competition gets tougher every year, or maybe they're growing, but they can't keep up. The challenges vary, but as best we can tell nobody has it easy out there. Business is changing. Things are moving, and changing faster than ever before. If the way you're approaching sales & marketing hasn't changed, it's no wonder things aren't working as they should be.

Sales and marketing has changed. It no longer about raw numbers. Impressions mean nothing, and sales activities are pointless if you don't close the deal. In the end results are what matters. Your business objectives have to be tightly tied to your marketing activities and those activities have to enable a meaningful and effective sales process. 

That's why you need a growth plan. It gives you insights into what to prioritize so you can scale, grow, and deliver ROI.

Foundation

The first thing we look at when creating a growth plan is the existing foundation within the organization. Things like mindset, company culture, leadership, and infrastructure are critical. Think about it this way--if your company were a plant you'd need good soil for it to grow.

These are the key foundational elements that we look at:

• drive & motivation
• leadership platform
• growth foundation

Marketing Platform

The next thing we look at is the marketing platform. How is the company communicating their unique value proposition? What channels are they using to get that message out there? What is their message?  One of the key things to look at here is alignment of these marketing activities with your business priorities and goals. It isn't uncommon to find marketing activities that are not tied to key business outcomes.

These are the marketing elements we evaluate:

• digital engine
• brand magnet
• lead generation

Sales Enablement

At the end of the day those marketing activities should be driving business, so how does it all tie together? This is where we look at closing the loop between sales and marketing. When marketing generates leads what happens next? Ideally this is where we see the fruits of our labors. Often though, this is where we find a disconnect. Ideally marketing and sales are so well aligned we jokingly call it smarketing.

These are the sales elements we're looking for:

• customer acquisition
• data analysis

Putting it all together

Once you look at your foundation, marketing platform, and sales enablement you know where you are. The next step is to look at where you want to be. Odds are there is a strategic plan gathering dust somewhere in your office. Pull that out, dust it off, and see if you're on track for those goals and objectives. Oh, and make sure those still are the goals and objectives. (Oh, and if yours isn't gathering dust, good for you!!)

A good strategic plan has 3-5 priorities, so we'll assume that's what you're working with. Now look at your growth builder information and compare it to your strategic plan. Set your leadership, marketing, and sales goals to align, and you have the beginnings of a growth plan.