Timing is everything,…right? Trying to run a business while preparing to move from our 22-year run in a 3500 square foot house, into an 800 square foot 3rd-floor apartment, as our 2200 square foot house is being built 1000 miles away… is a challenge.
There is selling our old furniture (which won't fit into our new home – especially my office desk). Coordinating movers to get all that furniture off the 2nd floor into the garage. Scheduling pick-up and sales with multiple people. That's just the start of it.
I built my office over the years to meet the goals of my business. I went from a small metal L-shaped desk with a Blueberry iMac to a multi-computer system with 7 screens, 6 hard drives, multiple back-ups, and more. It has been a process of small steps to grow and change with evolving technology and business trends.
Factor into a direct lightning strike on our home (which fried almost every piece of tech) and having to move my office desk from one room to another to accommodate remodeling, painting, and new carpet, and it took patience, persistence, and a plan!
When I sold that desk, I had to disassemble it. Most of it would not fit through the bedroom door. Not having the old instructions (I bought the desk from Office Depot for more than $4000 over 20 years ago), it was like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle without the box cover guide. But I did it. I got it broken apart (without breaking it), got the movers to move all the parts into the garage, and had the buyer pick it up and pay me for it.
The In-Between
Setting up a temporary office and planning to set up one in an apartment or coworking space is part one of the two-part plan. The time in between homes takes a bit of planning. What will I need to continue working without limiting what I can do with the tech, office supplies, and so on? Where in the POD (moving container) do I put the boxes and tubs of stuff so I can access tools or technology if needed?
It's all about having the goal to continue to be productive and flexible. While not over or underestimating what I will need to accomplish that goal.
I sold my old MacBook to buy a new MacBook Air so I have as much power as possible in as small of a package as possible for travel and meetings once we arrive.
What's a Goal?
I think that a goal is an admirable thing to have. Maybe you have heard the saying, “A goal without a deadline, is just a dream!” I'd like to add that, “A goal without a plan, is just a goal!”
If you're a sports fan, a goal is putting the ball or puck in the net. The team that scores the most goals wins. If you are a business person, a goal is the object of ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. It's only a competition if you keep score!
We often associate having a plan with achieving a goal or goals. But, I am going to inject my logic here. A plan tends to be rigid with steps, milestones, and measurables. We tend to be blind to details that are right in front of us that may compromise, or may be contradictory to our goals. The Challenger disaster was caused by paying attention to tests that were performed in 60˚ weather. The temperature was in the 40's when the Challenger launched.
What's A Strategy?
A strategy is more fluid and flexible. Plans typically focus closely on long-term goals, which can often take place over a longer period of time. Strategies tend to be more focused on the steps or short-term goals that may happen in succession.
For example, a goal I have for my business while in an apartment or co-working space includes securing internet (which is included with our rent). So a plan gets me internet. My strategy is to have a backup plan since I don't know the strength or reliability of the service. So I have tested my phone's 5G hotspot function and it works better with my Laptop than with my desktop computer. Now, my strategy is to use the desktop for most business functions and have my laptop as an alternative if the signals are unstable.
A Goal With A Strategy
In marketing, the most common goal I see or hear is to increase sales. To achieve that, we tend to implement multiple strategies concurrently that evolve with feedback loops. With larger B2b businesses, there are three key parts that have to work concurrently and evolve as we proceed. One is to create content. Another is to distribute that content to the sales team's social and email systems. Then, we have to train the sales staff on how to maximize connections and engagement and get them actively involved in the content creation and distribution.
Marketing plans and calendars try to structure out content over time, but what if there are immediate needs or changes in the business climate? The owners and the salespeople have an intimate connection to the clients, so that has to be factored into the content creation.
Many salespeople have LinkedIn accounts, but audits often show a wide range of completeness, verbiage, and even look and feel of the accounts. Getting everybody as close as you can to being on the same page is advantageous to your overall goals.
Training people on how to better engage with customers and prospects will maximize the efforts put forth by sharing great and timely content. You will miss opportunities if you don't reward or encourage activity from your target audience(s).
All of that is a system. The strategy is to be flexible to adapt to the company's diverse needs, staff, and ultimately the clients who achieve the goal of increasing sales.
Final Thoughts
The best-laid plans turned into a fire drill when the movers and buyers showed up at the same time (as well as the home stager trying to retrieve all of her staging knick-knacks & furniture). I was in the middle of packing my stuff into a pod when all of this happened. I had a plan and a strategy but had to adapt to the changes this situation caused.
Getting rid of all the furniture and tons of belongings was a strategy. Now it's time to make another one… fitting all that's left into the 12×8′ container so it can be moved to our new home when it's ready on August 39th (yes that is a joke… we have no idea when it will be ready).
“Strategy is not really a solo sport – even If you're the CEO.”
– Max McKeown
I would love to hear your thoughts on how you view goals, plans, and strategy. Have you set goals that lacked a plan? Have you ever developed a multitiered strategy? Tell me about your challenges or successes?
Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about building a strategy with goals.
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.
