What did the past 5 years do to your business?

Did you find yourself hunkering down and waiting out the storm? When you look back do you remember what your revenues were like?

If you are still in business take a moment to congratulate yourself. You made it through some pretty bad times! Now, make a decision to get your business back to where it was. I find many businesses taking stock of where they are in comparison to where they’ve been, and wanting to at least get back to 2007 numbers.

It’s a good goal and something you can do starting now. Gather the information from 2007. What were your revenues? What products/services were you offering? What kinds of clients were you working with? Where are you now?

All of this information will help you create a plan for growing your business. You know what your revenues are right now and what they were 6 years ago. Create short term goals for increasing your revenue and client base. Set it up by month so you can track it effectively.

When you know ‘who’ you worked with you can now create a target list of like companies or people. Now, create an outreach program. Start with who you know. Can they be referral sources? Warm introductions are always best. Now how will you contact the prospects who are left? Will you cold call, send an introductory letter, invite them to a seminar, send a direct mail piece, or something else? You have many options. The key is to select the process that works for you.

Structure your process and put the tasks on a calendar. This is how you ensure you’ll work each step. Given what you’ve been through over the past several years and how much you have going on now, staying focused on a sales plan can be challenging. This is why I suggest putting the steps on a calendar. When you make the tasks real items with specific times, you’ll more easily get them done. Just whittle away at them and you’ll realize progress.

Now is the time to take a look back and plan for the future. You CAN get back to pre-recession numbers. Then you can plan for further growth. Prospective clients are out there just waiting to hear from you. One step at a time, move toward regaining your strength from years past. You’ll be glad you got on with it!