Tweet

Who Says we Have to Choose?

Guest post by: Rebel Brown

Article Overview: As you create tactical plans, there’s often no need to choose between a number of great options. You can stage those options, evolve your plan to match the changing winds of the market - and win all those market opportunities for growth!

Who Says we Have to Choose?

One of the status quo beliefs that drives me nuts is the idea that we have to make choices, limiting our options so that we can 'focus'. We limit our market focus, our value associated with that focus and then stick to that narrow path no matter what.

IMHO, that belief needs a bit of updating for today's world.

Yes, we do need to focus. But focus doesn't mean we have to be oblivious to everything but our short-term single focus. That's a sure sentence to oblivion at some point in the future.

Take target markets, for example.

* We can look at our short-term opportunities - a single market, or very limited number of markets- as a single destination and focus on it/them exclusively. That's the way we've always done it - especially in the early stages of our business. The problem with this approach is that it leaves us flat-footed as our markets shift and we grow (or not).

* We can view markets as a series of interim destinations in a continuing flight toward expansion. Each destination acts either as a next step toward another destination or as an end into itself. In this model - we balance current market opportunities with emerging and new markets, balancing our focus on multiple options that offer promise in the short, near and longer term. We do choose their priority - and we also choose to ditch the markets that create gravity. But we don't eliminate everything but the short-term opportunities.

When I create go-to-market strategies, I work with clients to create market routes that define a focus for client efforts. But my approach to focus is much broader than the traditional 'focus'.

* Rather than a single or handful of large major markets, we define a series of interrelated markets that are short, near and longer term - all of which can leverage the same core value my client delivers, in its basic form.

* We then create a plan for attacking those markets in a logical fashion, adjusting our value to match the unique requirements of each opportunity.

* We use initial success in short term opportunities to fuel our entrance into the near and longer term opportunities.

As you create your own tactical plans, there's often no need to choose between a number of great options. You can stage those options, evolve your plan to match the changing winds of the market - and win all those market opportunities for growth!

Don't be forced to choose between great opportunities! Say "Yes" to both - and then create a balanced plan to win them all!

Related Articles
  You get to choose
  Importance Of Choosing the Best Software to Run your Forum
  Choosing and Claiming It!
  3 Popular Niche Marketing Misconceptions
  Leadership is a Choice
  Do You Have A CHOOSE Day?
  You Only Have Two Choices!
  How To Use The Poll Component and Poll Module Within Your Joomla Content Management System
  What does the US need to reevaluate during its current phase of down time
  Focus on your strengths
  the A-Z of sales success
  Try Selling Them A Better Buying Process
  My Life Rocks
  Get Paid on Results VS Paid on Time Invested
  Are you choosing Faith or Fear
  The Right To Choose
  Close More Sales Without Selling!
  Learn How To Work At Home Using A Computer Now
  Who Else Wants Success By Choosing What They Want In Life
  Easy Solutions For Managing Problem Solving Challenges

Article Tags: business growth strategy, Defy Gravity, markets



Related Forum Posts
Re: Do bigger monitors save time? - Hi Kevin, Thanks for the welcome! I would agree that two 17's would work well but really, any size would work. I'd be careful in going after the larger monitors that are traditional heights but are really wide, unless you have the desk space for it. Choose your monitors carefully as well to ensure that you try to find ones that have a small frame outside of the actual monitor screen. That way, when you put them together, the screens look a little more uniform. Last tip for either multiple monitors or one large one... Speed your mouse motion up. If you don't, you'll spend forever scrolling from one screen to another or across a larger screen. It'll take a bit to get used to at first but after a few days, using a mouse with regular motion will seem painstakingly slow!
Re: Do bigger monitors save time? - [quote="Raye":k99n31np]Hi Kevin, Thanks for the welcome! I would agree that two 17's would work well but really, any size would work. I'd be careful in going after the larger monitors that are traditional heights but are really wide, unless you have the desk space for it. Choose your monitors carefully as well to ensure that you try to find ones that have a small frame outside of the actual monitor screen. That way, when you put them together, the screens look a little more uniform. Last tip for either multiple monitors or one large one... Speed your mouse motion up. If you don't, you'll spend forever scrolling from one screen to another or across a larger screen. It'll take a bit to get used to at first but after a few days, using a mouse with regular motion will seem painstakingly slow![/quote:k99n31np] Hi Raye, Thanks for the tips! But if choosing monitors with smaller frames outside of the actual screen space is important when using 2 monitors...then wouldn't using a laptop and a secondary monitor be a bad idea? And are there any current monitor brands and models you would recommend? For instance, for the same price, should someone go for a slightly larger screen or a smaller one with Dell's "Ultrasharp" feature?
How To Add A Paypal Button To Blogger - Hi Brendan, The blog is looking good. If possible, try to post something on it every day. You can vary the length of the posts, just something short when time is tight. There are two parts to getting the Paypal code on your site. First is getting the Paypal code! Second is getting it on your site! HOW TO GET YOUR PAYPAL CODE 1. Log in to Paypal 2. Click Merchant Services 3. Find the Key Features box on the right and click Donations. 4. Donations Page 1: Fill in the fields with your Donation name and a ref no. (the latter is not necessary). Choose a "Donate" button - I suggest the one with the pic of the credit cards beneath. It is up to you whether you "encrypt" or not. As you do not have a website there is no need to go to "Donations Page 2" for "more options", so you can just click "Create Button Now". 5. On the new page, click "Select All" for the "HTML Code for Websites" box and copy and paste the code to your blog. HOW TO GET YOUR PAYPAL DONATION BUTTON ON BLOGGER 1. Go to your Blogger.com dashboard. 2. Click the "Layout" tab. 3. Click "Add A Gadget" 4. Scroll down to HTML/JavaScript and click the + sign. 5. A small screen will pop up and you can PASTE your Paypal Donation Button code there and add a title if you wish. 6. Click SAVE on the small screen. 7. Now, back on the main screen you can preview and then SAVE. If all has gone well, you should now have a Paypal Donation button on your blog. === Best wishes, David H
Avoid Franchise Mistakes - I Came across these 7 tips for helping you avoid costly mistakes when buying a franchise & thought they would be helpful... It takes a lot of money to build a business, and you certainly don't want to waste any. Check this list of 7 costly mistakes to avoid. 1. Letting emotions rule. Falling in love with a franchise concept is a common mistake. Don't let your emotions guide your decisions. Use your head, do your due diligence and take the time to thoroughly investigate the franchisor's offering. 2. No professional team. Don't try to do your own financials, contract reviews, or negotiating. The cost of professional franchise attorneys, accountants, and advisors is money well spent. 3. Too little cash. Lack of capital is the number one reason franchisees fail. Item 7 in the UFOC will tell you how much money you'll need with a low and high range. Be smart-go with the high range. Then ask current franchisees if the numbers are high enough. 4. Penny wise and pound foolish. Choosing one franchise over another because the initial franchisee fees are lower is shortsighted. It assumes that all franchises are alike and nothing could be further from the truth. Choose the franchise with the proven concept and strongest track record. 5. Too much help. Payroll is the biggest part of overhead for most franchise businesses. New franchisees often hire too many people or pay too much in wages. A good franchisor will provide a good staffing plan. Stick to the plan. 6. No comparison. Never buy expensive equipment, supplies or inventory without shopping around first. Even if your franchisor offers group purchasing, do your own research, shop as many vendors as you can, consider aftermarket suppliers, and weigh different financing options (loans or leases). 7. Marketing blunders. As a new business owner, you're going to be targeted by every ad salesperson around. Ignore them. Follow your franchisor's marketing plan to the letter to avoid wasting thousands.
Re: Avoid Franchise Mistakes - [quote="BizLoanz4u":311o7qo8]I Came across these 7 tips for helping you avoid costly mistakes when buying a franchise & thought they would be helpful... It takes a lot of money to build a business, and you certainly don't want to waste any. Check this list of 7 costly mistakes to avoid. 1. Letting emotions rule. Falling in love with a franchise concept is a common mistake. Don't let your emotions guide your decisions. Use your head, do your due diligence and take the time to thoroughly investigate the franchisor's offering. 2. No professional team. Don't try to do your own financials, contract reviews, or negotiating. The cost of professional franchise attorneys, accountants, and advisors is money well spent. 3. Too little cash. Lack of capital is the number one reason franchisees fail. Item 7 in the UFOC will tell you how much money you'll need with a low and high range. Be smart-go with the high range. Then ask current franchisees if the numbers are high enough. 4. Penny wise and pound foolish. Choosing one franchise over another because the initial franchisee fees are lower is shortsighted. It assumes that all franchises are alike and nothing could be further from the truth. Choose the franchise with the proven concept and strongest track record. 5. Too much help. Payroll is the biggest part of overhead for most franchise businesses. New franchisees often hire too many people or pay too much in wages. A good franchisor will provide a good staffing plan. Stick to the plan. 6. No comparison. Never buy expensive equipment, supplies or inventory without shopping around first. Even if your franchisor offers group purchasing, do your own research, shop as many vendors as you can, consider aftermarket suppliers, and weigh different financing options (loans or leases). 7. Marketing blunders. As a new business owner, you're going to be targeted by every ad salesperson around. Ignore them. Follow your franchisor's marketing plan to the letter to avoid wasting thousands.[/quote:311o7qo8] Sometimes, or most often financial stability is the most core problem. That's why, in business capital, investments is truly important to save to in every risk that can be possibly avoided.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Rumor Has It

In the Year 2020 . . . Process

Setting Goals for your Home Based Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.