Make It Your Best Year Yet

Raise your hand if you dread creating an annual business plan! Well you’re not alone.
We’ve all heard the famous quote from Benjamin Franklin, “failing to plan is planning to fail”, yet how often do you hear people say “I don’t have time to do an annual business plan”.

Taking time to do an annual plan saves time and increases productivity. This article is designed to give you a simple framework of how to perform an annual business planning session. The key is to set aside uninterrupted time for it, preferably on a couple different days so you can have some time to think about it in between sessions.

1. Start With Why – The Cheshire Cat of Alice in Wonderland said it simply, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” If you have not clearly defined the why you do what you do, now is the time to do so. Your Why is your Mission Statement and serves as the north star for your business. Your annual business plan defines how and what you need to do to advance the company and its mission. In addition, review your vision statement, the what you do, and your core values, how you do it. Combined, these three elements create a culture for your business.

2. SWOT Analysis – Next have a clear understanding of where your business is today. Review the goals and your performance from the prior year. Where did you do well and be brutally honest about where you did not meet your goals. The SWOT Analysis is one of the most common ways to start planning for your company. List out all of your current company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Gather input from team members in all areas of your business so your plan can be as robust as possible. Compare these findings with your successes and failures from the prior year. Tony Robbins sums it up like this: “Success leaves clues. Go figure out what someone who was successful did and model it. Improve it, but learn their steps. They have knowledge” It is pretty remarkable what happens when you include your team in this part of the annual planning. We do this in our agency using Survey Monkey so each team member has a chance to respond anonymously.

3. Big Picture Goals – In my opinion, it is best for companies to have no more than 3 big picture goals for the year. When setting goals use the acronym S.M.A.R.T. to help guide you. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time. Each goal must be specific enough that your team members can understand what the desired outcome is. That means the goal must have something measurable assigned to it. Whether that is a total amount of new customers, an increase of the number of five star reviews on Google or a decrease in the number of injuries for the year, make sure you can track it. The goal also should be attainable and realistic given the current state of your organization. Stretch goals are great if they are accomplished, however, stating a large stretch goal can have a negative consequence on employee morale if the year does not go as planned. Lastly, each goal needs to have a time element to it. When do you want the goal to be achieved? A goal without an end date is not a goal that your team members can rally behind. Give your organization a chance at accomplishing the goals you set by making them S.M.A.R.T.

4. Objectives for Each Goal – When you have your three big picture goals written down, take a look at each one of them and break them up into smaller objectives. Assign these objectives or tasks to individuals who have the ability and responsibility to accomplish them. Make sure each team a member understands their role and is willing to do what it takes to complete their part. Go back to the SWOT analysis and align objectives with the people on your team with the strengths in the area needed to accomplish the objectives. If there is an area of weakness, incorporate training needs to bolster your team’s resources and effectiveness.

5. Check-in and Make Adjustments – Because each goal has an end date, create a timeline of when to check-in on the progress of the goal. Paying attention to the status of the goal throughout the year will allow you and your team an opportunity to make any adjustments necessary to achieve the goal. In addition to setting up a series of small check-in points, schedule a semi-annual review. Here is an article devoted specifically to your mid-year review.

To learn more about how strategic planning can enhance your organization, take a look at our Thrive Risk Management Strategic Planning Package. In just 4 short weeks we can help you identify who you are as a company, what you want to become, and what strategic milestones will be needed to achieve your goals.

The Power of Walking Away

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

How many times have you either worked on project you knew you were going to lose money on or continued to chase a job that didn’t really fit in with your target services? Chances are, you’ve done this more than you want to mention. We all have. Especially in today’s market with so many tree services popping up everywhere, I’m sure there are times you feel pressured to work on an undesirable job. Unfortunately, this begins a cycle of chasing jobs just to pay the bills and almost always ends in burnout for you and your team members.

Of course, we all want more sales, but sometimes your best move to is to say “No” and walk away from a potential job. There are many scenarios that create a walk away situation, let’s look at a few:

1. They Really Don’t Have the Budget

Not every customer can afford your services. Running a professional tree care company takes a lot of overhead and expense that must be reflected in the rates that you charge for your service. Unfortunately, some people will just not be able to pay for your expertise. Recognizing that a prospective customer is on a tight budget is a crucial skill that your salesforce must be proficient at. Believe in your company’s value of professional safe service so that you do not underbid a job just to get it.

2. Too Much Competition

Competing with too many other tree services only does one thing; lowers the cost of the job. If during your sales meeting you uncover that they are getting estimates from three other companies, ask them what the basis for their decision will be on. Most likely, they will say price, so tell them to put price aside; what is the next most important aspect of a tree service that they are looking for. If they cannot come up with something, then it makes your decision easy…walk away! If they give you an answer like, I want the job to be done as quickly as possible, then ask them to quantify that. If you can accommodate whatever their second deciding factor is, you have a chance at earning the job at a fair price.

3. They Believe all Tree Services are the Same

Look, the majority of the general public does not really understand the differences between a TCIA Accredited company and a weekend warrior. Make the goal of each sales meeting to explain your value and why your services cost a little more than other companies. If they still believe that your value is not worth the price that you need to charge, then it is time to move onto a prospect that better aligns with your company.

4. The Services are Not Your Specialty

Your company is not going to be great with every type of service that a tree care company can provide. Know your strengths and stick with them when selling jobs. When companies stretch themselves out of their comfort zone, it opens up a lot of unnecessary risk to your business. This job will most likely take longer to complete and probably will be done for a lower price than what the job deserved as well as increasing the chances of a mistake or accident happening because it is new to your team.

Your willingness to walk away from any of these situations demonstrates your commitment to your company’s excellence and ensures the projects that you work on get your full attention. Remember, not all jobs are good jobs. Be proud of what you do and walk away if a potential customer does not fit with your company.

Click here to obtain a copy of the Sales Sweet Spot worksheet to help you understand which services you offer fit best with your ideal customer.

How can you begin to say “No” more? Start with identifying your ideal customer and the services that you specialize in. Click here to learn more about our New Heights Package and how it can help you identify your ideal customer and services and grow your business!