Love it or hate it, planning is a crucial part of any successful business.
At Elevate, we happen to love planning. We do all sorts of planning––for our clients, for our own team, and in our personal lives––and we’ve developed some really useful tips and strategies to make the process easier and more effective.
We know that most business owners, CEOs, and leaders don’t feel the planning love like we do, though… So today, we’re sharing our best-kept secrets to help you plan for different areas of your business like a pro.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself feeling like a natural planner after implementing the planning ideas we’re sharing here!
Planning Tips for When You’re Launching a New Offer or Running a Sale
Almost all of us will have at least a few promotional marketing periods on our calendars. Whether you’re launching a new offer or service, running a limited-time sale, or promoting something specific––this is a normal part of most marketing strategies.
But there’s one thing we find many business owners and CEOs skip, even though they go through this process somewhat regularly: delegating.
There are so many moving pieces included in a launch or sale that you can’t possibly handle them all yourself.
Yet if you don’t plan to delegate, it’s hard to effectively offload any of the work. (This may be why you’ve found that it feels harder and more time-consuming to delegate tasks instead of just doing them yourself.)
So the number one thing you need to plan before a launch or sale is what you will delegate. You’ll want to plan who you will delegate each responsibility to, as well as check-in dates to keep everyone on track (if needed, it depends on the level of delegation you’re using), and a way to measure everyone’s success.
Once you’ve taken care of this crucial planning step, there are some other areas you’ll want to plan for, including:
- Any bonuses or incentives you’ll offer buyers
- How the offer will be delivered (the “container”)
- A marketing strategy that aligns with your values
- What social proof to use to build trust with your audience
- Celebrations for small milestones throughout the launch period so you stay motivated and positive
Planning for Your Team
Did you know that teams that feel strongly engaged generate 18% more in sales? (Flair HR)
A little planning goes a long way in keeping your team more engaged, more productive, and more satisfied––which leads to better results for your organization. That’s a serious win-win!
So how can you plan for your team?
- Roles and responsibilities outlined specific to each person that’s coming onto the team so they understand your expectations and know what to do.
- Established KPIs so you can see where each team member is excelling and where they have opportunities for growth.
- Tracking in place for each platform you’re using so you can see where your marketing is working and where you need to focus more of your time, money, and attention.
- Everyone's requested time off and organization-wide holidays recorded so you can properly schedule projects and avoid delays in deliverables.
- Regular team surveys. Ask your team things like:
- How is the company doing?
- How are you feeling on a personal and professional level?
- How satisfied are you with the work you're doing?
A lack of planning typically leads to unmet expectations, missed deadlines, and a negative, uncertain culture.
Avoid all of those team challenges by planning ahead for your team and making sure everyone knows exactly what is expected of them.
Planning Your Workspace
Your physical space impacts your mental health and productivity. Turns out the old adage about “a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind” is true.
We like to break your workspace into two specific elements for planning purposes:
- Your computer
- The physical space where you work (office, table, corner of your bedroom, etc.)
When you’re planning for an organized, efficient computer, we recommend that you:
- Only have work applications saved to your toolbar to keep distractions minimal.
- Clean out your files and folders at the end of every week.
- Empty your trash on a weekly basis after you clean up your folders.
And when it comes to your physical workspace:
- Have two screens for working if you regularly need to have more than one window open.
- Reset your desk on a weekly basis.
- Keep something nearby for taking notes throughout the day, and transfer those to a project management system at the end of the day.
Planning Tips for Making the Most of Your Free Time
The last focus area for planning today is the most fun: your free time!
Contrary to popular belief, planning for vacation, time off, and down time isn’t restrictive. It actually gives you more freedom to do the things you love!
Our experienced EA shared these tips for making the most of your time:
- Schedule regular blank space in your calendar every week.
- Go through your kids' calendars now and add any important school events to your calendar.
- Make a list of personal interests, hobbies, and enjoyable activities you want to accomplish.
- Plan to use your paid time off if you have it.
- Schedule downtime for your entire team.
- Prioritize rest during your time off.
A little planning ahead for your time off will give you more freedom, more flexibility, and more fun.
Need help planning in your business?
If you love the planning tips but realize you desperately need someone to help implement them––that’s where we come in!
From a 1:1 Operations Call with our founder to a Get It Done project or ongoing support from an Executive Assistant, planning is one of our superpowers. Let us help you plan your best month, quarter, and year in business yet!