Eliminate the Fly By Business Plan

So you just came back from the latest IT event and found the one service/product that you think is a perfect fit for your company. You want to get it up and running quickly and can’t wait to see how it grows your bottom line! So you have a staff meeting, roll out the new offering to your team and walk away satisfied that the conference was a success—with your organization ready to make a lot of money!

Well take a step back, because this type of “fly by” business plan is typically unsuccessful.  IT business owners typically don’t work out the details before acting on emotion during an industry conference. After returning from the event, they discuss it in a staff meeting and then expect it to blossom because their team will make it happen. Quite the opposite is true; no plan means failure!

The idea may be great, but where is the substance behind “fly by” planning? Next time you come back from the event, sit down with your team and talk about the service/product and the steps required to develop it as a viable offering, giving each member a task to contribute and to complete their part of the plan. Their input will help with its successful execution when the time comes. Make sure you include human resources, operations, finance, sales and marketing in those discussions. Once you have a plan in place, it’s easier to see the financial and reputational exposure this new offering brings to your organization. This allows the owner and management team to make better business decisions as the service/product is rolled out, and will help the company accomplish the goals the group created.

An example of this process includes a service that is on everyone’s mind; backup and disaster and recovery. The implementation of this type of service can be highly emotional for many business owners, and the opportunity to sell these comprehensive solutions is great. Talking to your operations and field personnel can provide you with the information required to assemble the technical specifications or to address implementation concerns. Once the team has mapped those aspects of the solution, the sales and marketing teams can develop a plan to sell it. Of course, the finance group will work out the pricing strategy and determine how to invoice the new offering. Without this kind of input, it’s hard to build a successful process to launch a new service/product. Your organization could easily become confused on the offering, potentially impacting your profitability and damaging your reputation!

If you have never completed this type of process before, you are not alone. Simply evaluate if you have the skill sets in house to develop a business plan or have access to an outside professional who can successfully guide you through the process. A seasoned expert can help expedite the development since they have channel templates and relationships already established, something that your organization likely has not. So, how do you find that qualified resource who can guide you in the process?

Well…I attended last month’s CompTIA Breakaway conference and participated in a new group of IT channel coaches the association assembled. The IT Business Growth Professionals (ITBGP) Community formed to help the solution provider community overcome many of the business issues they struggle with each day, trying to achieve business stability, increase sales and achieve overall growth goals.

In a prior blog by Ryan Morris, he discussed the importance of business execution. But here is the question, “how do you execute without a plan?”  So I challenge solution providers to engage their team or a CompTIA IT BGP member to develop their own plan to successfully launch and fulfill a new service/product offering!

Pete Busam is the Chief Balancer for Equilibrium Consulting, an independent firm that consults with technology vendors, distributors, and solution providers on business process, channel management, sales and marketing activities. He can be reached at pete@equilibriumconsult.com.