Lucky By Design
Navigating Your Path to Success
www.m-edge.com/luckyforms
Questions? Contact Beth Goldstein: beth@m-edge.com
Lucky By Design Worksheets
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Worksheet 2.1: Setting SMART Goals – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 3.1: Translating Your Goals Into Reality – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 3.3: Lucky By Design Roadmap – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 4.1: Identifying the Right Opportunities – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 5.1: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons – Focus: Product Development
Worksheet 6.1: Going for the Gold – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 7.1: What Stage Is Your Business In? – Focus: Product Development
Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 9.1: Letting Go to Grow – Focus: Product Development
Worksheet 9.2: Are You Getting In Your Own Way? – Focus: Product Development
Worksheet 10.1: Is Your Business Model Still Relevant? – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 11.1: Finding Inner Genius – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge – Focus: Market Research
Worksheet 12.2: Data You Can’t Live Without – Focus: Market Research
Worksheet 13.1: Playing 20 Questions with Customers – Focus: Market Research
Worksheet 14.1: Customer Lifetime Value – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 14.2: Selecting the Right Customer Mix – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips – Focus: Market Research
Worksheet 16.1: Getting Partnerships Right – Focus: Product Development
Worksheet 17.1: Making the Right Connections – Focus: Sales Outreach
Worksheet 18.1: Your Brand Value – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 18.2: Test Your Brand Strength – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 20.1: Choose Your Tools Wisely – Focus: Sales Outreach
Worksheet 21.1: Online Networking Plan – Focus: Sales Outreach
Worksheet 23.1: Creating a Winning Elevator Pitch – Focus: Value Proposition
Worksheet 24.1: Sales Preparations Checklist – Focus: Sales Outreach
Worksheet 26.1: Business Contingency Plan – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
Worksheet 27.2: Data Capture Plan – Focus: Lucky By Design Roadmap
All worksheets are copyrighted by Marketing Edge Consulting Group. The purchaser may use these for
his/her plan but may not reproduce, store in a retrieval system, or transmit, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the
author.
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Worksheet 2.1: Setting SMART Goals
Please describe your single most important business goal to achieve in the next six months (Make sure this is
SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based)
What makes it?
• Specific?
• Measurable?
• Achievable?
• Realistic?
• Time-based?
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Worksheet 3.1: Translating Your Goals Into Reality
What's your strategy for the next 12 months? Are you translating your vision onto paper and then into reality
since this will give you the greatest chance of driving profit and revenue into your business?
1. What are the two most important business goals for our company to achieve in the next year? (we’re
expanding the scope of your vision beyond six months.)
2. What external challenges, if any, do we face in making these things happen? What will get in our way that
we don’t control?
3. What internal challenges, if any, do we face in making these things happen? What stands in our way that
we do control?
4. What tactics do we need to launch in the next 90 days to achieve these goals?
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Worksheet 3.1: Translating Your Goals Into Reality continued
5. Do the people on my team have the right mix of experience and skills, and are they in the right positions to
support the goals of the company?
6. Are there new opportunities that my company should consider in the next 12-24 months? If yes, what
tactics will I deploy to launch this new product or explore the opportunity?
7. Compared to what my competition offers, what makes my products or services more valuable to my
customers?
8. Compared to my competitors, what performance areas are we weak in? Can we change this or should we
focus on our strengths?
9. Are there markets in a certain industry or demographic that I can target successfully and that my
competitors are not dominating?
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Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard
The Business Growth Scorecard™ is a simple, self-assessment tool designed to give you a fresh perspective of
your business. It will help you understand the influence of the following critical business drivers and how they
influence growth, profit and, ultimately, your company’s future success.
Scorecard Results
Actual/A_____
Business Drivers
1. Passion & vision
2. Business & personal goal setting
3. Leadership & team building
4. Strategic & competitive differentiation
5. Industry knowledge & awareness
6. Market research
7. Customer profiles
8. Marketing outreach & mix
9. Empowerment by the numbers
10. Value proposition
11. Sales & communication skills
Score
Maximum Score (165) Actual Score (A)
=
Gap/Opportunity (B)
B: Opportunity to Maximize Your
Profit OR
$$$ You’re Leaving on the Table
Scorecard Instructions
Please provide an honest evaluation of your business’ capabilities, strengths and weaknesses for each of the Business
Drivers. If you come across a question where you’re simply not certain of the answer, simply respond to the best of
your ability. Please keep track of your score in the area above:
Review the statements and provide a score for each. A one means that you strongly disagree and a five means
that you strongly agree.
1. Strongly Disagree - 2. Disagree - 3. Neutral - 4. Agree - 5. Strongly Agree
How strongly do you agree with the statements below?
1. Passion and Vision
Business Drivers
A. I have a clear vision for how I want my company to be positioned in the next 3-5 years
B. I regularly communicate my vision to my employees, so they all understand and share my vision
C. I have a written business plan that I share with my key employees
2. Business and Personal Goal Setting
Business Drivers
A. I have set clear goals for my business results for the next 3-5 years
B. I have a clear understanding of what I want out of my work life and clear goals for the next 3
years
C. I use a dashboard regularly to track the performance of my business against my goals
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
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Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard continued
3. Leadership & Team Building
Business Drivers
A. Our team has the right mix of experience and skills, and the right individuals are in the right
positions to support the goals of the company
B. I spend at least 20% of my work week working ON my business versus IN my business
C. The key employees in my company are empowered to make important operational and
customer-driven decisions without me
4. Strategy & Competitive Differentiation
Business Drivers
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
A. I have a clear understanding of my company’s key points of differentiation compared to my
competition
B. I track and monitor at least two competitors regularly (every quarter)
C. I understand the influence of indirect competitors on our business
1 2 3 4 5
5. Industry Knowledge & Awareness
Score______
Your Score
Business Drivers
A. I have a clear idea of how my industry is evolving and changing, and how those changes will
impact my business
B. I attend trade shows, industry events and/or webinars at least 3-4 times a year to keep up to
date on changes, opportunities and threats that may impact my business
C. I have a plan in place that I communicate to my team to address the changes required to remain
competitive based on industry changes
6. Market Research
Business Drivers
A. Outside of our sales team, we capture key demographic and behavioral information about our
customers on an ongoing basis (at least once a year)
B. I have a customer database (CRM-Customer Relationship Management system) to capture
ongoing information about our sales efforts
C. We conduct secondary research (study buying trends of non-customers) on an annual basis to
incorporate into our own primary research
7. Customer Profiles
Business Drivers
A. We know exactly why customers buy from us because we have specifically asked them, versus
relying on gut instinct or prior knowledge of the market (e.g. we conduct primary research)
B. We calculate the lifetime value of our customers, and “fire” those whose value is less than the
return on our sales/marketing investment
C. We share our market research findings with our entire team and incorporate this knowledge into
product development, operations, customer support and our sales/marketing programs
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
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Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth Scorecard continued
8. Market Outreach & Mix
Business Drivers
A. I am confident that the branding and positioning that is behind our messages addresses the main
interests and concerns of our customers
B. We track which marketing tactics have been the most successful in terms of generating
profitable customers
C. All of our marketing campaigns include a “call to action” and reinforce the opportunity for
prospects to communicate with us
9. Empowerment by the Numbers
Business Drivers
A. We continually rank our prospects in terms of their likelihood to buy from us within a short
period of time (30-90 days)
B. We track profit for each customer and each market segment
C. I know the number of new customers required to meet our quarterly and annual business goals
10.Value Proposition
Business Drivers
A. I am confident that my elevator pitch presents my company in its best light AND reinforces how
we meet customer needs
B. My company’s value proposition is based on the needs of our customers, not on our own
intuition (gut instinct) about what they want
C. My elevator pitch provides credible proof of how we meet customer needs better or more
effectively than our primary competitors
11.Sales & Communication Skills
Business Drivers
A. I am confident that I possess strong communication skills (i.e. I ask the right questions, am a
good listener and clearly present our benefits and value to prospects)
B. I have a strong sales team with experience identifying qualified prospects and converting them
into customers
C. I provide hardware and software tools to empower and support our sales team
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Score______
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Now that you know your opportunity, please review your responses and circle the five most important
Business Drivers that you need to improve in the next 90 days! Write these down below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Your next step is to begin to create your Lucky By Design Roadmap: Worksheet 3.3
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Worksheet 3.3 Lucky By Design Roadmap
Please describe your 2 to 3 most important business goals for the next 2 years (Make sure these are
SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based). Use a separate page for each goal.
Business Goal #1:
How does this goal impact your company in terms of the following four Business Growth Levers (i.e., do
you need to conduct more research, hire staff to expand your product line or sales/marketing efforts)?
1. Market Research:
2. Product Development:
3. Sales Outreach:
4. Distinctive Value Proposition:
Now, list critical actions required to achieve the goal above including the deadline, the person
responsible and the measure(s) of success (i.e., impact to revenue, sales, profit).
Actions to achieve the goal
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Measure
of Success
1
2
3
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Worksheet 3.3 Lucky By Design Roadmap continued
Business Goal #2:
How does this goal impact your company in terms of the following four Business Growth Levers (i.e., do
you need to conduct more research, hire staff to expand your product line or sales/marketing efforts)?
1. Market Research:
2. Product Development:
3. Sales Outreach:
4. Distinctive Value Proposition:
Now, list critical actions required to achieve the goal above including the deadline, the person
responsible and the measure(s) of success (i.e., impact to revenue, sales, profit).
Actions to achieve the goal
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Measure
of Success
1
2
3
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Worksheet 3.3 Lucky By Design Roadmap continued
Business Goal #3:
How does this goal impact your company in terms of the following four Business Growth Levers (i.e., do
you need to conduct more research, hire staff to expand your product line or sales/marketing efforts)?
1. Market Research:
2. Product Development:
3. Sales Outreach:
4. Distinctive Value Proposition:
Now, list critical actions required to achieve the goal above including the deadline, the person
responsible and the measure(s) of success (i.e., impact to revenue, sales, profit).
Actions to achieve the goal
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Measure
of Success
1
2
3
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Worksheet 4.1: Identifying the Right Opportunities
Describe the Opportunity:
1. Do we clearly understand the market place, the customers, industry dynamics and competitors for
this opportunity before I get involved with it? Please describe
a. Marketplace
b. Customers
c. Industry Dynamics
d. Competitors
2. Do I (or my team) have the expertise and resources necessary to market and sell this
service/product? Please describe
3. Will the effort required to achieve that result generate adequate rewards for my business?
Specifically, how will I define and measure success specific to this opportunity? ©2011 Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC
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Worksheet 4.1: Identifying the Right Opportunities continued
4. Will the investment in time and other scarce resources produce a profitable new business model
without damaging an already successful company? Please describe how
5. Does this new opportunity complement my current business priorities and increase the likelihood of
achieving my specific business goals? Please describe
6. Is there a synergy between our expertise and the actions needed to achieve success? Please
describe
7. Will this new opportunity help me avoid or minimize risks to my business? Please describe
8. Will this new opportunity enhance my personal goals? Please describe how
Based on your answers, now describe your next steps in terms of seizing or walking away from this
opportunity.
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Worksheet 5.1: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
Write down the 2 to 3 activities, situations or products/services that simply didn’t work and think about
how they could have been (or perhaps were) turned into positive situations… maybe even critical
turning points in your business. In addition, note ‘lesson’s learned’ from the disappointment and what
you commit to changing based on what you took away from the situation.
Situation 1.
Alternative Scenario
Lesson Learned
Situation 2.
Alternative Scenario
Lesson Learned
Situation 3.
Alternative Scenario
Lesson Learned
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Worksheet 6.1: Going for the Gold
1. Name three core competencies that you possess as an individual and business owner that will help
you outpace your competition.
1.
2.
3.
2. Do you need to get to-market faster or offer a product or service that is so unique that you set a new
standard? If yes, how will you achieve this?
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Worksheet 6.1: Going for the Gold continued
3. Do you honestly have the passion and perseverance to stick to it and not let go? If not, what needs to
change?
4. What’s the worst thing that can happen to the business if you don’t succeed and how will you handle
the situation?
5. What’s my attitude about life in general? Do I tend to back down when situations get tough or do I
have what it takes to stick with my goals… to the end? Describe a situation when you ‘toughed’ it
out and the situation ended favorably.
6. Describe the team you have standing beside you? Are they the right folks to ensure your goals and
vision will happen?
7. Now, what are you going to do with your answers? How do they impact your ability to lead your
organization? Write down three actions you need to take in order to be a more effective leader and
incorporate them into your Lucky By Design Roadmap.
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Worksheet 7.1: What Stage Is Your Business In?
Key Drivers of Success
Owner's Ability to Do
everything
Cash Flow
Align Business & Personal
Goals
People – Quality and
Diversity
Strategic Planning
Systems & Controls
Owner’s Ability to Delegate
I
Existence
II
Survival
***
***
***
***
***
**
III
Success
IV
Take-off
V
Maturity
**
**
***
**
***
**
***
**
**
***
***
***
***
***
***
**
**
What stage is your business in?
Existence
Survival
Success-Sustain
Success-Grow
Take-off
Maturity
Why do you believe your business is in this stage?
Now, given the stage and understanding the requirements needed to be successful at the stage (and
possibly move to the next stage) which of the “Key Drivers of Success” need to be improved? Write
those down and then determine what your next steps will be to ensure you take positive actions to get
to the next stage.
Concept from The Five Stages of Small Business Growth by Neil Churchill and Virginia Lewis.
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Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It
If you answer “no” to any of the questions below, please write down what actions you need to
take to get to ‘yes.’
1. Do you hold yourself accountable by creating a roadmap that has clearly measured goals (SMART
goals) with milestones and targets that you can continually evaluate progress against?
Yes
No
2. Do you have a dashboard that shows all of the key business drivers that impact your business and
keep it front and center?
Yes
No
3. Do you have an advisory board that report results to on a quarterly basis?
Yes
No
4. Do you conduct an annual business assessment?
Yes
No
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Worksheet 8.1: Working ON Your Business, Not IN It continued
5. Are you the member of a CEO group and attend meetings on a regular basis?
Yes
No
6. Do you conduct an annual survey to ensure you're benchmarking your performance each year and
measuring progress as well as areas where you've fallen short of your target?
Yes
No
7. Have you created incentives to celebrate with your team when benchmarks are met?
Yes
No
8. Do you encourage your team to be involved with the growth of your company? Are their ideas
encouraged openly praised, acknowledged and rewarded?
Yes
No
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Worksheet 9.1: Letting Go to Grow
1. Are you ready to commit to growth or do you want to remain at your current stage?
2. If growth is a goal, what needs to change in your business?
3. How important is delegation of decision-making at your company? If you need to control specific
decisions, which ones are they?
4. Do you have a team in place that you trust and are able to delegate decisions to?
Yes
No
a. If you trust your team, then what processes do you have in place to empower them to make
decisions?
b. If you don’t trust your team, what steps will you take to either train/educate or promote
them or bring on individuals who are more managerially focused and will help facilitate
growth?
5. Is bringing on experienced managerial talent (maybe even a CEO) an important option to consider?
6. How tightly aligned are your business and personal goals? Is what is best for the business NOT
necessarily best for you? If so, what will you do to make this work?
7. Will your current role and personal goals need to change in order to get the business to the next
stage? If yes, how will you handle this
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Worksheet 9.2: Are You Getting In Your Own Way?
1. Do you need to control every decision? If yes, how is that impacting your business opportunities?
2. Are you willing to acknowledge your own strengths and limitations and bring in additional managerial
expertise (sometimes even a CEO or CFO) to complement your skills for the betterment of the
organization? What are the implications of your answer and next steps?
3. Do you have a strategic roadmap that includes progressing from a small, micromanaged organization
to one that will exist on its own? Have you shared this plan with your team?
4. Do you have the systems and controls in place that will allow a greater comfort level for you to move
beyond this being ‘your’ company and thinking of the organization as larger than what you
contribute?
5. As the leader, are you out of your comfort level leading the organization? If yes, what actions do you
need to take to ensure you don’t get in the way of growth?
6. Have you aligned your business goals with personal goals and do they now seem out of whack? If yes,
what actions do you need to take to fix this?
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Worksheet 10.1: Is Your Business Model Still Relevant?
1.
Are you encountering a lot of resistance from the market? If you are, can you change the way you
conduct business to address customer interests? What implications will those changes have on your
business?
2.
Do you have an opportunity to vertically integrate and provide the 'next step' for customers? If yes,
what type of solutions would you add to your mix?
3.
If you can’t vertically integrate (but have identified a strong demand for more comprehensive
services), can you outsource these or partner with another organization to provide a complete
solution that increases your value to your customers?
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Worksheet 11.1: Finding Inner Genius
1. How do you listen to your customers (list 3 actions you currently take or will take to ensure
you’re not just listening but reacting to what you hear)
2. Do you measure your Net Promoter Score? If not, what will you do to obtain this data?
3. How will/do you mystery shop your competition?
4. Can you mystery shop your own company? If yes, how will you incorporate the lessons learned
as a ‘best practice?”
5. How often do you review your competitors’ marketing material, website and social media sites
and compare to yours? If it’s less than once a year what do you need to change to make this a
part of your business practice?
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Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge
1. What’s most important to your customers in transacting business with your company?
2. Compared to what your competition offers, what makes your products or services unique or more
valuable to your customers?
3. What are most common needs that your customers share?
4. What are the top problems that you solve for your customers?
5. What opportunities are you creating for your customers when they purchase your products or
services?
6. What are your customers’ decision-making processes (meaning, what issues do they consider before
they purchase products or services from you or from a competitor)?
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Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge continued
7. Why do your customers value your products and/or services?
8. How do your customers find out about your products and/or services?
9. If a consultant were to interview your top three customers, what would they say about your
company? How would they describe your products and/or services?
10. What influence does price play in your customers’ decision to purchase products or services from
you?
11. What customer touch points exist in your business?
12. What is the message conveyed at each of these touch points, and are these messages consistent?
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Worksheet 12.2: Data You Can’t Live Without
Describe below how these factors play a role in your customers’ and prospects’ decision-making
patterns. If you don’t know (beyond gut instinct) write down how you will find out.
1. Pain points/challenges they face
2. Opportunities your product/service offers them
3. Importance of location in transacting business (is being local important?)
4. Behavior and decision-making processes (what they need to do/know before they buy)
5. Spending patterns
6. Price sensitivity
7. Other
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Worksheet 13.1: Playing 20 Questions with Customers
Compose 20 questions that will help you define your customers. Next to each question briefly describe
what you will do with the information and how you will obtain it (what’s your source)?
Question
Goal
Source
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
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Worksheet 14.1: Customer Lifetime Value
A. How much does your target customer spend on each purchase from your company? $________
B. Annually, how often does your customer make a purchase from your company? ________
C. How many years does your customer stay with your company? ________
D. How many new customers will he or she refer to your business? ________
E. What percentage of referrals become clients? ________%
A $______ x B______ x C______ = gross sales over customer’s lifetime $______ (F)
D ______ x E______% x F $______ = gross sales from new referrals $______ (G)
F $______ + G $______= total lifetime value of a satisfied customer $______ (H)
How much it costs you to attract and retain these customers ___________ (I)
If “I” your investment in attracting and retaining customers is greater than “H” their lifetime value to
you, list 3 actions that you will take to ensure “H” is significantly greater than “I”
1.
2.
3.
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Worksheet 14.2: Selecting the Right Customer Mix
Not every customer will be “right” for your company. Use the following information to ensure both sides
are making the best decisions to create “win-win” business scenarios.
1. Write down the Lifetime Value of your most important customers/customer groups (use Worksheet
14.1):
2. What are the top 2 to 3 reasons these customers/customer groups buy from you?
3. List the top five customers/customer groups who are creating the greatest LTV.
4. List the top five customers/customer groups who are creating the lowest LTV.
5. What actions will you take to eliminate those with the lowest LTV (without burning bridges)?
6. What actions will you include in your Lucky By Design Roadmap that proactively targets the customer
groups that are most profitable (highest LTV) for your business and avoid those who generate the
lowest LTV?
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Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips
Please conduct research to ensure you understand industry dynamics that impact your growth
potential
1. Key associations and publications in your industry
2. Websites of companies that belong to these associations
3. Surveys or research the associations conduct
4. Value proposition/messaging from companies affiliated with the industry
5. Annual industry statistics
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Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips continued
6. Conferences well respect by the industry and why
7. Hot topics and ‘buzzwords’ being discussed at each conference
8. Speaker presentations and white papers from the conference sites
9. Consulting and research firms respected in the industry
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Worksheet 16.1: Getting Partnerships Right
Complete this form for each business partnership or collaboration that you are considering – before you
launch into the relationship. If you answer ‘no’ to any of the questions, determine what steps you need
to take to get to ‘yes.’
1. Have you clearly defined your most important goals, and made sure that your prospective partner
shares those same goals?
Yes
No
2. Have you assessed what specific gaps - in skills, in relationships, or in any other assets - that this
partner needs to fill in order to help you succeed?
Yes
No
3. Have you determined how you will help him/her succeed based on the skills or assets you bring to
the relationship?
Yes
No
4. Is it clear that both parties stand to benefit more from being partners in this arrangement than
working separately? Is this a win-win arrangement where 1+1 clearly equals more than 2?
Yes
No
5. Have you spent time working with this prospective partner to be sure that the fit is right before
structuring the specifics of your partnership deal?
Yes
No
6. Do you share the mutual business belief and ethical practices about how you will treat customers
and clients?
Yes
No
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Worksheet 17.1: Making the Right Connections
1.
What are your specific goals for the event? This should be qualitative (connect with 3 people in
the X industry) as well as quantitative (meet 5 people who are likely sources of referrals to
follow-up with in the next week).
2.
What do you need to do to prepare for the event to achieve these goals?
3. What follow-up steps need to take place in order to succeed? Will you need anything related to
those steps in advance? (i.e., you promise individuals a report that might not be written before
you leave for the event).
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Worksheet 18.1: Your Brand Value
Review your marketing material and all of your touch points with prospects and customers to determine
the answers below. As with the other worksheets, think about what you need to do to get to ‘yes’ if your
answer is ‘no’ and capture that action.
1. What is the message that we are conveying to customers about our brand value?
2. Is the message consistent?
3. Is this the message we want to be heard and experienced?
4. Do customers understand how we differentiate ourselves from ‘like’ organizations?
5. Do they experience our brand in the manner that we want them to? How do we know this?
6. Does reality align with our promise?
7. Is our brand what customers seek and truly value the most?
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Worksheet 18.2: Test Your Brand Strength
To determine your Brand Strength you can give yourself a score between 1 and a 10, 1 meaning you
strongly disagree with the statement and 10 meaning you strongly agree.
Brand Sustainability
Score
1. We know exactly why customers buy from us based on research not 'gut instinct."
2. We always present our benefits/value to our customers instead of selling features.
3. We calculate the lifetime value of our customers - and regularly fire those customers
who are not generating enough revenue or profit.
4. We conduct annual customer surveys or interviews and incorporate findings into our
marketing plan.
5. We study our competitors and understand what makes us UNIQUE.
6. We have a strategy to manage the impact of indirect competitors who threaten our
revenue potential.
7. We know exactly what information customers require to make a purchasing decision
and where they obtain the data.
8. We are confident that our price reflects the value customers seek and reinforces our
brand message.
9. I am confident EVERY person in my company clearly presents our correct brand value.
10. All of our marketing material is consistent and explains our benefits to customers.
Your Score ________
Circle any questions that you gave yourself a score less than 9. Write down how you will address this gap
in the space below and add the action items to your Lucky By Design Roadmap.
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Worksheet 20.1: Choose Your Tools Wisely
1. Where do our customers find out about our products/services now and is that evolving?
2. When are they looking for the products and services that we provide?
3. Why do they buy from us now and do they also consider purchases from our competitors?
4. How do we deliver our products and services to them and does it align with how we communicate
with them?
5. Can we measure results from our efforts? What is our ROI (return on investment) for our sales
and marketing efforts?
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Worksheet 21.1: Online Networking Plan
Use this worksheet to determine the type of markets, consumers and/or companies that you want to
connect with online and which sites/tools you’ll use to achieve this. The sites might be general
networking communities (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube) or niche specific communities (i.e.,
iVillage, Dogster). For example, if you want to target women in their 30’s with children under 10 you
might check out women’s websites, look for blogs or folks actively posting on Twitter, create a video for
YouTube or search LinkedIn or Facebook for communities
Target Market(s)
Online Communities
Action Required to Engage in Each Community
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Worksheet 23.1: Creating a Winning Elevator Pitch
Your Pitch should include:
1. Your name, company name and your role in the organization
2. A brief but compelling statement about your product/service's value or benefit as it relates to the
other person's company
3. A concise description of your product/service
4. A statement that reinforces your credibility or demonstrates what sets you apart
5. Your personal energy and passion for making this business succeed
6. A closing statement that leads to a 'next step' (i.e., an in person meeting)
Start at the End. Before you create your pitch, consider what final impression you want to leave with
this individual. Then use the six criteria above to develop your pitch. Remember, you will need a unique
elevator pitch for different types of business relationships (i.e., a prospect doesn't care about the same
benefits that a potential investor does).
Customize the template below so this matches your style
Hello, thank you for asking about my company. I'm _______________________________ (your name),
and I'm the ______________________________________________________________________ (title)
for_________________________________________________________________ (company). We offer
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ (value, competitive advantage or benefit) to
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(target
customer),
like
you,
to
meet
or
satisfy
the
_____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ (target customers' major want
or need...this is a benefits statement). We do this by _________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________ (product or service brief description).
We
are
respected
in
the
industry
because
___________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ (key client
experience or your unique expertise that provides credibility).
We feel passionately about this because ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________ (your passion, skills, beliefs and/or
experience).
If this is of interest to you, I'd love to provide you with a little more detail when we have more time (i.e.,
aren't stuck in an elevator or on the soccer field). Can I get your business card so I can call you/email you
to set up a time to speak further?
Practice this in front of the mirror and you'll be amazed at the response you get the next time you try to
connect with a prospect.... in the elevator, at a networking event or perhaps sitting on a plane.
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Worksheet 24.1: Sales Preparation Checklist
Sales Meeting with_______________________________
Call Date____________
Desired Outcome (this does not have to be a sale but a movement to get to the next stage)
1. Preparing for the Call
• Make sure your contacts are in a central, easily accessible location.
• Review status/ID of various prospect groups.
• Rank your prospect groups by potential to purchase.
• Prioritize your list for calling or sending email introductions.
• Set a schedule.
• Set a minimum number of hours for calls or emailing.
• Predetermine potential meeting times.
2. The Actual Phone Call
• Develop a script that includes the following stages:
o Introduction.
o Reason for contacting them.
o Seek more information/active listening (not an option in email).
o Request for meeting (or call if you’re using email).
o Close.
• Communicate with confidence.
• Know your value to the prospect.
• Listen carefully.
• Ask relevant questions.
• Update your database with information learned during the exchange.
3. Preparing for the In-Person Appointment
• Review database/CRM system with contact information.
• Determine meeting goals.
• Research company information online.
• Imagine the conversation.
• Practice, practice, practice.
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Worksheet 24.1: Sales Preparation Checklist continued
4. The Actual Meeting
• Remember to actively listen.
• Meeting flow might follow this pattern, but make it natural:
1. Small talk/introduction.
2. Acknowledge the reason for your visit.
3. Confirm amount of time available.
4. Begin asking probing, open-ended questions.
5. Confirm need.
6. Check for acceptance/agreement.
7. Present solutions.
8. Close to get to meeting goal.
9. Agree on the next step.
5. Follow up and Servicing of Account Needs
• Update your database with notes, ranking and next steps.
• Send thank-you note (or email) that includes these things:
o Appreciation for meeting.
o Restatement of needs.
o Restatement of benefits discussed.
o List of promised action items.
o Additional ideas or research that you conducted after the meeting related to the topics
discussed or questions raised.
• Complete all follow-up activities.
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Worksheet 26.1: Business Contingency Plan
What’s the worst-case scenario that you can realistically imagine happening to your business? The
following should be considered: loss of key employees, natural disaster, loss of data, significant
competition, and downturn in the economy.
Now, think about the implications of finding yourself trying to run your business with this new reality.
List the 3 most significant challenges you will face. After you have described the challenge, write down
one to two actions you can take in the near future to ease or minimize the impact on your operation
(i.e., our building burns down and we don’t have our customer information backed up to an external
location. Preventative Action: Back your data up to the cloud).
1. Challenge:
Preventative Actions:
2. Challenge:
Preventative Actions:
3. Challenge:
Preventative Actions:
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Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome
Sales Analysis and Projections
Sales
# Active*
Customers
Total
Revenue
Total
Profit
Revenue/
Customer
Prior Year_____ (yr)
Current Year_____(yr)
Next Year _____(yr)
*Active = purchase in the last 12 months
Prospect/Sales Cycle
• Number of new prospects required for next year’s projections _________
• Number of repeat customers required for next year’s projections _______
• Number of prospects in your system to-date __________
• Percentage of prospects anticipated to convert to sales __________%
• Sales cycle __________days
Employee Analysis
Employees
# FT or FTE
Employees
Total Cost
Cost/
Employee
Profit/
Employee
% of
Revenue
from top
20%
% of
Revenue
from
customers
w/ you > 1 yr
Net
Promoter
Score
Prior Year_____ (yr)
Current Year_____(yr)
Next Year _____(yr)
Customer Revenue & Profit Analysis
Customers
% of Revenue
from top 3
customers
Prior Year_____ (yr)
Current Year_____(yr)
Next Year _____(yr)
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Worksheet 27.1: Measuring Your Input and Outcome continued
Product/Service Analysis
Top 5 Products/
Services
Prior Year
Revenue
Profit
Analysis of Marketing Tactics
Marketing Tactics
Amount Spent
Current Yr
Next Yr
Current Year
Revenue
Profit
# Clients Generated
Current Yr
Next Yr
Next Yr Projection
Revenue
Profit
Revenue
Current Yr
Next Yr
Logo Design and
Branding
Website Design &
Development
Speaking Opportunities/
Seminars
Conference Exhibiting/
Sponsorship
Partner Marketing
Public Relations
Sales Literature
Direct Mail
Email Marketing
Social Media Efforts
Advertising
Radio/TV
Telemarketing
Direct Sales Force
Giveaways &
Promotions
Other____________
Additional Sales/Marketing Data Captured
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Worksheet 27.2: Data Capture Plan
Data You Must
Capture to Make
Business Decisions
Metrics or Key
Performance
Indicators
Required
Process to Obtain
Data
Frequency of
Updating &
Reviewing
Data
Person(s)
Responsible
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