Developing a Tactical
Growth Action Plan Workshop
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, 8:30 – 4:30
Lucky By Design Worksheets
Documents available @ www.m-edge.com/NEESC
1. Worksheet 2.1: Setting SMART Goals
2. Worksheet 3.2: Business Growth ScoreCard
3. Worksheet 3.3: 3-Year Business Growth Action Plan/
Lucky By Design Roadmap (see separate document)
4. Worksheet 12.1: Testing Your Customer Knowledge
5. Worksheet 15.1: Industry Research at Your Fingertips
6. Worksheet 23.1: Creating a Winning Elevator Pitch
Contact Information for Beth Goldstein:
Email: beth@m-edge.com
Cell/Text: 508.277.1538
Office: 508.893.0976
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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 3.2: 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
Score
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
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
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
7. Customer Profiles
Score______
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
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
Score______
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
Your Score
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
9. Empowerment by the Numbers
Score______
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
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.
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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 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 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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