By: Gloria Willis

www.gloriawillisconsulting.com

When you become more clear in any part of your operations, momentum increases....and you produce results...every time. It always works. Train yourself to look for the positive outcomes when you clear away clutter of any kind.

Momentum is forward moving energy, positive activity, new clients, great cash flow,enjoyment of work. You can feel it in your bones. If the momentum in your company is 5 or less on a scale of 1-10, you very likely have disappointing results as well.

Determine where you are unclear, what is not working, where you are stuck. Working harder does not clear up anything such as more calls, longer hours, etc. Being successful is an inside job. We have to stop and take a close look at what is going on. It may be fear of success or fear of failure and sometimes the closer we get to our goals, the more defensive we become. Ask yourself what this is all about. Take a look at the following areas to determine changes you may need to make.

1. Purpose---Is this the same as last year, 5 years ago? Or has your company and market changed? As you take a closer look and engage your team on this question ..."why are we in business"..you may find a reason for lack of  momentum.

2.Target Market--Clear..unclear. Who buys your products and services and why? Are they happy? What are their needs? Find out!! as quickly as you can. Then make the needed changes.

3. Marketing Plan--You need a marketing plan, a business plan and a strategic plan.  The marketing plan should fit into the BP and reviewed on a regular basis to see...what you are doing and the kind of results you are getting. Make this a tool in your business and change it as often as needed. And your marketing plan will fit into your strategic plan....all of the keys to your business aligned together with accountabilities that need to be measured. When you start monitoring and reporting on these numbers in your meetings, new ideas will spring forth and momentum will be the result.

4. Strategic plan--Make sure you have a strategic plan that reflects the 3-4 main areas of your business that form the foundation. Growth can only happen once you have these in place. A strategic plan will give a strong basis from which to make decisions. You will see that any change you make will also affect all other parts of your company so keeping an eye on this plan keeps you in control of managing your company and the goals you wish to accomplish.

5. Standards--Momentum rises when you are operating your business based on define standards. In fact, no standards or unadhered to standards are often the reason for mistakes and poor work in companies. Once standards are described and everyone is aware of them and you operate your company based on standards, confidence increases throughout the company and clients are attracted to this level of excellence and will do business with you.

What business development tools have helped you to raise momentum? What happened? Keep track of what you did and the results you experience so you can continue to do what works!