At 2:04 pm on January 2nd, 2023, I received a text message from a multi-millionaire client I’ve been coaching for the last four years.
It read, “…After a record year in both volume and gross and outselling the top sales consultant in my dealer group by over 100 cars, I know I can still grow. When you are in town next, let’s make sure we sit down and develop some new ways I can grow my business to sell even more cars this year.“
As you can surmise from the text, he is a very successful car salesman. Since it’s the new year, an excellent time for reflection, I began thinking about the reasons for his success. I want to point out a very subtle, yet essential factor required for people to reach their fullest potential in business. And that subtle factor, my friends, lies in your ability to find the right balance of Strategy vs Tactics.
Think about it: This particularly busy KIA salesperson outsells his nearest co-worker by well over 100 cars a year. Yet, he still understands the importance of pausing his daily tactical efforts to strategize with his coach.
There is a critical difference between officers and enlisted people in the military. Officers strategize and decide the objectives (goals) based on a 30,000-foot view of the battlefield, while the enlisted people execute the strategy (mission). Additionally, enlisted personnel only initiate the mission after creating an execution strategy known as a “battle plan”. Can you imagine a country ever winning a war, let alone a battle without this level of planning and coordinated implementation?
In reading this article, I want you to understand the difference between strategy and tactics so you will better understand how much time you need to dedicate to strategy in your routine if you are to reach your potential in business.
What is the difference between Strategy and Tactics?
Simply put, strategy is planning, and tactics are execution. Average performers and underperformers will execute accordingly, and naturally, the results of their activity (good or bad) position those actors in the appropriate position.
On the other hand, one thing top performers have in common is that they start with the “end in mind”. In this way, they know what they want the outcome to be (visualization), and since all things are created twice, first in our minds and then in reality, top producers are much more likely to end up where they want to be. Why? Because they know where they want to go before they embark on their journey, they’ve already materialized it in their minds before manifesting it in reality.
Included in the strategizing process is the identification of the necessary benchmarks to hit enroute to the destination (goals), the consistent behaviors necessary to achieve that goal, and finally, the purposeful actions necessary to get the ball rolling. The next step is tactics and execution.
To Reach My Potential in Business, What Areas Need a Strategy?
Well, that depends on your position within your business. If you’re a business owner, you need a specific strategy focused on every aspect of your business. Suppose you’re a middle manager, there will be strategies necessary for your specific areas of responsibility. Suppose you’re a front-line sales employee and want to reach your fullest potential, and aim to become a multi-millionaire selling whatever it is you sell. In that case, you will want to treat yourself like you are your own business, and carve out time for strategizing every aspect of your daily behavior. In addition to supercharging your efforts by adding a personal coach to help you strategize effectively, there are eleven areas you want to consider creating a routine around strategy for:
- Vision for Success
- Goals/Benchmarks
- Leadership
- Managing
- Marketing
- Lead Creation
- Sales
- Money
- Customer Service
- Technology
- Your Routine
Peruse each area of business strategy and the few coaching questions I’m providing for each category below. Then, ask yourself, “How could creating a strategy for each of these elements positively impact my business?” If you have some good answers for these, then there is an opportunity for you to improve your likelihood of success by strategizing in these areas.
- Leadership – Who will work for you? How will you motivate them? How often will you need to meet with each person on your team? What skills will you need to teach them? How will you get your team working together? What products and services could add value to what I do?
- Managing – What expectations must be set, and with who?
- What metrics will I need to measure success in each area? How will I hold myself accountable? How will I hold others responsible? What does excellence look like? What is the minimum performance?
- Marketing – What do I want my brand to look like? Who is my target market? Where can I reach them? What appeals to them? What problems do they have? How do I help them solve those problems? What are my marketing goals, and do they align with my business goals?
- Lead Creation – What does a qualified lead look like? How will I convert awareness to interest? How will I ensure interested people can raise their hands for me?
- Sales – What is my engagement strategy for a qualified lead? How will I convert? What skills do I need to master to be more effective in sales? What is the maximum value of each client? Where do I need to adjust my approach to maximize the value of each opportunity?
- Money/Financials – How can I reinvest in my business this year? What are the best investments I could make? Where can I better steward my own money? Does my financial strategy align with my business objectives, or am I trying to save my way into a profit?
- Customer Service/Experience – How do I stand out from my competition? What makes my service/product worth more than my competition? What do my customers complain about? How can I remove those complaints? What is my client retention compared to my peers? What are my customer’s expectations? What changes will I need to make to my process to exceed their expectations?
- Technology/Software – What tools are at my disposal that I need to utilize to their fullest? What systems are antiquated or out of date? Which software creates more drain/busy work than adding return on investment?
How Often Should I Strategize in Each of These Areas?
That’s a great question that varies based on your vision, goals, where you are today, and how fast you want to get to your destination! That said, I’ll share my routine around business strategy that’s helped my team and me build the top coaching practice in the car business, Car Motivators.
Strategy Session Type – Frequency – Duration
5-Year Vision Planning – Every five years – 4 Hours
5-Month Benchmarks – Every five months – 2 Hours
5 Week Goals – Every five weeks – 1 Hour
Leadership – Every Other Month – 3 Hours
Marketing Strategy/Content Plan – Annually – 4 Hours
Lead Creation – Quarterly – 2 Hours
Sales – Monthly – 2 Hours
Sales – (Weekly Pipeline Reviews) – Up to 1 Hour
Money/Financial Planning – Quarterly – 3 Hours
Customer Service/Experience – Quarterly – 4 Hours
Technology/Software – Every 6 Months – 2 Hours
Managing – Monthly – 2 Hours
Update Personal Routine – Quarterly – 4 Hours
Coaching with my Coach(s) – Monthly – 2 Hours
After reading this article, do you think you’ve been spending enough time on strategy? What areas will you need to strategize in to reach your potential in business? What low-value tactical activities will you need to let go of to make room for strategy in your routine? Now it’s time for you to get tactical and execute on manifesting your strategies. Feel free to send me a message and let me know where you will start!
You can reach me Sean@CarMotivators.com or via text on my cell phone 314-323-8234 anytime.