Every business entity contends with some form of competition. While the competitive source is not always clear to the individual executive, there is usually ample information to be gathered on one's competitors through networking, reading, and listening to potential and existing clients who have done some comparative shopping.
Since your competitive edge lies in your core capabilities and the ability to apply them effectively in the marketplace, an important part of creating a business plan involves developing an understanding of what the competition is doing, in order to distinguish your value from that of the competitions. It is not sufficient to simply know who your competitors are. You need to develop a sound sense of your competitors' strengths and weaknesses in order to sell into the market more effectively. Frequently, the best way to do this is to solicit feedback from clients about the service they are getting from the competition.
Often what gives you the edge in the marketplace is the very fact that you are portable. Marketing consultant Jim Schwarz, for instance, discovered that his competitive edge results from his ability to forge close relationships with his clients. They value his personal attention to detail, and certainly prefer it to the impersonal handling routinely offered by one of his larger competitors.
Finance
Must develop a traditional financial plan to project income, expense, cash flow, and capital requirements. While your business financial plan will intersect with your personal financial plan, they should be separate and distinct. The business financial plan will vary in complexity and detail depending on the type of employment vehicle you select. The most complex plans are those that involve starting a business or acquiring an existing business, while the least complex are those of who elects to be employed by an organization again. A financial plan must be developed even by those who opt for traditional employment, as all executives need a financial plan to prepare for the changes that will occur in the course of their careers. Marketing executive Kathi Trepper, who began her career in the 1960s at Procter & Gamble, moved through several companies during her career before she was downsized out of TWA and ventured out on her own. Even before that, Trepper saw the necessity of creating a financial plan despite her full time position.
The Reality of Portability
As a portable executive, you are on your own. You and you alone make the choices and decisions that will determine
- Marketing-the process of continuously informing both users and potential users about the nature and application of one's product or service. Success in marketing is measured by the number of leads developed.
- Sales-the function of sales is to negotiate an agreement with the client to buy one's product or service. Success in sales is measured by the number of deals one closes.
The Four Basic Elements of Marketing
All marketing efforts can be distilled to four basic steps, and once understands how each functions, it will help to clarify the confusion that may result as the complexity and nuances of marketing are introduced. In the simplest terms, the four basic elements of marketing are:
- Defining the market for one's product or service.
- Crafting and packaging the message.
- Selecting the vehicle or media for one's message that will most effectively reach one's market.
- Conveying the message consistently over time.
As moves from the generalized transition phase to actual portability, it is important to realize that business planning is not a one time activity, but a core process that reviews, evaluates, and adjusts on an ongoing basis. Depending upon the individual's circumstances and requirements, this process can be as simple as planning a daily schedule, or as complex as comparing one's actual results with monthly benchmarks or creating a formal long term action plan. The specific approach a portable executive takes will be influenced by both personal style and the employment cycle she chooses, but it should be orderly and consistent since the action plan should serve her over time.
