Why you should get external help with your business strategy

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Why you should get external help with your business strategy

The concept of business strategy can seem overwhelming for many small-to-medium (SME) businesses because it conjures up images of days or weeks spent away from the day-to-day running of the business, massive folders of information and a big bill to work with outsourced consultants.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, it shouldn’t be this way.

Working with the right people can help you identify your goals, figure out what you need to do to reach them and check in on your progress.

Simple.

But it can only be this straightforward if you work with the right people and you may not always have the perfect skills set internally. That’s ok, because often you don’t need that skill set on a day-to-day basis.

An outsourced business strategy consultant provides you with an external perspective, has specific experience in strategy development, identify risks and imparts knowledge on you and your team.

The benefits of using a skilled consultant is that you end up with a business strategy that will help you maximise your profits, provide you with a clear-cut document for your lenders, as well as give you some piece of mind that your business is heading in the right direction.

If you have little or no experience in building, you wouldn’t build your office space, so it makes sense that if you have little or no experience in business strategy and planning that you would work with someone who does.

For example, as part of your business strategy plan do you have the below?

  • An emergency management and disaster recovery plan
  • A clearly defined succession plan
  • A documented marketing plan

Once you realise that you should obtain outside assistance for business strategy the first step is to do your research. Do you have a company that has come recommended? Or can demonstrate success for other clients? Check out their website – do they have a news or blog section that they update regularly? Do they provide a wide range of strategy and planning services? Do they provide examples of success stories?

Once you starting working with a business strategy consultant the first thing that will happen is a bit of research into your company, historical data etc as well as a discussion around you plans for the future.

From there some specific and measurable goals will be developed.

The next step will be to determine how you are going to reach those goals. What people need to be involved? What will the costs be? What is the timeframe for completion?

And finally there will be a firm plan for measurement and a timeline for review.

This last step is vital because it helps keep you on track. It’s also a great way to feel a sense of accomplishment when you realise that all your hard work has resulted in a tangible outcome!

Business strategy and planning doesn’t have to be time-consuming and expensive. It should be focused, time-efficient and undertaken using the right people for the job.

It really can be that simple.

If you’d like to know more about taking action regarding your business strategy, please get in touch.