A plan is only as good as its execution. Today on the podcast, I am sharing how I plan my week to manage daily tasks while fitting in time to work on my bigger goals for the year.
If you have been listening along, we have arrived at the final phase of our goal-setting journey. We chunked down our audacious goals into easily digestible action steps. Now is the time to map out these action steps month-by-month and week-by-week.
Client Value Journey and Goal Milestones
No matter what your big goals are for the year, it is helpful to start each month with a general overview that touches on the consistent marketing practices you (should) already have in place. If you haven't already, now is the time to map out your Client Value Journey (CVJ). A CVJ is the marketing strategy you use to convert new, cold audiences into raving fans. If you don't have a system in place to execute your CVJ, I suggest adding this as a goal for the year.
Start by asking yourself the following questions:
What are the important dates this month?
What are the core offerings I am selling?
What ATTRACT marketing am I doing?
What ENGAGE marketing am I doing?
What NURTURE marketing am I doing?
What GOAL MILESTONES must I complete this month?
I like to create a template inside Trello, my project management tool, that reminds me to pay attention to these topics each month. I suggest you do the same in your project management tool. Then, to the best of your ability, answer all six questions for every month of the year in advance. This practice guarantees that those core processes are covered while you attack your additional goal action steps.
12 Month Plan
Next, we focus on the goal milestones. Look at the action steps brainstorm we did in Part 2 of this goal-setting series. Narrow in on the few tasks that are most important and plug them into your year. Evenly space out the action steps over all the twelve months. Don't try to cram everything into Q1. Doing this will leave you feeling burnt out and defeated. Start slow and budget your time conservatively. You will gain confidence as you see progress and start gaining traction on your goals.
Weekly Plan
Since we work on much more than our goals throughout the week, it is helpful to schedule time in your calendar to work on your goal action steps. As business owners, we wear many hats. It is easy to get distracted. To combat wasting time putting out fires or getting caught in the weeds, you can create a model calendar. Set aside time to do the necessary but tedious business tasks- such as answering emails or customer service. Scheduling and limiting the time you spend on "lower-level" work will free you up to focus on higher-level projects that move the needle forward.
Choose Top 3
Don't load more than three major "to-dos" into your workweek. We tend to overload ourselves and get discouraged when we find it impossible to tick everything off our list. Be intentional about what you spend your time on. Understand the resources and limitations you may have. Start slow.
Need help planning the year? I'm holding a virtual LIVE goal planning session on Tuesday, January 26th, at 10 am. Together, we will be planning your growth marketing program for 2021. You can check out the details and RSVP here. Hope to see you there!
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Need help creating your 2021 marketing plan? Let's talk. I am a Marketing Growth Strategist and virtual CMO. I create and manage sales-focused marketing strategies. Let's schedule your free 30 min discovery call where I'll share tangible, tactical advice on how you can create or improve your marketing plan. Book Now.