Refresh Your
Business Story Grow
Together
Your business plan offers an exciting and unique platform to tell
your company's story. By rewriting your business plan, you are
able to address developments and highlight recent innovations. Sales partnerships offer
strategy with a twist by using
relationships to advance
innovation and growth.
New business plans aren’t just for new businesses. Established companies can
benefit from the opportunity to contemplate past successes (and failures) and
focus attention on the future. If your company has reached one of these mile-
stones, it might be time to think about rejuvenating your business plan.
THE CALENDAR. Some businesses make it a habit to update their
plans on a regular basis—quarterly, annually, or every five years. This is a
great method for orienting your business toward innovation.
Î Î
CHECK
A PUSH. Are you looking for a new round of financing? Has a
new competitor come on the scene and threatened your market share?
Have you seen your clients’ wants and needs shift suddenly or over time?
If so, it’s likely time to reevaluate your plan.
Î Î
FEELING
OFF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS. Have you invented new tech-
nology? Hired new senior managers? Made a foray into international
markets? Reached a nice round number—$10 million in sales, 100
employees on staff—for the first time? Highlight your successes and
chart a path for the future.
Î Î
SHOW
HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: It’s easier
to edit an existing business plan than to
create a brand new document. Most of
your initial research, spreadsheets, and
data are still usable—so you can tweak
your message for what’s next.
When looking to drive growth,
the instinct is to look inward—to
the sales team. After all, these are
the highly skilled individuals who
have been tasked with promoting
your products and closing deals. If
that’s your entire growth strategy,
however, you could be missing
out. For a truly cutting-edge plan,
consider partnering up.
How Partners Can Help
Identify Opportunities
When evaluating other businesses
for potential partnerships, look for
ones that have similar missions to
yours. Joining forces with a company
that sells complementary products
or services (e.g. their software, which
runs on your hardware) can boost
your exposure to your market.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
If you’ve partnered with a business
that does what they do best, you
can devote your energy to doing
what you do best. This specializa-
tion can provide your team with the
time and mental bandwidth they
need to develop the next great idea.
Share with Confidence
By providing training to your part-
ners’ employees—and welcoming
their training for yours—the partner-
ship will be stronger and more open.
When your team is exposed to how
similar corporations operate, expect
new innovations to follow.
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