Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

by Gino Wickman

An entrepreneur slips and falls off the edge of a cliff. On his way down, he manages to grab onto the end of a vine. He’s hanging there, a thousand feet from the top and a thousand feet from the bottom. His situation seems hopeless, so he looks up to the clouds, and decides, for the first time, to pray. “Is anybody up there?” he asks. After a long silence, a deep voice bellows down from the clouds: “Do you believe?” “Yes,” replies the entrepreneur. “Then let go of the vine,” says the voice. The entrepreneur pauses for a second, looks up again, and finally responds, “Is there anybody else up there?”

Long-term predicting is the forecast of everything 90 days and beyond. To do so, your leadership team has to know where the organization is going and how you expect to get there. You do this by starting with the far future and working your way back. What is your 10-year target? What is your three-year picture? Your one-year plan? What do you have to accomplish in the next 90 days in order to be on track?

Clarify your vision and you will make better decisions about people, processes, finances, strategies, and customers.

What are your core values? 2. What is your core focus? 3. What is your 10-year target? 4. What is your marketing strategy? 5. What is your three-year picture? 6. What is your one-year plan? 7. What are your quarterly Rocks? 8. What are your issues?

Make sure to bullet-point three to five supporting examples under each.

Asphalt Specialists, Inc. (ASI) Passion: Winning Niche: Quality asphalt paving ZenaComp Passion: Creating efficient solutions Niche: Worry-free technology that protects & grows our clients’ business

What is your 10-year target? Where do you want your organization to be a decade from now?

Marketing strategy is made up of four elements, which are contained in the fourth section of the V/TO: 1. Your Target Market/“The List” 2. Your Three Uniques 3. Your Proven Process 4. Your Guarantee

“The List.” Identifying your target market involves defining your ideal customers. Who are they? Where are they? What are they? You need to know their demographic, geographic, and psychographic characteristics. By identifying your target market, you create a filter.

List everything that you believe makes your people, company, product, or service. What do your ideal customers think is unique about you?

If you cannot come up with a name, simply call it “Our Proven Process” or “The (your company name) Difference,” as many EOS clients do.

Process flow

How to Select Your Guarantee Brainstorm with your leadership team and list what you believe to be the biggest frustrations, fears, and worries for your potential customer when doing business with you. The ideal guarantee is backed up by a tangible penalty if you don’t deliver on

Go after all of the prospects on The List, communicating with them why you’re unique, showing them your proven process for doing business, and offering them your guarantee.

WHAT IS YOUR ONE-YEAR PLAN?

WHAT ARE YOUR ISSUES? The eighth and final section in the V/TO is the Issues List.