Constructing a Business Development Plan

An essential component of maintaining and growing your company is the development of new business. For construction company owners, what’s the best approach? We have six steps you might want to consider.

1. Set a Goal. What is the ultimate goal you want to achieve? Is it an increase in percent of new business? A certain revenue goal? A steady backlog of work all year long? Determine the end result you wish to achieve. Once you have determined this first crucial step, you can begin to build from there.
2. Determine your Strengths and Weaknesses. Next, it is time for a realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses. What does your company do well? Where have you seen success in the past? On the other side, what have been your shortcomings? Are there areas of your business that have been neglected or need improvement? While none of us like to fail, it is through mistakes that we learn the most. Taking an honest look at both the good points of your business and the ones that need help with will increase your chances of achieving your goal.
3. Assess the Market. While every industry has national trends, the local climate, particularly in construction, is crucial to evaluate. How do your goals fit within the current market? This is a good time to determine if your goal is realistic, or if it needs adjustments to fit the local climate. Don’t be afraid to readjust and look for areas of growth.
4. Determine the Budget. While it is obvious that financial concerns are an important next step in achieving your goals, creating a budget and allocating funds may not be high on your priority list. Will you dedicate a certain amount of revenue? How much can you realistically afford? Once you have decided upon an overall dollar amount, the budget for those dollars should be allocated. Will you need to hire additional people? How much can you dedicate to advertising? If your budget is limited, would outsourcing business development or other needed resources be a better choice? Putting a framework around your finances will assist in staying on budget and not spending more than you wish to.
5. Adding Business Development and Marketing. Marketing should be a key component of business development and not an afterthought. You cannot grow your business without putting it out there. Marketing is the tool to let people know about your business, show them what you can offer, and how you can help them. How can you accomplish this? Of course, there are many ways to market your business. We assist our clients every day in determining the approach that works best for them. Implementing a business development and marketing strategy will increase sales, market presence, and help minimize the cost of new business acquisition.
6. Analyze and Assess. Once you have put your development plan into place, you should take time to assess the program on an ongoing basis. Waiting until you have (or not) achieved the goals you set forth will prevent two things from happening. One, if you have found success in one area, say print advertising, perhaps you need to allocate more budget to that than a blog. Second, if goals are not being achieved, you should have the opportunity to recalibrate during the process and try something different. At the end, you can take a look at the big picture. What worked and didn’t at a high level? How did the market respond?

Business development requires an intentional, strategic plan to find a need in the market you best fit. This will go a long way in the success of your company. However, there are resources available to look at your business objectively. At Construction Representatives Group, we help businesses explore the many ways to grow and achieve their goals.