Already those of you working on business plans are deep into 2019. It’s time to get moving. Every reader of my travel marketing column knows I think written business plans are important. Organization is essential. Clarity of expression and correctly assessing markets are requirements. But not a one of these is worth anything without ACTION. Along with every Marketing Plan (what to do) you need to write an Action Plan (how and when). Too many times we over-plan and over-perfect and in the process lose valuable opportunities to others who are quicker to act. It’s time to take another look at our marketing calendar.
Advice like this can be easily misunderstood. Certain essentials have to be in place prior to marketing. Don’t throw out your business plans and your careful research. But also do not let those things become excuses for not moving quickly and decisively. In fact, one of the key failings of many businesses is to believe they are executing a plan simply because they have one. It is not enough to have a plan: you must act on it.
The best way of implementing your action plan is to make your Marketing Calendar the key component. Force the plan into reality by setting deadlines. If during planning you have to re-calendar once, do it reluctantly. If you have to do it twice, get serious – refuse to re-calendar a third time. Do not let the process of planning defeat your plans.
Many travel professionals have problems turning their intentions into action. One of the best preliminary exercises for getting underway with an action plan is to identify those things that stop you from accomplishing the tasks at hand. What in your daily routine wastes time, frustrates you, prevents you from implementing your plans? Are there too many distractions? Is your work area not optimal? Are you unsure of how to begin to plan? Are you afraid to write an article or speak in public? Any one of these things, plus many more, can act to inhibit your more energetic, creative side from taking charge.
The prescription is to meet these issues head-on. Make a list of reasons why you are not accomplishing everything you set out to do. Watch out for a natural tendency to misidentify problems – not knowing how to write a press release is not the same as not having enough time to write one. Be tough on yourself and identify your excuses – all of them. Make a list of “Things that Stop Me” and be brutally honest.
For each item you identify as a problem, write a short solution. Workspace clutter? Read a good article on organization and put it into action. Not enough time in the day? Identify distractions and time-wasters and eliminate them. Turn to a community of agents either online or in your own office, to help identify common obstacles to professional growth. You will find you have a lot in common with your peers. But the step immediately after identification of a problem is to act to eliminate the problem.
The process of identifying the issues that distract you from accomplishing your goals can be painful, particularly if you are honest. You may even meet a few inner demons that want to run the show. Banish them by giving them a name and finding a solution. Act decisively, act intelligently, but for goodness sake ACT! Or don’t. It will be up to no one but yourself. In the final analysis, it is as simple, and difficult, as that.
Exercise: Make a list of “Things that Stop Me” and set out a plan for ridding yourself of these issues.
Now, take the tactics that you have decided to use this year and organize them. If you are going to advertise, choose your venues and begin to work your individual efforts into a calendar. Set out tentative dates for public speaking and articles. Calendar your objectives and goals. Commit yourself to your plan by memorializing it in writing.
