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The 6-P Rule: Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. I can’t remember if I first heard that one from my dad who is retired Air Force or my late cycling buddy, T.A., who was a Marine. Either way, it stuck to my ribs. I’ve tested this rule in many ways and many times over the last 40 plus years, and the rule always wins. First in school, then in sports, business, and even in family life of being a husband and a father. No matter how many times I show up for a situation in life unprepared, I always lose. 

Nowadays I’m pretty seasoned in the art of, “If you’re gonna be dumb, you’d better be tough,” and it feels good to already have a plan in place for 2017 and beyond. In fact, here at Powersports Marketing we’ve taken our planning well into the future. With the help from a great book called Traction by Gino Wickman, my leadership team and I have created a big picture vision by setting a 10-year goal based on realistic sales history and previous year-over-year growth. Then, using the same math, we rolled it back and painted the picture for where we should be in 3 years. We then rolled it back again to a 1-year goal, and now we live in a 90-day, quarterly, goal world.  We’ve also factored in our existing company core values, created a core purpose, and have very specific marketing strategy. 

What’s exciting is that if we execute our marketing strategy the growth will come. It’s a Predictable Formula.  In fact, it’s the same principle based growth formula we teach our dealer clients in boot camps and online presentations. 

The 90-day world we’re living in right now is focused on three of the biggest holidays and marketing opportunities of the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Or Hallow-Thanks-Mas as we like to call it. 

When we execute our 90-day Hallow-Thanks-Mas plan, here is what the Predictable Growth Formula looks like in action. 

Annual increase in customer list size + annual increase in customer value (or the same) = Annual Growth. Simple math. 

The two fundamentals behind the Predictable Growth Formula are:

1. Generating new leads. (Growing New Customers)

2. Increasing the value of existing customers/ reactivating lost customers. (Increasing Retention)

The objective of the Predictable Growth Formula is to experience growth year after year, despite elections, weather, the stock market, etc. 

Too often business owners mistake having an “up year” with growing. There is a HUGE difference. Most businesses are market driven, meaning their results vary based on the ebb and flow of the economy. Businesses who execute the two previous mentioned fundamentals experience Predictable Growth and are marketing driven. They’re not sitting around waiting for the market to come to them. 

But to accomplish Predictable Growth in this very important last quarter of 2016 you must first embrace the 6-P Rule. With no plan, you’re just another reactive dealer sitting around waiting on the door to swing. 

Let’s dive a little deeper into the difference between a Market driven dealer versus a Marketing driven dealer.  

A Market driven dealer is oblivious to its number one asset. It’s customer list. A Market driven dealer doesn’t invest in and train its staff, nor does he have a Q4 and beyond marketing plan to take advantage of the massive holiday spending that is about to go down. A Market driven dealer isn’t aware that Amazon and his competitor down the road are all fighting for a piece of that holiday spending as well. A Market driven dealer will react, and whatever the outcome of his holiday sales are come January 2017, he will blame the good or the bad on the outcome of the election. 

A Marketing driven dealer understands that his customer list is his number one asset (what I often refer to as “The Number One Asset Your Accountant Forgot to Tell You About”). A Marketing driven dealer trains his staff on how and why capturing accurate data on his customers is of the utmost importance. A Marketing driven dealer has a pro-active plan and is doing an integrated, lead generating, marketing plan for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and will finish the year strong come hell or high water.  

Ultimately, continual growth is achieved by executing the 6-P Rule, and now is the time to take action. If you’re reading this right now, then you understand we’re practicing what we preach because this newsletter is part of the plan.  

Pick up the phone right now and call us to get your Hallow-Thanks-Mas campaigns on the books, so you can finish strong regardless of Trump or Hillary and learn more about how the Predictable Growth formula can help you in 2017 and beyond! 877-242-4472.