Financial Plan Assignments

by | May 9, 2023

There are three key exercises that must be completed in order to effectively contribute to the compilation of your Financial Plan. Please see the attached assignment and complete it prior our next course on Monday, May 15th, 2023 course at 5:30 PM.

MS Excel or a comparable spreadsheet application is needed to complete these exercises. If you already have this information on hand (i.e. QuickBooks, etc.), then the assignment should be pretty straight forward. The goal is to make sure that you have this information on hand so that you can easily populate your Financial Plan within LivePlan.

Other key resources that may be helpful to assist you with building your Financial Plan and Statements within LivePlan can be found below.

Write Your Sales Plan

by | May 9, 2023

Write your Sales Plan and update this section within your LivePlan business plan.

Explain how you plan to sell your products or services. You do not need to cover marketing activities here — that is, how you are going to attract potential customers. Focus instead on how you will turn those prospects who express interest — the people who visit your store, who sign up for your newsletter, who ask for an estimate — into paying customers. Be sure to include payment methods you accept and any order tracking tools you are using.

How will you nurture leads to get them ready to close?

What kind of staffing do you need?

Do you have a commission structure? Sales territories? Quotas? 

Describe any key sales activities that you will use to build and maintain your sales pipeline, such as prospecting calls and emails, networking events, trade associations, existing customer followup, thought leadership, referrals, and more.

Write Your Marketing Plan

by | May 9, 2023

Describe the major components of your marketing plan and complete the Marketing Plan section of your LivePlan business plan.

  • What kind of marketing activities will you use to attract customers?
  • Do you plan to invest in signage, physical or digital advertising, email newsletters, search engine optimization, social media outreach, TV or radio commercials?
  • Have you developed a logo and branding?
  • Choose the activities you think are right for your business, and make sure the related expenses are included in your forecast.

If you plan on advertising, talk about your messaging. What is the unique value proposition or selling point — your pitch — that you expect to resonate with potential customers? Talk about how that pitch positions you relative to your competitors. Are you the no-frills, low-cost option for budget-conscious shoppers? Or a premium product that is superior to the others in a key way? Or are you differentiating yourself in another way — being faster, more convenient, better for the environment, locally sourced? Make sure this is aligned with the competitive advantages that you described in the Competition section.

Describe your distribution and pricing plans.

How will your customers buy your products or services?

Will they pay you directly, either in your store or out in the field?

Will they buy what they want on your website? Or through other retailers, distributors, or resellers?

Are your customers the people actually using your products or services, or are you selling to other companies who are incorporating your solution into their own?

What will your customers pay, and will those payments be one-time purchases or an ongoing arrangement?

If you need to add additional topics to this section, feel free to do so. 

Identify Your Competitors

by | May 9, 2023

Identify your competition by listing companies that are delivering services that are similar to your own. Are there other companies solving the same or similar problems? 

    • Current alternatives
      • Describe the competitive landscape for your products or services. How many competitors do you have?
      • Do you have direct competitors — that is, other vendors who provide the same sort of solution to the customer’s problem that you do?
      • If so, describe who they are, what they offer, and why customers might choose them.

    • Our advantages
      • Identify your key advantages over the other competitors and alternatives in your market.
      • Do you have the lowest price in a market where all of the solutions are basically the same? If not, why should customers choose your solution?
      • Is it better somehow — easier, faster, better tasting, longer lasting, more conveniently located, backed by better customer service?
      • Why is your company different? What makes your company stand out?
      • Have you tapped into a new or unique niche (a specialized  market segment providing a product or service)?

Compile Your Target Market

by | May 9, 2023

Compile your Target Market and update this section in your LivePlan business plan. Answer the following questions and feel free to provide additional information you might have already compiled that is not listed below.

    • Describe your target market.
    • Who is your ideal customer?
    • Who are the people or companies who suffer from the problem that you are solving?
    • How do they break down into segments — that is, recognizable customer types with similar demographics, needs, and expectations?
    • How many potential customers does your research suggest there are in each segment?