Planning Produces Profits

Snuggle up to the computer, Constant Reader.

Your ‘Ol Uncle Ray is about to give you something that will put money in your pocket. It's a wee bit of advice. And it's worth listening to.

For many entrepreneurs, the only thing standing between then and a 20% to 30% increase in profits is a little bit of planning.

I’m going to help you close that gap in your own business right now.

You do need a couple of specialized tools to do this planning, and you need some specific knowledge about how to use those tools. I'm going to give you both in this article.

Ready? Good.

First, here are the tools you're going to need:

  • The calendar used to plan your life.
  • A legal pad and pen.
  • About 30 minutes.
  • Your brain.

Yes, those are all the tools you need.

And I’m going to assume you have products or services that you are already selling. I'm further going to assume that you probably have products or services that you could sell but are currently not selling; you've forgotten about them, gotten bored with them, or feel the need some kind of updating.

Doesn't matter.

To perform this exercise all you need to do is answer (on paper, using your legal pad and pen) the following questions. Answer them as much detail as possible.

1. How much money would you like to make?

2. What products do you have that you can sell, or you could sell with just a little bit of work and preparation?

3. How much does a single unit of your chosen product cost the consumer?

4. How many units would you have to sell to hit your monetary target in item number one above?

Now take a look at your calendar and ask yourself the following question: how many promotions (whether it be via e-mail, telephone, direct mail, whatever) would you have to do in order to sell the number of units you just came up with? For example:

  • Let's assume you sell a consulting service that costs $5000.
  • Let's also assume that you decided in question number one that you'd like to make an extra $50,000.
  • That means you to sell 10 consulting packages. Stick with me…

Now let's make another assumption: you know that every time you do a promotion for this particular consulting service you can expect to sell two units.

You now have enough information that should be obvious that you need to do five promotions in order to make your extra $50,000 (5 promotions, with 2 sales each, at $5,000 each sales = 10 sales and $50,000).

The next step is simple and should be obvious…

Schedule those promotions! Just put them on your calendar right now. Write them in ink (because the palest eight is better than the strongest memory or best intentions).

By taking this simple step, walking through this easy little “elementary” exercise, you have instantly elevated yourself into the top 5% of entrepreneurs. Because the sad fact is most entrepreneurs don't do even this kind of rudimentary planning.

Remember this: income is not an accident.

It happens because someone planned for it.

Have you planned for the income you hope to make during the next six months? If not, you could do worse than to perform the exercise I've described in this article.

Ray Edwards is a world-renowned copywriter and communications strategist, writing for some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business including New York Times bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Tony Robbins. Ray is a sought-after speaker and author, hosts a popular weekly podcast, and blogs at RayEdwards.com.