It’s getting close to the end of the year. Things are probably slowing down (unless you’re in retail) and you might be thinking about your personal New Year’s resolutions.

It’s also a great time to think about the goals for your Business, and to do some year-end planning and housekeeping, so that you can start the New Year off with a bang.

But, where should you start?

To make it easier, I’ve broken your business down to five key focus areas. You may find that certain areas of your business are in pretty good shape. And you may find that other areas will require significantly more time to analyze and strategize on.

Revenue generation is the engine of your business, so let’s start there.

Revenue

Where is your revenue coming from? What products or services are the most profitable?

One of the issues with small Business Owners is that they may have their favorite products or services – the ones that they enjoy delivering, give more ego gratification, etc. – but these aren’t necessarily the ones that are most profitable for the business.

Consider your best-selling product or service. Is it the most profitable when you take into account all of the expenses involved to create and deliver it? If not, what is your most profitable product or service? Spend some time thinking about how you can sell more of that next year.

Alignment and Efficiencies

Are you doing the right things to grow your business? Are there certain things that you should do more of? Are there tasks that you should stop doing, so that you can be more efficient?

In the beginning, we feel that we need to do everything ourselves. The key to having some kind of balance in our lives – or to scaling a business – is to delegate low-impact activities to others.

Do you spend a ton of time saying the same things in emails and scheduling appointments? Maybe you need to hire a virtual assistant.

Struggling to write your blog posts and newsletter? Maybe you should hire a freelance writer to help you.

Are you completely overwhelmed by paper and months (or years!) behind in filing things? A personal organizer might be a great investment.

The key here is to ensure that you have the time that you need to concentrate on the high-impact activities – the ones that only you can do.

Technology

Are you leveraging the right software to track and grow your business? Do you have a way to capture your receipts electronically?

I have written before on the importance of making it easy for your clients to pay you – even if you personally have a preferred form of payment.

Are you missing out on opportunities by not accepting mobile payments? These days, your business can benefit by accepting secure payments online, via an app, and in person. You might want to check out MasterCard’s Simplify Commerce solution as part of your year-end technology audit as a way to streamline your payment systems and make that area of your business more efficient.

Marketing and Selling

Are you consistent with your marketing? Marketing supports the sales process. Marketing generates awareness of your business and its benefits. It doesn’t generate sales.

How are you currently marketing your business? Are you getting in front of your ideal prospects? What could you be doing better or differently to cast a wider net?

Given the noise in the world today, it is incredibly difficult to get someone to pay attention to your message AND you will need to send that message out many more times than you think.

It used to be that people needed to hear your message seven times before they purchased something. Now, I’m seeing statistics of 30 or more times.

Is your sales process working – or could it be improved? Have you mapped out your sales process? What is the decision cycle that your ideal clients go through? Are you giving them the information that they need to make a decision? Are you following up with them in a timely manner?

I see a lot of small business owners failing to follow up enough to get the business. It can take people a long time to make up their minds. You need to stay top of mind and, respectfully, follow up periodically until you book the business or get a no.

Everyone is busy, so don’t assume that their answer is no if you haven’t been explicitly told that. Small business owners leave so much money on the table when they assume that no news is bad news

Financials

Do you have an online bookkeeping program? Have you entered all of your data for this year?

Are you one – or many – months behind? If you are (and many of you probably are), now is the perfect time to block out non-negotiable time on your calendar and catch up.

You also may want to consider what types of expenditures you will have in the upcoming year. Do you have money in reserve for these expenses? Do you need to apply for a line of credit? Unexpected surprises will come, but try to mitigate the ones that you can plan for.

There are many components to a successful business. Above are some of the key ones. Taking the time to do some detailed planning will position you for a strong start in the New Year.

Here’s hoping 2017 is a great and successful year for you—and your business!

The post Top 5 Areas to Target for Year-End Planning appeared first on MasterCard Biz.