A better 2016

As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to reflect and plan for the next year. One way of doing this is to create a budget.

There are different approaches to budgeting – here’s one that you can use based on Profit First principle. Normally, you start with sales take off costs and you’re left with profit.

When you put profit first and add costs you know what sales you need to hit. Once you know this you can create a sales plan to do this using:

• Number of customers
• Price
• Quantity
• Frequency of purchase

For example, if you are a hairdresser you could look at ways of:

• Winning new customers
• Charging higher prices
• Encouraging customers to buy more
• Getting people to come back earlier

Each strategy can be broken down an analysed. For example, winning new customers could be done by encouraging referrals. Charging higher prices can be done by creating premium experiences. Sales training can help sell more and rebook quicker.

Start with profit and give yourself some sales and marketing targets and you may find your 2016 results will be better than 2015.