November 3, 2009

Okay, so your budget is submitted! Woo hoo! I'm sure it's not approved yet, but you're done. Or are you? Chances are you backed into a number that corporate told you, "We have to hit." And because you want to keep your job, you enthusiastically said, "We can do that." Then you left the budget meeting asking yourself and your team, "How the hell are we going to do that?"

But now it's your number. You own it. Now go figure it out. Break it down into pieces.

How many of your annuals are realistically returning? What's going away? Whatever you put down for national, take it down five more points and figure out how to make it up. Is your NTR calendar done for all of 2010? If not, do it. Then package and start selling it, NOW. NTR takes longer. What about digital? And local direct?

And your top AEs upselling good clients? Go sit in for once on a one-on-one with your AEs and ask questions that you need to know the answers to. Admit it: When's the last time you sat in on an AE one-on-one? Make sure you have a Q1 plan because if you don't hit Q1, you're gonna have a tough year. What about genuine new business initiatives and development? Break it down. All the way down. And, hopefully it will add back up. Good luck!