181: From Strategy to Execution: Implementing Your 90-Day Plan for Maximum Impact with Host Kendra Corman

In this episode of the Imperfect Marketing podcast, host Kendra Corman delves into the crucial aspect of executing 90-day marketing plans effectively. She shares insights on overcoming common challenges and offers strategies for ensuring that your ambitious marketing strategies are successfully put into action.

Key Points Covered in This Episode:

Strategies for Troubleshooting and Optimization: Kendra advises on learning from failures, realigning efforts towards successful initiatives, and staying on top of key metrics to optimize high-performing components of your marketing plan.

Managing Distractions and Organization: The importance of using project management tools and scheduling focused work sessions is highlighted to minimize distractions and maintain organization. Kendra personally recommends Asana for task organization and Pomodoros for managing focus and productivity.

Building Resilience Against Setbacks: Kendra emphasizes the importance of celebrating small wins and building contingency plans to mitigate unforeseen setbacks. She suggests allocating buffer times in weekly schedules for unexpected occurrences.

By implementing these strategies, Kendra assures listeners that they can navigate the complexities of executing a comprehensive 90-day marketing plan. The episode aims to provide listeners with practical tips for turning their strategic visions into tangible results.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:28

Welcome back to another episode of the Imperfect Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, kendra Corman. We've talked a lot recently about designing and building 90-day marketing plans to maintain or create momentum for your business. Today, I want to focus on effective execution. It's actually all about implementing those ambitious strategies that you set at the beginning of the year. I'm also going to be sharing some of the common pitfalls that disrupt a smooth rollout and my advice for seamless systems that are going to help you organize multiple initiatives that are happening in parallel. Ready to make this quarter count? Let's do this so we all have amazing ideas and growth plans for our businesses.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Every year, we always start with some stretch goals hopefully right. But accidentally executing on all cylinders across multiple priorities simultaneously can be tough, right, I mean, there's only so many hours in the day and it's easy to get derailed by distractions, overwhelmed by administrative work or discouraged when new strategies just don't work out like you thought they would. So today I want to talk about troubleshooting and optimization so that you can course correct quickly when things veer off track a little bit this quarter. First, know that some initiatives are going to flop or fizzle. New lead magnets might fail to convert subscribers. You could have an event with lackluster turnout. Campaigns could potentially miss the mark. Do not beat yourself up. I want you to learn and reallocate that effort towards what's really demonstrating traction. It's okay to try things out, abandon them and focus on what actually is working. Here's where it's important to stay on top of metrics so that you can optimize poor-for-performing pieces right while doubling down on the bright spots month to month. I want you to identify what some of your key performance indicators are on a dashboard so you can see these insights regularly and operationally. Give as much busy work as possible to systems, templates, automation, so that your mental real estate can focus solely on these high-level strategy and creative oversight.

Speaker 1: 2:55

And for those of us who are solopreneurs, I get it. There's not a lot that we can offload, but there's always contractors, there's always opportunity. Figure out where you're going to make more time and be able to get more done. And then I want you to schedule blocks for intentional thinking time. I know it sounds crazy, but that way you can make sure that you are doing what you need to do to keep focused. And then you have to motivate yourself right Through this marathon that we call business growth. You want to track microins daily and celebrate small milestones consistently. So every time you do something, even if it's just getting it done, not even launched, that's okay. Celebrate each win and reward yourself. Consistency plus optimism is definitely key as we continue to try and grow our businesses to the best of our abilities. So let's cover five potential pitfalls and troubleshooting tips when executing your quarterly plan.

Speaker 1: 4:03

Number one, one of my favorites lack of organization. You need to use some project management tools. Here you can organize initiatives, delegate tasks and monitor deadlines. Weekly planning sessions also help prioritize and calibrate your efforts. I personally use Asana. It's a free tool. I have the paid version, but that's for my clients so that they can fill out forms, and I have workflows et cetera, but otherwise, if you don't need workflows, it's free. You shouldn't need a plan, and I love it to keep everything organized and to know what's next and what I need to work towards to actually achieve my goals.

Speaker 1: 4:47

Number two is distractions. Those are a big one. You need to block time on your calendar to work on your business, not just in it, because there's always distractions and interruptions. You need to do that Now. If you're like me and sometimes have trouble focusing, I use Pomodoro's, which is a time management or productivity tool and it helps me push through it all. If you don't know what a Pomodoro is, be sure to check out the link in the podcast notes on the episode that I did on them, but overall they're really doing 25 minutes of work getting a task done, turning off all interruptions and distractions and then taking a five minute break. That's what it all comes down to.

Speaker 1: 5:36

Number three on the troubleshooting task list here is unreliable systems. I want you to take a look at your processes that consistently break down Whether you have tech issues, then I want you to document and standardize your systems so that your team can replicate the success. I have SOPs or standard operating procedures that include how long the task should take, step-by-step instructions that include an AI voice, if applicable, or any other instructions that will allow me to seamlessly hand something off to an employee, contractor or client. Use. Standard operating Procedures are key to me running my business effectively and efficiently.

Speaker 1: 6:21

Number four is discouragement, because if we're not hitting our goals, it can be really easy to get discouraged. So, again, track your micro-wins and milestones, celebrate small progress, often for positive reinforcement as you course correct. Something doesn't work, that's okay. You try to celebrate trying it, identifying that it wasn't working and knowing enough to move on Again. There's always a celebration that can be found.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Number five is unforeseen setbacks. Oh my goodness, these happen all the time. Right, you want to build contingency budgets for resources and time so that minor disruptions don't derail your entire initiative. Plan flex time every week for the unexpected. I like to think about this one as an emergency fund, right? They always say if you should have a certain amount of money set aside in an emergency fund should anything happen to you, so that you don't go bankrupt. Well, this way, if you have time and resources set aside, if the unexpected happens, you have time set aside to fix it or deal with it.

Speaker 1: 7:31

For me, I don't have any recurring meanings on Mondays or Fridays. That is my buffer time to allow for unexpected things that happen, I would say, almost every week. Right, you're essentially baking solutions into all of these potential pitfalls that are going to stop you from achieving your goals and achieving the tasks that are going to allow you to achieve those goals. Right, then I want you to implement pre-emptive troubleshooting processes for smooth execution. In the end, business launches and sales happen successfully when strategy meets consistent execution. So refine your ability to implement quarter after quarter, and exponential rewards are going to be headed your way. So we've just covered everything from systems to mindset for executing your ambitious quarterly game plan. Thank you so much for tuning in. Have a great rest of your day.