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Business Planning Webinar Series STEP 2: Identify your agency’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

The materials presented during the webinar are for informational purposes only. They are not offered as and do not constitute an offer for a loan, professional or legal advice or legal opinion and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining professional or legal advice. Oak Street does not endorse any comments made by the speaker. All statements and viewpoints expressed in the comments are strictly those of the speaker alone, and do not constitute an official position of Oak Street.

Speaker: Sarah Turner Principal Consultant |The Faurote Group

• 18 years of experience as a professional trainer, consultant, and executive coach, including 5 years in insurance industry

• Specialties include customized training for developing strong leaders, personalized coaching, as well as customized support for corporate initiatives, such as strategic planning, to maximize success

• Strong business background in public accounting and years in Corporate Talent Development

• Primary focus of The Faurote Group centers around capitalizing an organization’s most precious resource – its people to drive results

Tip #1: Rule of planning

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

- Alan Lakein

Step 1: Discover what makes successful agencies

Covered the importance of being aware of how you stack up in the following areas compared to national averages and competitors:

• Finances

• Marketing

• People

• Processes

Step 2: Completing a SWOT Analysis

Assessment Questions: 1. Do you ‘plan’?

2. If so, how often? Do you cancel or push back?

More than once?

“Good is the enemy of Great.” - Jim Collins, Good to Great

Tip #2: invite the right people

Tip #3: provide the right pre-work activities

Step 2: Completing a SWOT Analysis Assessment Questions: 1. Do you ‘plan’? 2. If so, how often? Do you cancel or push back? More than once? 3. Who do you involve? How do you determine who should be

included in the discussions? 4. What’s your prep? Do you have pre-discussion exercises from

those who are invited to join the discussion?

Pre-work suggestions • Each department prepare a list of Top 5 accomplishments for the

year as well as goals/strategic projects planned for next year

• Complete a SWOT analysis in advance. Keys include: Provide a pre-populated worksheet with the definition of each category (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Include a list of prior year results, if available, as a starting point Have someone collect the information in advance and consolidate the results, eliminating duplicates

Tip #4: Hold the session early enough to give proper time for projects to be created around the strategic actions resulting from the SWOT discuss

Strengths Internal characteristics that give the agency an advantage

Weaknesses Internal characteristics that place the agency at a

disadvantage

Opportunities External chances to grow the agency (sales and profits)

Threats External elements that could negatively impact the agency

Top Drivers for Successful SWOT discussion 1. Strategic Planning History

2. Culture

3. Level of Trust

4. Meeting facilitation

Tip #5: Manage the dialogue to maximize input from the team

Open Dialogue Set the tone Determine Ground Rules Show appreciation for input Seek varying points of view Hold the team accountable

“Think you can or think you can’t, either way, you’ll be right.” - Henry Ford

Strengths (internal) Definition: advantage, asset, forte, talent, specialty Keep in mind…it should include things that set you apart from your competition based on the value they produce internally. Examples include: Unique Technology Specialized knowledge Customer Retention Strategy

Tip #6: caution from allowing average items to make the list or overgeneralizing…put it to the test. Do other competitors have similar strengths…is it really a differentiator?...i.e. brand).

Weaknesses (internal) Definition: fault, flaw, deficiency, failing, shortcoming These are things that hinder your performance compared to your competitors. Examples: Concentration risk (large client commissions) Lack of product offerings Lack of process (or adherence to process)

Keep an eye on your biases If you find yourself justifying why something is not a weakness, be aware your bias may be getting in the way of ‘real’ discussions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-oA7m_bg_Q

Tip #7: Some strengths could also be a weakness (i.e. seasoned employees may also represent a future gap in staff due to pending retirement).

A defined list of things you plan to eliminate from your daily activities and/or strategic plan. Great example: Walgreens • Started in 1901 by Charles R. Walgreen • Had 25 stores by 1925 with soda fountains • 1939 had 500 stores and $69 M in sales • During the helm of Charles III ‘Cork’, they experienced 23 straight years of record sales • Records were, in large part, due to their planned exit in the late ‘70’s from the

restaurant business to expand and focus on convenience in pharmacy and department store products.

Tip #8: Create a Stop-Doing List

Opportunities (external) Definition: favorable time, chance, opening, turn, go These are external places where the agency could either continue to flourish or make an entry for a positive result. Examples: Carrier relationships Association involvement Customer loyalty programs

Threats (external) Definition: warning, ultimatum, potential damage These are external forces representing possible harm to the agency. Examples: Carrier production requirements Potential regulation impacting the industry Change in the economic environment

Finalizing your SWOT Whittle the list down to the top 4-5 priorities in

each category. Assign priorities to proper team members Begin the process of setting goals using a project

management approach to ensuring they get accomplished

Tip #9: Avoid focusing all your time on ‘negative.’Be sure to weight your time in the areas you excel.

”You grow most in your areas of greatest strength. You will improve the most, be the most creative, be the most inquisitive, and bounce back the fastest in those areas where you have already shown some natural advantage over everyone else – your strengths. This doesn’t mean you should ignore your weaknesses. It just means you’ll grow most where you’re already strong.” - Marcus Buckingham

Tip #10: Prioritize your strengths

Next Session…

Step 3: Set Realistic, Achievable, Business Goals

and Develop a Plan

Sarah Turner at The Faurote Group sturner@faurotegroup.com