Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Let your enthusiasm for the opportunities you have discovered take stage.

When I do a SWOT, usually some new insight bubbles to the surface. I may find the competition is strong in one place, but you also dig deep to find the area they are not. Yes, you will be doing a report on the market, the competition but you'll also be doing one of the voids in the competition and where your client will shine and be able to get the edge. You'll know where the market is saturated and the business you don't want to be in. That's exciting! Show it!

Don't recite bullet points. Tell brief (imagined, in some cases for your project) stories about the points of the SWOT - how they arose, what happened to others, etc. Take your audience on a memorable voyage.

Hi Alissa,

I think the advice you received regarding allowing the enthusiasm for the strength and opportunities take the focus makes sense. I worked in advertising as a producer for most my life and by the time a project got to me things like SWOTs had been vetted out long before so I'm not familiar with the process myself. I'm wondering in such a presentation would it be appropriate to propose potential solutions to weaknesses and obstacles? If so, that can keep the presentation on target with enthusiasm. I'm curious about the answer to my suggestion as I'm researching the questions on this site for educational purposes.

Since you're handling the marketing aspect of this business scenario I have another question for you... For a few years while developing a business with a partner (who bought me out and I've moved on since) I did part-time, freelance bookkeeping on the side. I have an affinity for math and with math phobia so rampant bookkeepers are quite few and can charge an unreasonable sum of money for the simplicity of the work. :) The bookkeeping was for small businesses, anywhere from 2-50 employees and in a broad spectrum of industries. After time I made a universal observation between my disparate clients' spending, excluding payroll and associated costs, those who put marketing and advertising above all else had healthier books. I'm wondering if in the educational world they've taught you such and if so could you elaborate about the priority of this category of spending?

I didn't expect to learn much while bookkeeping but this observation was dramatic. The only thing these companies had in common was the need to make money. How they went about spending their money on business promotion was specific to their industry. Coming into a company and going through their books is like performing a biopsy, the numbers reveal far more than any conversation with the company's owner ever could. I'm starting a new large business, my first effort at starting big. I'm going to make decisions based on the observation I made while bookkeeping, before doing so it would be nice to hear from someone that I'm not off base in my strategy.

Best,
Candice