How to develop a scorecard?

Everyday business owners and career professionals are faced with making decisions. Some decision are easier, while others are a bit complicated. For complicated decision does one "go with their gut or feeling"? or is there a better, more reliable approach?

One reliable method is the use of "scorecards". Scorecards are used to tabulate results to make an effective decision on the best solution (or course of action) when dealing with multiple decision factors.

Scorecards are very common in large organizations. However, recently implementing the scorecard methodology has become increasingly popular among small and mid-sized businesses. So, how does one assemble and effective scorecard?

The final scorecard product, in many organizations, looks like a table drawn on paper with many rows and columns. The number of rows and columns depend on the number of solutions one is deciding between as well as the number of decision factors.

Let us build a scorecard:

1. Start by writing down the names of the items you are deciding among, e.g. Company A, Company B, Company C.

2. Write down your decisions factors, e.g. Customer Service, Local, Public Company, etc.

3. Draw a table with rows and columns. The number of rows should be equal to the number of items you are deciding between (See #1)

4. The number of columns should be equal to the number of decision factors you are deciding between (See #2)

5. Once you have created your table you will need to add a weight (number) each decision factor i.e. how importance, from 1 to 10, do you place on each decision factor, e.g. Having good customer service for you may be 8, while having the company local is 10, etc.

6. After weighting the decision factors, you then tally the scores. In this example the highest score wins, and therefore your calculated decision should be to opt for the solution that has the highest score.

The scorecard method replaces the "gut feeling" approach and ensures a calculated and well though out decision process.

Research, research, and research some more!

The other day I heard on TV that Donald Trump learned his success strategies from his father, who was a very successful real estate developer himself. According to the program it was stated that the reason Trump's father was successful (and the one of the important factors to Trump's own success) was that he always made it a point to find out the cost of everything. This gave him a lot of leverage in negotiating with contractors.

So the question is that does this principle apply to all industries? The answer is most definitely yes. Not only does this principle apply to all industries but it applies to all areas of life and work. It is even more relevant when dealing with not only vendors but also clients.

Before you make that call to a prospect make time to research that prospects business and industry information. You should plan to make "research" a regular task in your approach planning.

If your prospect/client is a publically traded company then the research is easy. Just go on their website and read up on the company, any latest news, etc. Go to the public library or a book store and scan through some industry related publications, trade magazines. Scan through the news paper or web for industry or company related news published on blogs and other non-traditional news medium. You can also subscribe to sites that offer public company research such as Bloomberg, Hoovers, etc.

If your prospect is private then you can still do industry research. You can contact their local chamber of commerce and find out about them i.e. if they are a member. If they have a site, you can scan for information there as well. As with publically traded firms, scan their industry related trade journals and other publications.

In summation, do your homework. Be prepared to talk intelligently about the prospect/client's industry and other news that affects their business. A little prep time will make you stand out from your competition.

Till next time...

Sal
www.salmankkhan.com

Planning for 2008

Hello everyone,
Today I would like to talk about planning for 2008. It is now November. We have less than 8 weeks to new years. I would like everyone to start thinking about their goals for the next year. The way you would do this is by:

1. Examining where you are
2. Having a long term plan for the entire next year
3. Break down your long term plan into shorter deliver ables

I would recommend that everyone start on this now.

Exchange Cards

This is basic, but people show up to events with not enough business cards or promotional materials. Promotional materials can be optional, however be sure to take plenty of business cards. Also, make sure that your business cards have the most up-to-date contact information.
Depending on the networking event you may have the option to place your business cards and other promotional material on a common table.

Networking etiquette dictates that if you are attending a member only event and are not a member; ask for permission from the event organizer before you place or distribute your materials.

Present your card and remember to request a card from the other person.

Day 4: Learning focus

Welcome to day 4 of your transformation. Today we will learn how to focus.

Previously you learnt how to identify your goals. Well! many people can identify their goals, but the problem is in the execution and the commitment to achieving those goals.

So, how does one stay focused day after day? The key is to breakdown your goal in to manageable tasks and then to set some dates against those tasks.

Let me explain. Lets say that your goal is to run a marathon. So you break this goal down in to smaller steps. So lets also assume you have never run the marathon and are not in any physical shape. Let's also assume that the marathon is exactly 1 year away.

Now you have 12 months. You have a date, and you have a goal. List all the things you need to do from now till the day of the marathon. Perhaps you say, I want to be ready in 10 months. So your tasks may be:

Month 1: Get a gym membership, buy some running shoes and other gear, start to run .25 miles a day for a week, etc.

Month 2: Run 5 miles in 5 minutes

Month 3: Run 10 miles in 8 minutes, etc.....


You get the point, right! Each month you have a target to reach. You can further breakdown your goals by each week or by day.

Each morning and evening, look at your targets for the day, week, or month. In this way you will learn how to focus on your goals. If you do this correctly and remain consistent, then you will get closer to accomplishing your goals.

Next we will learn in detail how to create tasks and a realistic action plan in more detail.

Till next time....

Sal