We’re already in February, which means you only have 11 months of the year left...

And (not that I’m wishing the year away), it’ll be the end of Quarter 1 before we know it.

So, before it’s too late in the year, I want to check in to see if you are aligned and where you want (and need) to be.  Specifically:

• How is your 3+9 Forecast going (your 3 months of Actuals and 9 months of Forecast)?

• Are you on track to hit your Quarter 1 targets? By how much?

• Are you below target? What are you planning to do to get back on track?

Your response will fall into one of these:  

1.     You won’t have this information to hand, nor even know where to start, because you haven’t actually started...

2.     You’ll know where to go to get the information from, will quickly review it, then bury it away again until the summer and hope for the best...

3.     You will know your current position and either know there aren’t any issues because the business hasn’t Alerted you to any, or, you may be behind, but you’re aware of this and are taking action to catch up...

Now, ask your Team the same questions…

I’m tempted to bet my mortgage that they haven’t been able to answer any of these questions.

Whatever category your response falls into, it’s not too late to start getting clarity across your entire team on how far on or off target your business is by implementing a Rolling 12 Month Forecast Plan:

1). 3 + 9 Forecast shows 3 months of actuals and 9 months of forecast.

2). 6 + 6 Forecast shows 6 months of actuals and 6 months of forecast.

3). 9 + 3 Forecast shows 9 months of actuals and 3 months of forecast.

At each month end its good practice to track your performance against the Forecast to see if you’re on track.

And, as the year progresses, the Forecast for the year should become more accurate the more it comprises Actual months and fewer Forecast months.

Please don’t leave this to your accountant, or assume they are doing it!  

By making this routine, everyone across your business will be united and focussed on the end goal, and you’ll never miss target – you’ll just run out of month!

Any questions, you know where I am.

Martin

Martin Norbury

Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays