By Ahmed al-Akber/Dubai


Some marketing and sales plans work extremely well. They are understood by everyone involved, implemented and generate results quickly. Others don’t generate such results, and end up falling flat on their face.
Without execution, plans are only as good as the paper they are written on.
The next time you are faced with this issue of poor execution, try simplifying your plans to the point where they are simple, not just for you to understand, but for everyone involved. Here are some ideas:
1) Have clarity. As always, have absolute clarity on what you want to achieve. Do not just do things because they are simply “on your list”. Do them because they generate significant results for the business. What main goals must you achieve? Why do you want to achieve them? Having clarity on this will remind others of why they are doing things.
2) Make a list. Write out everything that will further those objectives. By not holding back and writing every idea you can think of, you are getting everything down that could be relevant to the objectives you’ve identified. You also free up your mind from “idea overload” – which can happen when you have lots of ideas floating around in your head to the point where you feel overwhelmed. Don’t let that happen!
3) Prioritise. Which ones will actually make an impact? Which ones, if you started taking action on immediately, would result in significant improvement for the business? Which ones will make an impact in the longer term but need to be started right away? Either delete or delegate everything else outside these two categories.
4) Allocate accountability. Make sure its 100% clear who is doing what. Use specific names of people for each action and not team names. Ensure each person understands why he or she is doing it and agrees to do it. With this kind of accountability assigned, people feel like they are given an individual goal to achieve, and may feel more compelled to achieve it. No one wants to let the rest of the team down.
5) Assign deadlines. Deadlines are important to get people to think about what it will take to accomplish their goals. They push you to action and help you to avoid procrastinating.
6) Communicate! Once it’s ready, communicate the plan in every way possible. Sending the plan out on e-mail is fine, but it’s not enough. Plans need to be visible and viewed daily, so make sure the plans are up on a board where everyone can see them. The more places they can be seen, the better.
7) Follow up. Assign a follow-up meeting to ensure that everyone reports back their progress. If you lead the team, check in with them every so often in the run-up to the meeting (for example every day or week) to see how things are progressing, removing obstacles along the way.

♦ Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on ahmed@acksolutions.com