Strategic Planning

PHASE 3 – MATURITY and DECLINE
Primary Objective: Milk the Cow while Growing the Next Calf

During Phase 3, sales continue to grow but profits level out and then begin to fall. Your product or service has a proven track record, but is no longer leading-edge and low cost competitors enter the market. In addition, customer needs change and new technologies emerge. The challenge is to change your offerings before you are forced to – at the first sign of declining margins. Changing what has worked in the past often meets with strong resistance. For example, one client, a successful insurance company, saw that their growth was slowed by new competitors, more demanding customers, and difficulty attracting and retaining talented employees. All levels of the organization needed to be innovative in finding ways to better serve customers, be more efficient, and create a culture that attracted young employees. We delivered consulting and training services to introduce changes that allowed the company to resume its growth.

TYPICAL PHASE 3 SERVICE OFFERINGS
Strategic Planning
Facilitating the development of new offerings
Forming strategic alliances to produce growth and enter new markets
Strategic Workforce Planning- re-shaping current staff and making strategic hires
Strategy to survive decline while new offerings are prepared and marketed
Helping the management team let go of “sacred cows”

Sales Training
Selling to Business Needs Workshop - Key issues addressed: Expanding business base beyond current customers, competing against low cost competitors, improving account influence, and consulting skills.

Leadership Training
Building Customer Partnerships Workshop - Key issues addressed: Learning a 3-tiered marketing approach, expanding business with existing customers, developing strategies for new offerings, differentiating competitive advantages, and developing strategic alliances.

Negotiating Value Workshop
Key issues addressed: Establishing value before negotiating, staying disciplined under pressure of loosing the sale, knowing your currencies and trade-offs, understanding the power of alternatives.

Leadership Training
To Changer Your Company, Change Yourself - Keys issues addressed: Change starts with executives. They use business practices that worked for years. But customers, employees, and markets change. Executives must anticipate and lead change in their organization. Challenges in leading teams and forming strategic alliances are discussed.

Future Change
To Changer Your Company, Change Yourself - Keys issues addressed: Change starts with executives. They use business practices that worked for years. But customers, employees, and markets change. Executives must anticipate and lead change in their organization. Challenges in leading teams and forming strategic alliances are discussed.

Surveys
Change Readiness Survey - Key issues addressed: The survey measures how effectively changes are understood and bought into by all levels in the organization. It helps executives identify resistance and misunderstandings before they begin to make critical organizational changes.

Prepare For M&A Transaction
your company gets deep into Phase 3, its value will fall because of declining profits. On the other hand, Phase 3 is an ideal time to purchase another company that’s in Phase 1.
Identify characteristics of the ideal acquisition
Evaluate target acquisitions in terms of the 17 factors
Use acquisition to support the company’s new strategic direction

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