In the book The Balanced Scorecard, by David Norton and Robert Kaplan, it is noted that 90% of organizations fail to execute their pre-set strategy.

This is a concerning statistic when you consider that, for a majority of companies considered successful, an emphasis is placed on having formal and pre-established systems to inform, manage, and meet their strategic obligations.

In this sense, can we not infer executing business strategy = business success?

To bridge this gap between strategic ambition and business performance, Process Street has created a Strategic Planning Template, which you can use – for free – right away!

By executing the steps given in this template you will not only develop good strategy, but the delivery of this strategy will also prove successful.

Click here to access our free Strategic Planning Template!

But to accommodate this template, you need to have a solid understanding of strategic planning itself.

In this article, I’ll discuss what strategic planning is, the different strategic planning models – with an emphasis on the Cascade Strategic Planning Model -, why strategic planning is important, and more.

Click on the links below to read through:

• What is strategic planning?
• Strategic management vs strategic planning: What is the difference between these 2 terms?
• Why strategic planning is important
• What are strategic planning models?
• Use Process Street’s strategy planning template to document your strategic plan
• Strategic plan outline: Framework, structure, and governance
• Other strategic planning models and how you can implement them via Process Street

Let’s jump straight to it!
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This is a guest post from Dave Schneider, a serial entrepreneur & co-founder of shortlist.io, a marketing “un-agency” that serves as an outsourced dedicated marketing team. He has also co-founded Less.churn, a churn reduction app, prior to selling it in 2018. Dave loves to travel the world, and has visited over 65 countries. In his spare time, he writes about SaaS and business at DaveSchneider.me.

The vast majority of product launches fail.

According to a study done by the University of Toronto, the failure rate for new products in the retail grocery industry is 70-80%. And, the situation across all sectors is even more dia, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen estimates that the fail rate of new products across all boards is around 95%.

Evidently, coming up with an innovative and awe-inspiring product you think people will love is simply not enough. In order to mitigate failure, you will need to prioritize and optimize how you market your product.

Fortunately, this Process Street article is here to provide you with all the tools and digital hacks you will need to successfully market and launch your product.

Feel free to jump to a specific section of this post by clicking on the relevant subheader below. If not, just keep on scrolling.

• How to have a successful product launch
• Building a successful product launch strategy
• How and when to develop an MVP
• How to manage email lists for a successful product launch
• Using Process Street for all your business needs

Read on for a rundown of product launch basics.
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From sales prospecting to cold calling and emailing, and qualifying leads to closing the sale, it’s a well-known fact that sales reps have their work cut out.

But did you know that, according to research by The Bridge Group, 1/3rd of salespeople fail to meet their sales quotas? Not just from time-to-time either, but on a permanent basis.

As somebody who’s at the helm of your sales team, it’s your duty to supply your colleagues with the right systems, processes, and tools. You must make sure your team succeeds.

For sales success – specifically, qualifying leads for the sales pipeline properly, getting higher close rates, meeting quotas, and dramatically boosting your bottom-line – use the MEDDIC methodology and process.

Never heard of MEDDIC before?

No sweat.

Read through the following sections in this Process Street post to get clued up:

• What is MEDDIC?
• Why is the MEDDIC sales methodology so useful?
• How to do the MEDDIC sales process properly
• Bolster your sales team’s efforts with Process Street!

Or, if you wanted to make use of our MEDDIC Sales Process Checklist Template straight away, grab it here:

Click here to get the MEDDIC Sales Process Checklist Template!

Let’s dive on in. 📈

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If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world of business (apart from that remote work is the future), it’s this: We aren’t prepared for disruption.

Supply chains, in particular, suffered a massive shockwave, with supermarkets, shops, and services being unable to operate the way they did before the virus struck. In fact, more than 3,000 suppliers in China were driven to force majeure declarations in the first few months alone.

As the world moves toward a new normal, you’ll be thinking about disruption and risk a lot more than you had done previously.

For businesses using suppliers, it’s necessary – now more so than ever – to establish a stellar procurement process to ensure goods and/or services can always be secured, no matter if micro (small, every day) and macro (large, extraordinary) disruptions happen.

That’s why, in this post, I’ll be discussing what the procurement process is, the benefits a documented and solid process brings, what the flow of a robust procurement process looks like, and how Process Street can help.

Read through the below sections to get up-to-date:

• What is procurement and the procurement process?
• The benefits of the procurement process
• The procurement process flow (with a procurement process example)
• Use Process Street for procurement and all other business needs!

Or, if you just wanted to get your hands on a procurement process that you can default to in every day and extraordinary situations alike, grab it here:

Click here to get the Procurement Process Checklist Template!

Ready to become a pro at the procurement process? 📦
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When was the last time you actively went shopping? More to the point, when was the last time you bought something without checking it out online first?

Exactly.

Welcome to the retail apocalypse.

Or, in less dramatic terms, the demise of brick-and-mortar shops as the world shifts to buying online.

Where opportunities lie, entrepreneurs will pounce. That’s why at least part of ecommerce’s success can be attributed to people quickly learning how to start an online boutique, grocery delivery service, and so on.

Let’s take a look at some figures.

• By 2040, around 95% of all purchases are expected to be via ecommerce.
• In 2018, retail ecommerce sales grew 23.3% over the previous year.
• The total value of global retail ecommerce sales will reach $4.13 trillion in 2020.

Evidently, it is true. The retail apocalypse is upon us. Fortunately, we at Process Street are here to provide you with the tools to build your doomsday bunker. We have created 9 superpowered checklists that will ensure that you are equipped and ready to ride the wave of retail Armageddon.

If you’re just here for a checklist to use when learning how to start an online boutique, check out our free Business Plan checklist below!

Feel free to jump to a specific section of this post by clicking on the relevant subheader below. Or, just keep on scrolling.

• What is an online boutique?
• What to know before launching your online boutique
• How to start an online boutique: 9 free checklists
• How to establish & run a stellar boutique with Process Street

Alternatively, if you are already clued up on online boutiques and are ready to get stuck in, sign in to Process Street and start creating within Process Street.

(Sign up for a free trial here, if you’re not yet a Process Street user)

The links below will direct you to the section of this post that contains your desired checklist:

• Business Plan Checklist
• Brand Strategy Template Checklist
• Amazon Trends Analysis Checklist
• Monthly Cash Flow Plan Checklist
• Social Media Report Template Checklist
• Ecommerce SEO Checklist
• Neil Patel’s: Website Funnel Analysis Checklist
• PPC Report Template Checklist
• Quarterly Strategic Marketing Process

Now, it’s time to start building your doomsday bunker.

Let’s get started!
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I once lost $45,000.

What makes it worse (or perhaps better?!) is that it wasn’t my money.

It was my previous employer’s.

I was managing a website build for a big client and was under huge pressure to meet a tight deadline. So, as many do, I decided to start the project before the Statement of Work (SoW) was signed by the client.

This was a big, expensive, mistake to make.

It cost an additional $45,000 to re-work parts of the build that the client had verbally approved, but hadn’t legally signed off.

Ouch.

(Despite what you might think, this isn’t the reason I don’t work there anymore!)

According to research, 37% of projects fail due to a lack of defined and approved project goals and objectives, which come with a Statement of Work (SoW). This causes around 80% of organizations to spend at least half their time on expensive rework.

“Not using a Statement of Work – SOW during the project initiation is a major cause of project failure” – 4PM, Statement of Work – SOW

But what is a Statement of Work (SoW) and how do you create one?

All will be revealed in this Process Street post, as we go through:

• What a Statement of Work (SoW) is
• Why bother with a Statement of Work (SoW)
• How to create a Statement of Work (SoW)

If you’re in a hurry, grab this free Statement of Work Process Template now, and catch up with the rest of the post when you can:

Click here to access the Statement of Work (SoW) Process Template!

Otherwise, keep reading and we’ll go through this template, in a little more detail, later.

Let’s get into it!

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Want to lose weight? Shape up? Get fitter? Gain muscle?

If you do, I have one thing to say to you:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” – Henry Ford

To get better, improve, and achieve your goals, something needs to change.

But this concept doesn’t only apply to people who want to lose weight, get fit, or become stronger.

It applies to businesses too; to keep improving, businesses need to keep changing.

Businesses can typically find between 50 to 75 improvement opportunities when they go through process analysis. This can result in anywhere from a 10% to an 80% reduction in costs.

Aha! Thought that might get your attention! Interested in finding out more?

This is what you’ll learn by reading this Process Street post on process analysis:

• What is process analysis?
• How Lego and IBM nearly collapsed without process analysis
• The 4 tell-tale signs that a process needs analysis
• How to do process analysis (and how to do it well)

Ready to take the first step towards new and improved processes?

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Elisabeth Swan is the co-author of “The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit” and co-host of “The Just-in-Time Cafe Podcast.” She’s been a process improvement consultant, speaker, and innovator for over 30 years. She’s the Chief Learning Experience Officer for GoLeanSixSigma.com, a former cast member of ImprovBoston, and – if asked – may still be able to ride a unicycle.

Surgeon Atul Gawande made headlines when he told the world that a simple checklist could drastically reduce unnecessary deaths in The Checklist Manifesto.

Yet, checklists conjure images of forklift drivers on loading docks with clipboards counting boxes. How could they transform healthcare?

“He has… produced a 90-second checklist which reduced deaths and complications by more than one-third in eight hospitals around the world – at virtually no cost and for almost any operation.” – James Clarke, reviewing The Checklist Manifesto, Ulster Med J. 2011 Jan; 80(1): 54.

Aviation was transformed decades earlier when management and engineers at Boeing Corporation created the pre-flight checklist after the 1935 crash of the prototype Boeing B-17 at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Checklists have become so essential to the airline industry that most crashes can be traced to the misuse or failure to complete a checklist.

A New York Times reviewer noted, “no matter how expert you may be, well-designed checklists can improve outcomes”. Since the purpose of process improvement is improving outcomes, Lean Six Sigma and checklists are natural companions.

To prove that, this Process Street blog post will show the relationship between checklists and lean six sigma, and provide you with a free DMAIC Improvement Project Tollgate Checklist that you can use right now.

Use the links below to jump to that section of the post:

• Lean Six Sigma and the role of problem-solving
• Lean Six Sigma & the checklist
• Introduction phase
• Define phase
• Measure phase
• Analyze phase
• Improve phase
• Control phase
• Checklists and Lean Six Sigma
• Use Process Street to reduce error

Or, if you just want the checklist, check it out below!

Let’s get started.

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For sales professionals today, only 34% of their time is spent selling.

This begs the question, what are they doing for the remaining 66% of the time?

Sales teams struggling to keep up with data entry, quote generation, and other tasks drag sales reps away from potential leads. As such, 54% are expected to miss their quotas every year.

What you need are optimized sales processes that outline the best sale practices drawing from up-to-date research and findings.

This is where Process Street comes to save the day.

In this article, you’ll find 20 structured sales processes based on industry best practices which you can access for free. Simply click Edit Checklist to add any process to your Process Street account, so you can start supercharging your sales process today!

For a quick taster, check out our MEDDIC Sales Process Checklist Template below:

Click here to get our MEDDIC Sales Process Checklist Template!

You can click on the relevant link below to jump to your template of choice.

• The MEDDIC Sales Process Checklist Template
• Sales Training Process Checklist
• Weekly Sales Prospecting Checklist
• Cold Calling Checklist
• BANT Sales Qualification Call Process
• Sales Presentation Template
• Sales Pitch Planning Checklist
• Closing The Sale Checklist
• Order Processing Checklist
• Monthly Sales Report
• Churn Prevention Checklist
• Cold Email Checklist for Sales
• Company Research Checklist
• High Touch Client Onboarding for SaaS Companies
• Investor Pitch
• Sales Competitive Analysis Checklist
• Sales Forecasting Checklist
• Sales Onboarding Checklist
• Sales Service Handoff Process
• Upselling Process for SaaS Companies

Click on the subheader below to jump to the relevant section, alternatively scroll down to find out all we have to say and perfect your sales processes.

• Sales processes: What they are and why it is important to have established sales processes
• Our top 20 free sales processes
• A quick tour of Process Street and the benefits of using our sales processes

With that said, let’s get started!
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Design is one of those tricky areas of business which some people seem innately good at and others are terrible.

But effective design is crucial to business success.

Here are two key statistics from Adobe which demonstrate how vital design is for your business:

• Design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P Index by 219% over 10 years
• Companies that foster creativity enjoy 1.5x greater market share

In the modern digital arena, customers and users expect excellent design and usability more than ever. Poorly designed websites will put customers off or fail to convert those customers who see past the poor layout. Design thinking is business thinking.

For instance, think of any marketing campaign you’ve run. The choice of the images, the font, the location of your call to action are all defined by thinking in terms of design.

For this reason, in this Process Street article, we give you free access to our top 11 design processes and checklists. Simply click on the links below and be directed to your template of choice.

• Web Design Process
• UX Design Process
• Brand Identity Design
• Header Design
• Engineering Design Process
• Graphic Design Process
• Logo Design Process
• Animation Design Process
• Blog Image Design Process
• Graphic Design Approval Checklist
• Social Media Image Design

Even websites which appear on the surface to be poorly designed, like Craigslist or Reddit, work because the user experience they provide is one that resonates with the user. A solid design creates more than just conversions, it can create brand loyalty too – keeping your customers coming back for more.

Click on the subheader below to navigate to the relevant section in this article. Alternatively, scroll down for a thorough overview of our top 11 design checklists.

• Our top 11 design checklists covering design’s vital areas
• How to create your design processes and checklists using Process Street

Let’s jump to it!
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