By taking an hour or two in the next week to come up with a business development plan and put it in writing, you'll set the stage for a successful new year.

Answer the following five questions to get started in creating a marketing plan that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your business development efforts during the upcoming year.

1. What happened last year?

Before deciding what you want to accomplish in the year ahead, review what happened in 2004. It never fails to amaze me how much my clients learn by doing this.

This year, I had a client who discovered that, despite all of her external marketing efforts (and they were substantial), almost two thirds of her business came from referrals from two of her partners.

Analyze where your new business came from this past year, and you may be surprised by what you uncover as well. Did you receive more work from existing clients, or referrals from one of your partners?

Consider the marketing activities you utilized in the last year--the lunches hosted, articles written and
networking functions attended. Which marketing activities resulted in business? Which didn't?

Did work come from that speech you gave to a local industry group or from visiting with a client at his office? Which activities took relatively little time and resulted in work? Which ones were time-consuming and produced no work?

2. What do you want to accomplish in the coming year?

Set 1-2 business development goals for for the new year. Your goals should be as specific as possible and should typically include numbers and targets to aim at. For example, get three new clients in the hospitality industry, develop two new referral sources from within the firm's real estate group, or increase your originations by 15%.

3. What will you do to reach your goals?

What actions will you take in the new year to successfully meet the goals you've just set?

This is not simply a "to do" list of possible marketing activities. It should include a clear description of *who* you are focusing your marketing efforts on, the specific *activities* you will engage in and *deadlines* for accomplishing those things. It might also include who will help you in carrying out your plans.

4. Does your plan include a significant number of one-on-one activities?

Relationship building should be a key component of your plan. Whether you make one call a day to a current or past client or have lunch once a month with a potential referral source, time and again clients report that activities that involve personal contact typically generate the "biggest bang" for their marketing efforts.

Recently, one of my clients sent an e-mail to a former client inviting him to dinner after a conference they both were attending. The former client declined the dinner invitation but sent a new matter instead!

5. When will you review your plan?

You'll want to set aside time to review your plan at least quarterly. Too often, people prepare business development plans and never look at them again.

You took the time to prepare it; make sure you benefit from your efforts.

Ask: How is it working? Do I need to fine-tune it?
What help do I need to make sure that my planned activities actually happen and that I keep up my marketing momentum?

Addressing these simple questions can help you look for business in all the right places--making your marketing easier and more effective in the coming year.

Here's to a very successful new year!