Building A More Effective Business Plan
When applying for a business loan, your business plan is the holy grail holding up the foundations of your application. If the person reviewing your plan can see the cracks in your foundation, wheather they appear in the executive summary, the marketing plan or the product section, your dreams may crumble at a very early stage of the building process, namely before achieving your loan. A specific focus on these fore mentioned areas will allow you the luxury of building a more effective business plan, therefore granting you a higher likelihood of the sought after approval.
The overall elements in your business plan should not be over detailed or long winded. You should be able to provide a short, precise statement that allows for the reader to be able to convey your message be it about what your business is or what amount of competition you will encounter. Keep each area of discussion between 2 to 3 slides at a maximum.
Begin looking at the executive summary. All too often the big issue here is that the section is over built to be too big. This area often contains over, detailed descriptions instead of be short, sweet and to the point. If it is overly lengthy the loan officer may not even continue to read over your business report.
The second area for concern is often the products or services section. A loan officer is far less interested in the product you are offering, as they are more interested in the market and what amount of money they will make instead. Be sure to know what market you are in and what the competition looks like. You may believe that there is no competition, but there are always substitutes. Look-alike products are created as soon as a quick selling product hits the shelves. You have to be prepared and show that in your business plan.
Place your main focus on the benefits your customer will receive from your business or service. If you can sell the product or service verbally or simply through a written description you will be better apt to receive your requested loan amount. You also want to focus on your company description. This is the one area where detail can be used. Provide the full details of your business including problems you are preparing for and how you plan to prevent or solve said issues. This makes the loan officer see that you have done your homework about your business and that you are in fact a serious entrepreneur.
Analyze your marketing plans. Particular focus should be given to tactics employed in order to reel in the target market without focusing on numbers of consumers that you hope to capture. A percentage or number will mean very little without the tactics in place in order to achieve this. Of particular significance is acknowledging competitors and your knowledge of their pricing and services or products. By paying particular attention to demonstrating your knowledge of what works among your competitors, you indirectly demonstrate your knowledge of the particular industry thereby proving to the loans officer your readiness to undertake this business venture.
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