A 4-week plan to work from to create a sustainable, high-growth business. Select priorities and schedule these into your work planner. Time estimates may of course vary.
| Structure for growth | Web presence | Marketing and sales |
Week 1 Building blocks
16 hours // 20 hours (if new website) | Calculate optimal rate and structure to use with new clients (1 hour) Invest in up to date CAT tools or tool training (2 hours) Outsource admin: Accounts, CRM, Proj, Management, Time efficiency (3 hours) | Create basic site in CMS (4 hours) Keyword planner tool to draw up initial keyword list (1 hour) Create optional multilingual sites under separate structure (2 hours) Clear out dead links (1 hour) Submit site to DMOZ, top search engines (30 minutes) Set up analytics to see where site is strongest and weakest (30 minutes) | Define your translation specialism in detail (30 minutes) Identify your perfect client (30 minutes) Build a list of 10 potential new clients (1 hour - every week) Call, write or email them to start a dialogue (3 hours)
|
Week 2 Getting analytical 8 hours | Secure deletions, secure file transfer and storage (2 hours) - SFTP for transfer - Secure erase - Truecrypt storage | Fix your copy to increase conversions with A/B testing (ongoing – 1 hour) Add testimonials, case-studies and trust badges (3 hours)
| Follow up, monitor via CRM or spreadsheet (1 hour) Determine any personal links to local prospects via Linkedin etc. and request referrals (1 hour) |
Week 3 Fine tuning the approach 14 hours | Implement terms of business and project brief (3 hours) Create a team of colleagues to leverage pooled resources (ongoing - 2 hours) | Hire a designer to diagnose weaknesses, or continue with analytics (1 hour) Add landing pages for an Adwords campaign (2 hours) Build a mailing list and place sign up forms in prominent places (2 hours) | Sign up to PR sites and pitch journalists with articles (2 hours) Create a file of provable business results to show clients (2 hours) |
Week 4 Plan for growth and expansion 7 hours | Start process of incorporating business if optimal for profit/growth (2 hours) | Create compelling content, of interest for a long time (ongoing – 2 hours) Share content via social media (ongoing – 1 hour) | Join a local networking group (1 hour) Book tickets to a relevant exhibition, show or conference (1 hour) |
Week 5+ Maintenence 7 hours | Maintain tools, lists and teams (1 hour) | Add content regularly, tune content and site for SEO and share-worthy content | Make at least ten sales attempts per week, tuning your model and ideal client, following up on previous week’s attempts, check for new events to attend (4 hours) |