Just this morning I wrapped up a proposal for a new client and finished the email with a short micro-plan. Here it is:
- Select a time that works with your schedule for a kick-off call (~90 minutes). I’ll send you a pre-meeting document to help make the most of our time.
- During this meeting we’ll shape the plan to build out “X”.
- Your team can start implementing these materials across all your marketing assets, so you can start converting more contacts to leads and customers.
For me, micro-plans are simple and actionable messages.
Micro-plans can help you share important information with leads and customers to indicate what should happen next. It’s an activity I’ve done for years successfully managing projects for my customers. I’ve only recently applied it to create more clarity in my messages.
Micro-plans are easy to create. Good micro plans are:
—Actionable. Clearly articulate to the customer the next action needed.
—Short. It’s micro, so keep the message clear and concise to avoid confusion.
—Give a vision for the future. Think of this as the picture of a successful project.
First, creating a simple plan that informs the customer how to work with you helps create clarity and removes confusion about what needs to happen next in the process, funnel, or project. Second, it also indirectly demonstrates your authority, ownership, and responsibility over an activity. Finally, have you ever met a client who doesn’t like a plan for how you will help them?
Your micro-plan doesn’t have to include every single step in a workflow. Simply summarize the big picture items and make it easy to consume. Your customers are smart. They’ll get it. Do remember to paint a picture of the future success.
Giving customers a simple plan makes it easy for them to understand what they need to do next and what they can reasonably expect to happen in the future.
Anyone can use these for their work. Smart messages aren’t just for marketing and sales. 😉 You can insert these micro-plans into just about anything. Here’s some examples.
–Email Closings
–Websites
–Status Reports
–Sales Messages
–Proposals
–Training
–Internal updates
Where could you insert a micro-plan?
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