5 Mid-Year Check In Tips for Bail Agents
- June 17, 2012
- by AboutBail Staff
- Business Tips
- Local Search
- Marketing
2012 has been off to a fast start, and with just one month until July 2nd, the exact halfway point marking the middle of the year, it’s time to check back in on the yearly goals you set for your bail agency. At the end of 2011, we gave you 8 resolution tips for the new year, and in January more specific tips for helping you grow your business. Hopefully those articles helped your agency identify and outline what you want to achieve in this calendar year, and to help you determine how well you’ve adhered to those goals, we’ve put together a mid-year check in guide.
Here are 5 mid-year check ins every bail agent should conduct:
- Mid-Year Check In #1: Your Business Resolutions
With 8 resolution tips for bail agents, bail agencies were given an outline for setting reasonable and achievable business goals for the year. As July 2nd approaches, it’s time to revisit those resolutions item by item and assess how well you’ve stayed committed to each of those changes. It’s not unusual to experience success with some and difficulty with others, or even to discover that you’ve been overly ambitious with your resolutions. Make sure you applaud yourself for resolutions kept and start putting together a plan to recommit yourself for the ones you’ve struggled with. - Mid-Year Check In #2: Your Goals
As part of your 2012 business resolutions, your bail agent should have goals for revenue, business, company-wide projects and community projects. You may discover that you have set more goals than you are able to achieve or discover that a goal or two may have been too far-reaching. Determine what goals you have and have not achieved and assess what you are on track to achieve in the year. - Mid-Year Check In #3: Your Revenue
Comparing your short term and long term revenue goals with what income your agency has generated should give you an accurate prediction of where you will be six months from now. Hopefully your revenue is stable or on the rise. If you’re looking for ways to increase revenue, conduct your revenue check in in conjunction with your marketing plan check in. This will help you you’ve set quarterly or 6 month revenue goals, you will With quarterly or 6 month revenue goals and proper methods for measuring how your marketing strategy is working, you should be able to identify what’s been most effective. - Mid-Year Check In #4: Your Marketing Plan
With quarterly, 6 month, and 12 month revenue goals and proper methods for measuring how your marketing strategy is working, you should be able to identify what’s been most effective. Your mid-year marketing check in should reveal opportunities to cut costs and where your marketing dollars should be further invested. If a billboard or mailing campaign hasn’t garnered the return you’re looking for, consider moving on to marketing methods. As part of our tips for growing your bail agency in 2012, this year we recommended that bail agencies focus on local search marketing, so this is a great time to check your ranking and review how it’s changed. If it hasn’t budged, search for new methods and products that can help that ranking rise. - Mid-Year Check In #5: Your Employees
It’s important to sit down with your employees to identify achievements, address any problem areas and award any mid-year bonuses or praise. Take this opportunity to offer constructive criticism and also acknowledge work that has gone above and beyond expectations. As you segue into discussing the role your employees play in your agency, ask for help and advice on higher level operations. Reaching out to your employees for feedback on your management style and for input on how to achieve various goals will help all members of your staff feel appreciated.
After completing your mid-year check ins, it’s important to take some time to reevaluate your strategies and identify changes that need to be made in order to meet your year-end goals. For example, if your major goal this year is to get higher rankings in local search results and your listing hasn’t budged, investigate new methods and products that can help you increase your rank. With your mid-year check ins complete you should have a solid understanding of your agency’s successes and missteps from the first half of the year.
With this information collected, it’s time to:
- Identify New Problems:
Be sure to attend to unforeseen problems and other issues that have developed over the past six month. This means reformatting your budget to account for any broken equipment and unforeseen expenses, and adapting your strategies and business to any new regulations and legislation changes that affect the way your agency operates. - Reassess Goals:
Many bail agencies will discover that their expectations were set too high or too low. If you have more goals than your agency will be able to achieve, identify the high priority items and eliminate those that can wait until next year. On the same note, think of little ways you can start working toward those long-term goals you may have to push back. And if you’re well on your way to meeting your goals, take a step back and look for other short term advancements your company can add to its achievements this year. - Enact Plan B, C, D, E . . . :
As we noted in our guide for setting resolutions, it’s important to have a number of backup plans in case your first few attempts don’t garner results. If a marketing strategy just isn’t working or you’re not getting the return from a billboard or mailing campaign, turn to one of those secondary strategies to keep your business moving forward. Running a business is an ongoing process of refining your, so make sure you are continually developing new plans and staying abreast on new products and marketing opportunities.
With July 2nd nearly one full month away, your agency should have plenty of time to gather information and conduct mid-year check ins. Taking the time to properly assess problem areas, reformat strategies and celebrate major achievements will help you stay on track for meeting your goals for this calendar year. Take this time to reset yourself and set your sights on those major goals for 2012.
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