THE BUSINESS PLAN MD Steve Davidson warns that it is
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folly to start a road transport outfit with the "suck it and see" philosophy. Instead, the best policy is meticulous preparation In the months before Davidson and Dunstan launched Megadnve, they planned every detail of their business journey.
We are handed a copy of the f irm's nine-page business plan. It says that Davidson and Dunstan intend to "build the biggest haulage, storage and logistics company possible in 15 years, in order to sell it for the maximum amount of money thereby negating the need to ever have to look at another truck again".
The plan outlines how this can be achieved It explains that work has been garnered through existing industry contacts and "by chance" but it admits that these methods "will not generate the
levels of trade at suitably high rates per mile that a business with our aspirations requires" To win more work, Megadrive is setting up what it terms as a "structured" approach to sales.
That means 'identifying, targeting and monitoring its customers and actions
The document also sets out a practical plan of attack
• A strong web presence: essential in spreading the word • Marketing: logo, liveries, uniforms and stationery.
• Public relations: issuing press releases, attending trade shows, supplying vehicles for local events, and so on
• Team development: to ensure the team is "singing from the same song sheet", in the words of the business plan