An interesting (if not, borderline inappropriate) question, that I overheard at a networking mixer. It was apparent that the consultant was attempting to get to the root cause of what seemed to be a constantly changing sales and marketing strategy.

He went on to ask this sales executive about his short term vs long term strategy and asked him to define the timeline for each. How often does your strategy change and what do you think is a reasonable time frame for short-term and long-term strategies? I define a long-term strategy as something that will take at least 6-12 months before seeing the fruits of your labor. A short-term strategy is more like an initiative, that can take anywhere from 1-6 months. Making adjustments to your strategy along the way is crucial and important, but should not take away from the primary focus of your initial gameplan. Commitment to a strategy is imperative for long-term success, but remember that short term “wins” along the way will keep cash flow coming and allow you to carry on towards attaining your long-term goals.