The Milestones table is one of the most important in your business plan. It sets the plan into practical, concrete terms, with real budgets, deadlines, and management responsibilities. It helps you focus as you are writing your business plan, and then, the Milestones table and plan-vs.-actual management analysis helps you implement your plan as you grow your business.

Put some bite into your plan and management by listing specific actions to be taken. Each action becomes a milestone. This is where a business plan becomes a real plan, with specific and measurable activities, instead of just a document.

Set as many milestones as you can think of to make it more complete. Give each milestone the following:

• name (responsible person)
• due date
• budget (in $ for each task on the milestone chart)
• person responsible
• deliverable (what is to be accomplished
• metric (what is the measure of accomplishment)
• What is the budget for each milestone (in $s)

Then make sure that all your people know that you will be following the plan, tracking the milestones, and analyzing the plan-vs-actual results. If you dont follow up, your plan will not be implemented.

The value of a plan is measured in its effective implementation.

The Milestones should be one of the most important sections of the entire business plan. Each marketing and sales-related program you plan should be listed in the table and explained in the accompanying text, along with relevant details. You want to cement your sales strategy with programs that make it real.

• How is this strategy to be implemented?
• Do you have concrete and specific plans?
• How will implementation and success be measured?

Often, milestones are considered a project or part of a project. So project management skills and disciplines are important for successful execution.