A 30-60-90 day action plan is a written outline of your strategy and plans you have for the first three months on the job.

It’s one of the most powerful tools you can bring to the final stages of the employment interview process. It can be a PowerPoint presentation or paper-based. During an employment interview, a hiring manager is looking for responses to the following basic questions:

1. Do you understand what the job entails?
2. Can you perform the job?
3. Will you perform the job?

A good 30-60-90 Day Action Plan isn’t going to set you apart in the interviewing process — A great one will

A generic plan is a waste of time. Your plan should speak to the company’s needs, products, specific market, and values.

A fill-in-the-blanks template shouldn’t dictate what you include in your plan. Instead, use your knowledge of the industry and the specific company to craft a plan that speaks to its unique needs. The more details you can put into your plan, the better. Specifics matter so name the manager, the products, the customers as much as you can.

But when you are faced with a blank page for this critical document, having a few thought-starters doesn’t hurt. That’s when this 30-60-90 Day Action Plan for a senior marketing leader might come in handy. And it’s more specific than the original blog post I wrote a few years ago.

By taking the time to do a 30-60-90 plan right, you will communicate that you understand the job and that you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

30 days – Learning

One common mistake of new hires is never taking the time to understand exactly what it is that the company is trying to achieve through their strategic plan. As a new hire, it is extremely important to put in the effort to study and learn the internal lay of the land.

People

• Understand expectations of role and the department – written goals
• Gain understanding of corporate goals and vision
• Meet with peers and learn how marketing can help them be more successful
• Meet with marketing team and schedule 1 on 1 meetings
• Walk stores with manager and key team members – hear observations
• Gain an overview of corporate, financial and team calendar/standing meetings

Product

• Come up to speed on key new product initiatives – product, prototype, research, launch plan
• Review depth & breadth of product lines including competition
• Review category / brand / key account information and financials
• Review online product presentation
• Review existing sales tools and marketing programs
• Review current pricing strategy/margin expectations

Sales

• Reach out to key reps to introduce myself and learn about what they need to be more successful
• Look at past Product Line Reviews (PLRs) and sales PowerPoint decks for key accounts – discuss outcomes
• Visit key accounts and discuss the current sales proposition and effectiveness
• Discuss any perceived gaps in the marketing strategy or product line
• Develop understanding of opposing brands in space and why chosen

Marketing

• Review current marketing strategy and gain understanding of current and planned projects, cost and expected results
• Understand existing product/user research and related insights
• Review budgets
• Meet with key marcom suppliers, build rapport and understand current projects. Review if they are the correct supplier and determine how they can better add value
• Learn corporate history and understand how that’s leveraged in current marketing
• Review and understand current social media strategy and direction

Days 31 to 60 – Documenting and Building

Once you have taken time to fully assess the company, begin adding your strengths to the equation.

People

• Continue to integrate with leadership team
• Determine strengths and capacity of marketing team
• Identify team gaps related to executing e-commerce growth and new branding
• Refine, based on attendance/perceived value, standing marketing team meetings
• Finalize budgets for 2016

Product

• New Product Development process skeleton reviewed
• Summarize wish list of new products
• Begin refining commercialization plan for Tool Smart
• Strengthen product slides for upcoming PLR

Sales

• Travel with key reps on sales calls
• Meet with customers of all sizes to see how the sales team positions and sells our products
• Understand key customers customers for pull through opportunities
• Gain further feedback from reps on how to be more successful with their customers
• Develop understanding of how each account is priced/positioned against corporate objectives and against other competitive accounts

Marketing

• Analyze sales trends at key customers for insights to share at PLRs (prioritize by meeting dates)
• Initiate monthly business review meetings for top 3-5 accounts
• Understand the ability to create in-store excitement or promotions and what’s been executed historically
• Identify trade show opportunities and how to leverage new positioning and new products
• Develop key points of difference between key competitors (product & marketing) with SWOT analysis
• Position and promote launch of new website to sales & customers along with other marketing initiatives (branding, packaging, presentation templates, online initiatives, etc.) – to build excitement for the company’s future

Days 61 to 90 – Presenting and Prioritizing

By this time, you should have a firm grasp of the role you play in the company. Your confidence is likely to have grown since your first day and leadership qualities are hopefully itching to be put to action.

People

• Continue to integrate with corporate leadership team
• Introduce future organization structure for marketing, e-commerce and product team
• Share vision, goals and strategies for Marketing
• Share with them their key job goals for 2016
• Begin search for any new roles with written job descriptions defining the positions

Product

• Review first pass of “current” product road map
• Define process / research needed to uncover/refine next generation platforms

Sales

• Share go-forward plan on e-commerce sales support/rep strategy
• Share new sales deck with emphasis on leveraging brand story, new product innovation and new merchandising strategy
• Feedback on product road map and launch commercialization strategies

Marketing

• Create a road show for next key product launch
• Refine and improve online presentation using all available tools
• Begin execution of missing online tools, videos, secondary graphics, etc.
• Leverage e-commerce programs to build partnership
• Actively contribute and participate with marketing communications suppliers to execute current projects and scope new opportunities
• Share feedback internally on any gaps in supplier capabilities or execution
• Expand social media with automation and 3rd party content
• Build out shelf strategy out using research/insights for compelling customer pitch
• Refine pricing approval process, if needed

Your plan is a conversation tool, so when the hiring manager asks the first question that your plan addresses, that’s the perfect opportunity to discuss your 30-60-90 Day Action Plan with the hiring manager.

Good Selling!

Greg Bonsib is an author of the new Mighty Guides Ebook Data Disruption.