Jenny Stilwell — November 16, 2017 — November 16, 2017
I know, you’re doing a million things and don’t have time to do a full analysis of your business, market and world economic climate right now. But you do need to at some point. These 3 strategies are a quick way to minimise risk and safeguard your business should the worst happen.
1: KNOW YOUR SALES
– Know exactly what you sell and to whom
– Know which products and services are more in demand
– Know what each product or services contribute to your business
Ideally, you should focus on the products that contribute a large proportion of your company’s revenue or profit that are in high demand. It may sound obvious, but not all high-value goods come with a high-profit margin.
And pay attention to your sales cycle. If you have a very high-value product that has a long sales cycle, factor that into your forecasting. Balance the long sales cycle products with those that are easier to sell. You need to know what is, in effect, your company’s ‘bread and butter’.
2: KNOW YOUR MARKETING
– Know the ROI of all your marketing activities. If you’ve never tracked it then start doing so otherwise, you could be wasting not only money but energy and time and opportunity!
– Confirm that the marketing activities which produce the most results also produce the best results. Of the 10 leads each campaign brings in how many actually convert? A certain marketing stream may bring in 1000s of leads but if it doesn’t convert to a sale, it’s just wasting your time.
3: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
If I had a penny for every client that I have worked with who didn’t have a sales forecasts or didn’t do budgets – I’d be writing this from the golf course at Sandy Lane. If you don’t forecast and track, you CANNOT effectively manage your cash flow or adjust your sales and marketing activities.
– Develop a P&L budget for your company and each of your products
– Overestimate your expected expenses and underestimate your expected sales
– Track on a regular basis (which is dictated by the length of your sales cycle) – but at least monthly
And there you have it; three incredibly simply strategies to focus on areas in your business where it’s easy to lose focus. So if the going gets tough, you are prepared as you are in control of details. Let me know how these worked for you!
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