Leave the Roller Coasters for the Amusement Park
One of the most challenging and exhilarating times for a business owner – after getting the business up and running – happens when there is an opportunity for growth. This is also a time of frustration and uncertainty.
Once the business gets going, the day-to-day operation can be all-consuming, leaving little time for planning, anticipating changes in the market, and preparing for growth opportunities.
Stop Playing Whack-a-Mole
Most business owners play virtual Whack-a-Mole.
They hold their mallet, wait for problems to rear up, then they whack them as hard as they can to push them back down. Their focus is solely on the problems directly in front of them and how to keep them from getting any worse. Sound familiar?
Usually those problems reside in the areas of operations, finance, or human resources.
These are, of course, important, but they don’t really address the one thing that gets you off that daily roller coaster and onto a track of steady growth: Revenue Generation.
Leave the Roller Coasters for the Amusement Park
One of my favorite sayings is, “Sales cures all.” Without sales, all your other problem areas are meaningless. However, successful sales growth doesn’t happen spontaneously. Pushing your business through barriers in order to achieve growth is one of the hardest things to do.
That is probably why everything else gets attention first and why businesses typically experience a constant roller coaster of revenue spikes and declines.
For most businesses, the keys to smoothing out the ups and downs are a function of planning and discipline.
Skill or Chance – Which Game Are You Playing?
What would it be like if your business was on a steady trajectory toward growth? Would you sleep better at night? By scheduling weekly Green Time– time focused on revenue-generating activities, you turn your business model from one of chance to one of skill.
Here’s how you do it:
Pick revenue targets for various time intervals in the future (e.g. 6 months, 1 year, 5 years).
Using past data, calculate how many prospects you need to have in order to achieve that revenue.
Using the same data, how many prospects can you produce with each type of marketing (phone calls, emails, social media, direct mail, ads, etc.)
Create a plan of action to follow through with the most profitable marketing types. Schedule set blocks of time during the week to work on this.
Make this a priority when sales are up as well as when they are down. Put it in your calendar and don’t move it or do anything else during that time. Don’t wait until a lack of revenue puts your business at risk.
Set Your Sights on a Smoother Ride…
Keeping your priorities in order and your focus on what will truly keep your business on track won’t eliminate all frustration and uncertainty, but it will go a long way to keeping your business on sound footing.
