Step back and think about why you started your business and how much has changed in that business over the last five years. Why you started – it’s your passion – and the drive to see that passion through is what keeps you (and me) awake some nights. As entrepreneurs, we’re always engaged in our businesses and looking for how to take it to the next level. When I look back with over a decade at MoreSALES, I still feel the pride as I remember the “milestone moments”, when the business stepped to the next level. Today, the business is bigger and more complex and there’s just a lot more to do.
Each of us does a strategic planning exercise annually with our teams to plot the business year ahead – looking at our goals, setting where we want the business to be in the next year, and identifying our key accomplishments. Looking back at the end of a hard fought year, we’ve celebrated that we’re still standing and reflect on the goals we achieved and those we might not have achieved over the course of the year. Suspiciously, certain goals seem to be hit continuously… and some are missed on a regular basis. We even beat ourselves up over those goals we miss and promise to do better next year – after all, we got into this business because we’re passionate about it.
Humor me for a minute and take a short test. Score yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 is, “Absolutely agree we have that” and 1 is… “No, we definitely don’t have that”.
- We have a clear plan of action to increase our sales.
- We know we can successfully implement our plan to increase sales.
- We have the resources required to implement our plan to increase sales.
- I’m able to dedicate sufficient time to increasing sales.
Add it up, what’s your score?
Candidly, most entrepreneurs score under 12. If you’re one of the majority scoring under 12, should it surprise you that you’re feeling that the company is falling short of its full potential in sales?
Pause for a moment before you beat yourself up! You’re busy and a continuous focus is hard to achieve with so many thing warring for your attention.
To learn more about getting more sales, download MoreSALES’ Frugal Tactics for Building Your Sales Engine white paper.
