Modern Business Magazine May 2016 | Page 33

MODERN FINANCE 1 Know your Numbers. If I want to drop to 60kgs I need to know my starting weight. It’s no different with your business. You need to understand what your current numbers are so you know what you have to work with. and commit it to paper (or computer) and then get started. 4 Know what you want them to be. Knowing your numbers is great, but working out a goal for what you want them to be is even more important. Once you’ve worked out your retention rate, conversion rate, leads, average sale price, number of times customers do business with you, net profit, debtor days, etc then work out what these numbers should be and by when. Work out a 90 day plan. Once you’ve completed step three it can be daunting to know where to start so work out the activity that is critical to do first. It’s no different to a training plan or a weight loss plan – it’s breaking it down into those activities you need to do in your workplace tomorrow. That might be having seven meetings a week with potential clients, making six cold sales calls or reviewing your pricing and creating a new price structure. Just figure out the next steps, the date and commit to doing those things in your first 90 days. 3 5 2 Know what you need to do. Hoping the numbers will improve is not a strategy. Work out the steps you need to take to make it happen Stay on Track. There is a reason weight loss programs make people weigh-in on a certain day every week. It’s so they can be held accountable and can tweak their activity if they’re not getting the results they want. Why should it be any different in your business? Create weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual milestones and then check in weekly to make sure you’re on track. If you’re not hitting your targets, alter your activity before you abandon your targets. 6 Start Again. Every 90 days work out your next lot of activity and keep going. That’s because success isn’t a magic pill – it’s a training program committed to and performed daily. It’s a habit. Finally, get help if you need it. There’s a reason why professional athletes have coaches. Sure they might be able to do it by themselves but it’s much easier when there’s someone there pushing them along, helping to correct any imbalances, celebrating with them and keeping them accountable to what they say they are going to do. Melissa Browne is a money and business strategy expert and founder of A&TA and The Money Barre. Melissa works with small and medium business owners to save tax, grow their business and reduce their stress. She is the author of More Money for Shoes and Fabulous but Broke. For more information visit www.byata.com.au or contact [email protected] May 2016 ModernBusiness 33