Headaches

Headaches are something most people have experienced. The intensity varies. From the vague, background pain that is mildly distracting to severe migraines that reduce people to hiding in bed in a dark room. There are similar headaches in running a business. Some are niggles and easy to ignore. Others are all-consuming. In both cases, there are usually indicators that can be acted upon to minimise, and ideally, avoid these.

Some areas to monitor include: Discussion and/or grumblings among team members, team members consistently missing targets, poor conversion ratios, dropping sales, poor reviews and low repeat sales and/or referrals. It is easy to argue that any of these on their own constitute a headache, but more importantly, they can serve as an early warning sign to bigger issues. Managers are taught to watch trends as the trend indicates likely future outcome. What trends have you observed recently in your business? Do you tackle issues as they come up or leave them until they are unavoidable? Are you and your team working around ‘white elephants’ because it is easier than tackling issues head on?

One of the first indicators that there are problems brewing is when team members are doing additional work to fit inside the company systems. Systems are there to serve the people. As with any real life scenario there is a middle ground. For example, data has to be entered into a CRM if it is to serve its purpose. This needs clarity. How much data needs to be entered and who should do it and how often, etc is often the sticking point for many teams. Ensure your team is clear on these essentials.

In sales, the headaches often show up initially in activity figures. Do you have clear expectations with your sales team on what activity you require from them in lead generation, networking, relationship building, and sales? Sales is a process. The steps need to be clear, with the activity & time investment expectation required at each step and between each step known by the team and clients. This will directly affect how many leads generated convert into sales and long term clients. These are all factors that can be measured. Many businesses only vaguely measure these, relying on gut feeling and adequate cash flow. If you are guilty of doing this, it is likely you have headache symptoms and, when things get tough, a higher chance you will probably have migraine impact.

Headaches might be common, but they needn't be a part of your reality.  Put systems in place and measurements and work with your team to ensure you are proactive and responsive. That way the only headaches you generate will be for your competition.