What Gets Measured Gets Managed
Why do support groups work so well when trying to achieve a successful business? It’s because you have a team of like-minded people holding you accountable, and you measure your activities to track your progress and report back each time you meet. Being responsible and measuring everything allows you to predict your results and, ultimately, your success.
It’s no different in business. If it moves and shakes, it needs to be measured. What doesn’t get measured cannot be managed. And if you show me your activities, I can predict with clarity and precision your results.
I once had a client just about out of cash and days away from chucking it all in. He came to me as a last effort to salvage his struggling business. After a short time working together, things started turning around, but he wasn’t convinced, as the results weren’t showing up in his bank account yet. He rang me up one day and said: “That’s it. I’m done. I can’t pay you anymore, and I’m basically out of cash. I have to pull the plug.”
He filled me in on exactly his situation, and at the end of the conversation, I offered him an offer. I told him I would continue to work with him as before, and I’d keep invoicing him, but he didn’t have to pay me for 60 days. I spelled out exactly what he needed to do and that I had absolute confidence this would right his ship within 60 days. He took some persuading, but he agreed to the deal.
Sixty-two days later, I got one of the best phone calls I’ve ever had. They rang me up more excited than I’d ever heard. They just landed a $280,000 contract for the business, the largest by far that had ever secured. That was a few years ago, and today the business is going from strength to strength.
It’s not about the result, but the activities took on the journey there.
During our initial time working together, we tracked his progress, so I knew with confidence that this client was only a few months away from a significant turning point due to the activity of the previous 90 days. I’m not psychic, and I just read the data. His pipeline had never been more significant. His follow-up systems had never been better. It resulted from a six-month process, and he couldn’t see how it was about to come to fruition. All the indicators, such as conversion rates and the tested and measured data, allowed me to see this. It’s like climbing a mountain. You’re gaining height and getting closer to the summit with each step. You put in all the work but don’t see the incredible view until you’re at the top.
So when you think you are three feet from disaster, you may be three feet from gold, so keep going. Just go for it. If you do all this, the cash flow turns up. You will inevitably be successful by putting the right processes in place, tracking your efforts, and having the right mindset in place. Focus on continuously improving your processes and understanding your data to strive to be 1% better daily and accountable for outcomes.
Have you considered whether this kind of accountability and support could transform your business? At Business Benchmark Group, we specialize in giving trades and construction companies a plan to take all guesswork and uncertainty out of growing a successful business.
Have you considered whether this kind of accountability and support could transform your business? At Business Benchmark Group, we specialize in giving trades and construction companies a plan to take all guesswork and uncertainty out of growing a successful business.
