Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Focus!

Keeping your focus, your eye on the ball, having a clear target in hand, is a wonderful tool in business. Many companies fail at their attempts to attract new customers simply due to their lack of clear, specific goals. You want more customers, right? But do you know how many more? How much more money do you want to make this year? How many leads you'll need to follow to get solid clients?

Imagine you own a company which grosses 10 million a year. This year, you'd like to up the ante to 12 million. How many more customers would you need?

If each customer brings in an average of $25,000, to reach an additional 2 million this year you'll need 80 more customers. Assuming a closing rate of 50%, you need 160 hot leads to acquire these 80 additional customers. To get 160 hot leads, three times as many cold and warm leads are needed - a total of 480 leads.

Your goal is now perfectly clear: 480 leads this year will increase your income by 2 million dollars. The next step is to determine if your goal is realistic and achievable - but at least now you know where you're headed!

Some people reach out to advertising agencies or use social media to generate new leads. Others utilize their salespeople to step up the pace. Whatever method you choose to reach your goal, locking your focus will facilitate steady progress.

Here's a few Practical Pointers that will help you determine goals and achievability:
Broad Picture: Just handling the day to day issues in your company can stunt your growth and cause you to revolve in place instead of moving forward. Setting long term goals will allow you to precisely focus on priorities.

Details, Details: Whatever your strategy, be as specific as possible in each and every step of the process: the who, what, where, when, why and how.  

Reality Check: Impractical dreams can bury your company in stardust if you don't have the resources to support them. Choose wise, achievable goals that challenge the company in a healthy, sustainable way.

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