It’s time to re-set
Re-setting is what small business owners need to do when the direction of the company has strayed from the initial formula that made it successful to start with. You will need to start fresh and go back to the basics, so that the fundamentals and foundation of your company are solid.
1. Streamline your business structure
Take a look at how you are running your core functions, and identify what procedures and processes are no longer serving your company. Frequently, businesses will grow and keep all of the habits and processes along the way, regardless of whether they are still necessary or not. By reviewing everything, you’ll eliminate costly overhead, expenses, and out dated procedures.
2. Get back to your best sales model
Every company has sales and marketing revenue streams that have worked in the past and then evolved into something different. By looking back at your original revenue streams, you can see how your revenue generation has evolved, what sales techniques worked, and which ones did not. This may be a good time to have a sales training seminar to refresh everyone’s skills.
3. Collect input from all of your team
Inside your company are team members who not only have real experience working with the company’s internal systems, but they also have built business relationships with your clients. Why not tap into their knowledge, experience, and insight for ideas and suggestions as to how to improve the daily operations of the business?
4. Eliminate operations that are no longer profitable
Sometimes it’s hard to look objectively at each area or department of your business to see if it is working effectively. If you have been distracted with the day to day operations, now is the time to review all operations. You may need to bring in a third party to take a look at how you do things.
5. Identify challenges and problems that are killing profitability
Examine what’s not working and then call in the experts to do an evaluation. With an expert opinion, you will be able to make the decision that will be best for the future of your business.
6. Re-evaluate your ideal client
Take a look at your ideal client. Find out which client profile is the easiest to sell to, to work with, and is the most profitable. Then get clear on every detail about that client profile, such as their income, size of company and values. By understanding your ideal client, you will be able to re-adjust your business to fill their biggest needs.
7. Re-evaluate your current market conditions
Here’s an important one: Take the time to study the current market conditions. No matter what industry or business you are in, you need to keep up with the current trends and fads. The conditions you were familiar with a few years ago may now look completely different. For example, social media has become a significant advertising tool – are you using it effectively? How is your website doing? Are you using metrics to track visitors, referrals, bounce rates, exit pages, and conversions? Understanding the current marketing conditions will help you figure out what you need to do with any decision you make.