There are many ways to improve your business so you can reach your goals. Today I want to talk about 3 of them that have made a big impact in my business: 1) systematizing, 2) using the delete, do, delegate, or delay method, and 3) tracking for improvement.
Systematizing your business for success
What does systematizing even mean?
It means streamlining what you do and creating repeatable systems that handle the majority of your business. It makes it easier when you are ready to hire help and delegate tasks.
An example: customer payment issues. You could type out a message or make a phone call every time a payment fails. There would likely not be a consistent message each time. To systematize this task, you prewrite an email message that you cut and paste each time you need it. The message should include ways for them to rectify the situation. This is exactly what I do in one of my businesses. Anyone could handle this task at any time. They just send that message.
So, before you start systematizing everything, you should first make a master list of all the tasks that need to be completed in your business. Then go through them with a fine-tooth comb.
Do, Delete, Delegate, or Delay the Choice is Yours
Go through your list and decide what is truly necessary to run your business. Strike through those tasks that just don’t need to happen. Here is part of my list: paying bills, running to the bank, writing blog posts, coming up with social media posts… Some of these things I’d love to just hand off to someone else. Go through your task list and mark, if money was no object, what would you really want to do. Place a star by those items.
Then mark the rest of the tasks with one of the following:
Delete
Delegate
Delay
Delete the things that aren’t moving you toward your goals. Are there pieces of your business you just don’t like doing and they don’t bring you closer to earning money… delete them (or at the very least delegate them). Be honest with yourself. Don’t do the same thing you have always done and expect a different result. That is insane!
Delegate the things you can. Set up systems. Figure out what you can pay someone to do. Hire a virtual assistant. Find someone to do the things someone else can do at least 80-90% as well as you. Build this into your budget now or in the future. It will keep you sane.
Delay things that are not bringing you income or that you can put off for a bit while you are building your business. Most of us need more time. We need to stay focused and not follow the next shiny object. Keep a list of these things you should delay. You can add them in down the road. Heck, down the road you might not want to do them anymore.
Tracking for Improvement
The third super important area in your business that can
radically change things is tracking.
Have you ever heard that you can’t improve something you don’t track? Many call these trackable things KPIs (key performance indicators). Depending on the type of business you have will depend on what needs to be tracked. Things you can track: social media followers/engagements, website traffic, number of folks on your email list, sales, # of proposals, new leads, etc. You don’t have to track everything. Just the most important to your business. Start a spreadsheet with these key things and each week fill in the number. When I was in direct sales I tracked the number of phone calls, the number of appointments, the number of leads I worked with, my sales numbers and the number of interviews I conducted.
In summary, these three activities will really help catapult your business to a new level… especially when you apply them consistently. If you want help in these areas, join us in January in our soon to be launched Business Builder’s Club.
