What are Your Critical Numbers?

The Power of Numbers- Critical number for business success

Numbers count, and no, I’m not trying to be facetious.

Reasonable people know their checking account balance before they pay bills. They get a physical exam that includes a blood pressure check and lab tests in order to find out how healthy they are. They wouldn’t think of flying in a plane with a broken altimeter or air speed indicator.

What if none of those numbers were available? How comfortable would that make you?

Your business has important numbers, too. I’m talking about activities-based numbers here, not standard quarterly or even monthly reports like profit and loss. Of course those are essential. They just aren’t enough.

What gets measured gets done. In his highly practical book called Traction - Get a Grip on Your Business, Gino Wickman tells how everyone in an organization should have a number. A receptionist’s number might be two, as in “two rings good, three rings bad,” for desired caller expectation.  Your sales rep’s number might be the number of appointments per day you expect to be made.

Successful businesses use activities-based measurables to set clear expectations. They create accountability, commitment, and even some healthy competition. A team can rally around numbers they’re expected to reach.

You might have heard numbers like these referred to as a score card. Sage CRM system solutions like Sage SalesLogix and Sage ACT!, have a dashboard feature you can customize to track the measurables most important to your business.  Knowing the critical numbers of the various buying stages in your pipeline are key to making smart business decisions.

Here are Wickman’s three rules for choosing measurables to support your organization’s growth:

1. They should be weekly activity-based numbers. Things like new sales and each step leading up to them. Or the steps toward making a happy customer. “If you merely track customer complaints or lost customers, that’s too late,” Wickman reminds us.

2. Your dashboard must help you anticipate problems, not just show that you have them. You’ll be able to see a weak spot immediately, and as you collect several months worth of weekly data, trending will become more accurate.

3. Flag numbers that are below par. Then either address them one on one with the responsible person or make them urgent agenda items at your next meeting, whichever is appropriate. Likewise, applaud team members who exceed the goal.

If all you had were several numbers to take the pulse of your business, what would they be? Those are the ones you need to track weekly.

Our customer relationship development and business management experience are at your disposal to help you identify essential data to track for your business.

Interested in learning more about the Sage Sales Logix dashboard and business analytics? Contact us for ways to measure your critical numbers and use them to make smart decisions.