“I don’t have a revenue goal for 2015.” If I hear this statement out of the mouth of one more entrepreneur, I think I will be sick. Honestly. Seriously.
If you don’t have a revenue goal, how do you know if you’ve reached your goals? How are you even running a business? Being in business is all about cash and money transactions. It’s imperative to set revenue targets – for the year, for the month, for the week – and I, personally, track my numbers on a daily basis.
Knowing your numbers puts you in a position of power. You are able to make informed business decisions – and steer your business into the future, rather than sit back and ‘hope and wish and pray’ that everything turns out ok.
Would YOU want to do business with someone like that? Think about it. If, in fact, that’s the way you are running your business, what kind of clients are you attracting? We attract what we project. For anyone without revenue goals, no doubt there is an air of confusion and uncertainty about them.
Don’t be that person. We have 4 months left in the year – it’s easy to turn this around and here are my simple steps to help you do that.
1. SET A REVENUE TARGET FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2015.
On a clean piece of white paper, at the top, write down the amount of money you would like to make in the next 4 months. I don’t care if it’s $1,000 or $10,000 – just pick a number, write it down and commit to it.
2. BREAK IT DOWN.
The exercise in Step 1 above may have already put you into a nervous frenzy. Don’t let it. Take charge. Know that information is power – and now you can come from a position of power and strength. Now, break that revenue target down into 4 – for September, October, November and December. Write those numbers down the left hand side of that page.
3. SET SALES GOALS.
Now that you know your monthly numbers, identify your specific sales goals for each month – is it to get new clients, new speaking gigs, sell more product…..or all 3? List those in each month – and identify the value/investment for each – how many of each would you need to sell to reach your sales goal for the month?
4. PLAN YOUR DAYS.
Now that you know what you want to generate each month, break it down to the week and to the day. Schedule your days so that you start your day with an hour (minimum) of revenue generating activities – get testimonials, get referrals, write thank you notes, google/research for speaking gigs, make phone calls to get booked to speak, promote your products that are available on line, plan to host a workshop, etc. – get crackin’.
5. STAY FOCUSED.
Hold yourself accountable. Do not let yourself off the hook! Get into the daily habit of generating revenue for your business. It’s a beautiful thing to generate $$$ – and to increase your cash flow. Poverty is not attractive. And if your cash flow is non-existent, you’re probably not much fun to live with either. Turn that around!
KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS IS A VITAL SKILL TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. START TODAY – SO YOU CAN PLAN A YEAR END CELEBRATION!
What step is applicable to you – and when will you start? Let me know how you’re doing, ok?
Please share your thoughts.
