What are the most common “revenue stoppers” that can block your path to continued business growth? In last week’s post, I introduced the “limits to growth” concept (see Limits to Growth). Today, I want to put this in practical terms by outlining the four most common forms these limits may impact your business. Empower yourself to plan ahead and avoid these revenue stoppers.
Falling demand (or no demand) for what you are selling
It would be rare to experience the same level of demand for your products or services for an unending amount of time. Competitors disrupt your demand with new products, new pricing, or better positioning. Needs of customers may be evolving away from your core products/services and value propositions. You may have a niche product that has peeked in market share and does not scale across a wider market. You can’t allow you or your team to be blinded by the rose-colored glasses of past success or assumptions. You must always be in touch with market demand to get ahead of these types of changes.
Goal staring and lack of “effort” management
I rarely meet any entrepreneur/owner that can’t tell me what their sales goals are in terms of desired numbers. However, I frequently meet those that have less insight into the measurement of effort. Failure to examine the holistic sales process (the activities that lead to sales opportunities), including failure to establish effort KPIs (key performance indicators) will surely lead to unpredictable and unsatisfying sales results. Take time to understand what activities actually generate the results you want – and focus on ensuring those get done. You are, in effect, the CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) and should make sure revenue generating activities are a priority and monitored.
Under-investing (Chicken and Egg problem)
“We will invest more in marketing and sales resources when sales are better.” I fully understand that statement. However, failing to invest is a special type of “limits to growth” that likely leads to living up to the lower expectations! There is a time when you have aligned the value with customer demand and developed sound sales processes where you must invest to grow. Failure to invest simply invites competitors to capitalize on your under-spending and capture your market share and growth.
Underwhelming or even failing your customers
A sure way to stop sales growth immediately is to fail to deliver what you are selling. Defective products or underwhelming or outright bad service will sour customers and quickly trigger bad reviews and non-referrers. What can cause this? Failing to scale your business to keep pace with delivering high-quality products or services, hiring too quickly and settling for less than stellar employees, or simply over-promising – all of these can be factors that lead to failing customers. Lead to grow and scale in a way that maintains the high standards that your customers expect to continue to create delighted customers that spread the positive word and bring you repeat business.
Now is the time to prepare
The good news is that diligent strategy and execution planning can prepare you to avoid these points of failure. Now is the time to start examining these and other possible “limits” to your growth.
As always, I am happy to offer a free 90-minute PRIME assessment session to walk you through the process of evaluating your limits to growth and start building a customized revenue growth roadmap. Let’s discover together how to avoid these revenue stoppers!
