The most important question for your business.
I have one question that reveals what is needed to improve your business. It is a simple but powerful, yes or no question. It shows if your strategy and execution are on point and in alignment or not. It shows where in the revenue funnel we need to work on, and it cuts through all the tangential KPIs one can get lost in, while looking to grow your business.
The question is this: Is getting new customers easy?
If the answer is yes, then the path to growth is more straightforward. It reveals that you already have a good strategy with a strong market fit, positioning, and pricing. This answer demonstrates that you are ready to take your business to the next level. Your challenges will involve growing pains related to changing some of the ways you do things so that you can deliver more value to more customers without exploding your marketing or operational costs.
If the answer is no, then the first area to focus on is your strategy. If selling is difficult or closing deals takes too long, your market fit is off, and we need to look at that first. This is a critical point in a business’s lifecycle. Too many companies ignore this and instead get lost chasing tangential KPIs.
Often I see companies switch up their sales or marketing teams in hopes that is the issue, but it rarely is. While sales and marketing teams can always improve, if selling is too hard, it can usually be traced back to a strategy that isn’t adequately defined or one that isn’t uniformly bought into by the leadership team. These are two different issues, both of which can be fatal.
I have seen businesses with excellent sales and marketing teams with well-honed and proven strategies die while starting to take off. This happens when leaders disagree on precisely what their business is doing and why. Getting to alignment can be difficult without expert guidance from experienced consultants.
The flip side of the coin is a leadership team that is totally in alignment around a strategy that feels good internally but has no market fit. This is where going back to the drawing board is essential to regrouping around a new approach.
How you answer this question illuminates exactly how we can help you take your business to the next level.