Guide
Take stock of your business
Step back and choose a practical priority.
Your objective
By the end of this guide, you will have a priority, an action to try and a date to review the results.
Step 1 / 5
Start with the facts
Describe the current situation using the information you have: enquiries received, proposals sent, customers signed, turnaround times or outstanding tasks. Choose a specific period so you can compare like with like.
Write down three facts and separate them from your impressions. If information is missing, write “to check”.
“We received five enquiries this month” is a fact. “Our communication is not working” is an interpretation to examine.
Step 2 / 5
Identify the bottleneck
Identify where things slow down. Are there too few enquiries? Do proposals go unanswered? Does delivery take too long? Ask one question at a time.
Choose one bottleneck and describe a recent example: what was expected, what happened and the consequence.
Avoid tackling visibility, pricing, organisation and recruitment at the same time. Start with the most specific problem.
Step 3 / 5
Separate the possible causes
The same symptom can have several causes. Low sales may result from too few enquiries, an unclear offer or inconsistent follow-up. At this stage, formulate hypotheses rather than certainties.
Write down two or three possible explanations, then the information that would help you check each one.
Example: if proposals receive no response, review a few files and examine the conversations before changing all your prices.
Step 4 / 5
Choose a realistic priority
Compare possible actions based on their expected usefulness, the effort involved and what you can realistically put in place. The best next action is specific enough to carry out and observe.
Choose a single action. Specify who will carry it out, by what date and what you will review afterwards.
Example: revise the presentation of an offer and use it in the next five proposals, then collect feedback.
Step 5 / 5
Set the next review date
Schedule time now to examine what has changed. The aim is to learn and adjust, rather than defend a decision at any cost.
Record your starting point, the indicator you will track and a review date. On that date, decide whether to continue, adapt or stop.
Avoid drawing conclusions too quickly from a single result. Also record changes in context that could explain what you observe.
Your checklist
Tick the points you have prepared.
Ticked items remain during your visit.
Your next action
Set aside time to write your priority in one sentence, then schedule the first action.
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