2018 is definitely going to be better than 2017, right?
You may have some lofty goals in place to make that happen. Perhaps you’ve committed to hitting a certain revenue number, growing your team or expanding your services.
But if I had to choose one determinant to bolster results, it would beeeee….(Drumroll please)…
…Strengthening systems and processes.
Why?
By focusing on process improvement all your other goals will be achieved.
Take sales for example. If your goal is to increase sales by 50% by raising your prices as well as the volume you sell, you might provide your team with numbers to hit every week or month.
But the process behind those numbers is where the magic happens.
What is the exact script or conversation with a new prospect? What information should be captured? What should be offered to convert that prospect to a lead? When should you upsell or downsell a prospect? What letterhead should be used?
None of those answers are left to chance or experience when a process is in place.
There are endless opportunities to create processes and systems in your business. Any time you are doing something that can be done the same way, over and over, you have a chance to make it as efficient as possible.
You may have a system for:
- An invoice to go out when a certain part of a project is complete
- The way you prepare for a sales presentation
- An email sequence that nurtures the people who subscribe to your mailing list
- Your social media posts by weekly and daily themes
- A specific way you add flour to your famous bundt cake that customers rave about
If you’re worried that systemizing will make you rigid or deny you of creativity in any way, you are mistaken my friend.
Systems invite freedom.
They provide massive results by:
- Freeing up your time and allowing you to automate
- Delegating while still maintaining appropriate control
- Inviting creativity. If all you are doing is working IN your business, how are you ever going to find time to work ON your business?
- Delivering a consistent and excellent customer experience
- Lowering costs. You and your team don’t waste time and effort reinventing the wheel each time you’re going through a process
- Minimizing the fear that something may fall through the cracks
- Making it easier to train others
It’s no surprise that the more I’ve systemized every part of my business, the more revenue I’ve generated and the less overwhelmed I’ve felt.
The icing on the cake is that systems have allowed better tracking and analysis than ever before, which has impacted where I spend my three most important resources: time, energy and money.
For example, by documenting a consistent referral system I now have data on the number of clients I’m communicating with, where the best referrals are coming from and what industries yield the highest revenue.
And let me be transparent here.
I am a far cry from a data analyst and would never be considered a “numbers person.” My system was created on a Google doc and didn’t require a fancy or complicated software.
But, this system provided me with information to more effectively invest marketing dollars this year.
I recently helped a client feel less stressed, scattered and unfocused by systemizing her social media efforts. We picked daily themes, created a repository of images and quotes and scheduled all her posts.
She tripled her engagement in the last couple weeks, while halving the time she spent on it. Not to mention she’s ready to delegate this task to someone else on her team.
Systems are liberating. The give you the freedom of time, space, energy, serenity and money.
Where can you implement or improve systems in your business too?
Let me know in the comments below.
Xo,
Mridu
P.S. If you’re struggling with a million priorities, demands and distractions and know you’d benefit from easy systems, straight talk solutions and accountability, please join me on a complimentary call right here so we can get to know each other better.
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