How you present your product makes your ideal customers feel compelled to do business with YOU, not your competitors. You are different from your competitors in a way that has strong appeal.

It is hard to tell the difference between your product and your competitors. They are largely the same, especially in customer appeal.

Your sales team is motivated with a scripted approach and income tied to results. You use a successful digital sales funnel.

Sales results are poor. There is no sales script or digital funnel and results are not tied to income.

You have chosen which marketing channels to use, how and why, e.g. a website, social media, web ads and other advertising. There is a measurable marketing plan to increase inquiry & sales. The website is up to date.

You use some marketing channels, but they are inconsistent and not up to date. You are don’t know which channels work best.

At least the 5 most important numbers indicating business performance have been identified & are systematically measured and reported weekly. Team members know the numbers used to measure their performance.

You have sales figures and other information but you are not sure if it is measuring the most important aspects of business success. It is reviewed irregularly or not at all.

Your short business plan states: your vision, values, why you’re different (and better) than competitors; how that satisfies a need, types of customers you serve and competitive advantages; how you find & create customers; operations, clear role descriptions & budgets.

We just want to make money, but have no written plan.

You have researched & tested price increases based on value provided, competitor pricing & offers V’s yours, increasing profitability.

You set product prices you think the market will pay.

A budget showing sales, main expense categories & profit is reviewed monthly against accurate profit & loss reports. Cash flow is monitored and updated monthly.

There is no sales & profit budget and inaccurate and irregular profit and loss reporting. There is no cash flow report.

New team members are systematically inducted and developed by managers so a strong team development culture exists. Managers coach team members on their roles. Emerging managers are developed.

Managers work in isolation. New team members learn on their own and everyone fends for themselves, protecting their turf. There is a win / loose approach to compensation.

An operations and training manual is current and revised at least quarterly. Team members refer to the manual regularly on how to execute their responsibilities.

There is no operations & training manual or it is well out of date. Team members are not aware of written information on their role execution.

Managers prioritise tasks, achieving key long-term goals. You have time to work on your business to move it forward and always have time to spend with family & friends.

Management is reactive, often chaotic & disorganised, spending little time on key long-term goals. You don’t spend enough time with family & friends.

Owners monitor the value of the business, implementing strategies to build value for a future sale. They view offers from qualified buyers to purchase or buy in. A plan for leadership succession is clearly defined.

Owners have no market-based valuation of the business or plan to increase sale value. The business is not being marketed to qualified buyers or planning for succession.

Managers care about staff welfare deeply. Team members treat the business as if it were their own. All have an incentive package, a blend of base and bonus salary that motivates creativity and commitment.

Staff leave their passion, motivation and creativity at home and contribute the minimum required to keep their jobs. They expect base salary and benefits risking nothing, so don’t care.

You know your current production capacity. If at 80% of turnover or more you are increasing capacity for growth now! Analysing the small number of products producing most of your revenue (the 80/20 rule) you focus on those.

Not knowing your current production capacity, you are in danger of being unable to fill orders as you grow. There is no 80/20 analysis, so you are not concentrating efforts effectively.

The team is supported by regular scheduled meetings for goal setting, reporting & accountability – quarterly, monthly & weekly. Owners decisions flow through the organisation quickly & efficiently.

With no regularly scheduled team meetings, communication from management is haphazard. Off-site planning meetings are too rare and communication of decisions is poor.

You accept some of your methods may not create a sustainably profitable business. You are willing to adapt and change, whatever it takes - habits, business practices, priorities & time management.

You are unwilling to change how you do business, habits, priorities and how you use your time. A few tweaks will do the trick.