Self-Evaluation: Are You Doing These 4 Things To Increase Your Revenue?

By The Business Solutions Network

For literally years now, I’ve been harping on a few key things I believe would make in a difference in a solutions providers business. These recommendations center on getting close to your business — whether it’s measuring your financials, monitoring your business’ key performance indicators, or planning for the future.

When I’ve talked to readers face to face, I get a couple common reactions. One reaction is to claim they’re too small of a company and too busy to take time for such things that wouldn’t make much of a difference. The other reaction is to fall back on their age, wisdom, and years in business and almost dismiss my ideas, because, after all, they’ve been in a business a long time and clearly know what they’re doing.

In our Feb. 2014 issue, I wrote a special report ("How Good Is The Managed Services Business? Damn Good.") with data gathered from solutions providers. The typical (i.e. median) profile of the solutions providers polled was 15 years in business, 8 employees, and $1.5M in annual revenue. Of course, we had plenty who were larger and smaller. The point, here, is that the polling wasn’t conducted on newbs or super large companies. We asked these solutions providers a bunch of questions regarding their business and the results were very telling.

Take a look at the embedded image. Look at the difference in annual revenue between respondents who don’t have a business plan and those who have one and follow it ($500,000 vs. $1,600,000). Look at the difference between those who participate in business-focused peer groups and those who don’t ($750,000 vs. $1,500,000). Notice the increase in annual revenue as you track KPIs ($400,000 vs. $1,000,000 vs. $2,500,000). Finally, look at what adopting an automation tool can do for your business ($500,000 vs $2,000,000).

Now, it’s very possible that higher revenue is simply a result of luck, a healthy market, or higher business acumen from leadership and not from following a business plan, tracking KPIs, being in a peer group, or using a PSA tool. That might be the case. But if you now know that the most successful businesses do these four things, shouldn’t you look to adopt them as well? Isn’t this evidence enough that, if you’re not doing these things, you might not be achieving your full potential?