by Bill Poole | Aug 9, 2023 | Resources, Sales
Creating a business plan (V/TO™) is a great first step in moving your business to your goals.
Putting in place the processes and metrics to enable you to meet those business goals is a journey, but it is a journey worth taking. We call this the “Connected Scorecard.” The connected scorecard tracks the right activity metrics to drive your desired lagging metrics (your desired results from your Business Plan/ V/TO). Tracking the right leading metrics between the two helps you know if you are getting there.
Once you have the right processes in place and track the right metrics, you know how to take the appropriate actions to move your business forward.
Check out the video on how to Connect Your Sales Scorecard to Your Business Plan.
Connect Your Sales Scorecard
by Bill Poole | Mar 20, 2023 | Strategy
Developing the scorecard that works for your business is a journey. There are some common challenges that entrepreneurs face along the way. This blog is written to help you take action to improve your scorecard and shorten the journey.
We will look at three common challenges that entrepreneurs face with the scorecard by providing:
- The symptom
- The likely cause
- Suggested actions for improvement.
Symptom: Team members are not accountable to their numbers
| Likely Cause |
Suggest action |
| Setting the wrong tone for your scorecard. The purpose of the scorecard is not to punish but to enable your team to hit their numbers through skills development or process improvement. |
Implement a culture of coaching. If team members understand that leadership is there to coach and help them, they will feel more personally accountable. |
| The goals may be unrealistic. If you set your goals with the superstar in mind, you are setting up your team’s mid and lower performers for ongoing failure. |
Ensure the goals are realistic and all team members can hit their numbers. |
Symptom: We are hitting our activity numbers, not business goals.
| Likely Cause |
Suggest action |
| Activity and leading metrics are not aligned with the Business Plan / V/TO® |
Leverage your client journey as the path to connect activity metrics to your business goals and ensure you are gathering your client’s perspective along the way. |
| You may track the right metrics, but the goals are not high enough. |
If your activity metrics are aligned with your business goals, then keep the metrics, raise the goals, and give team members what they need to succeed. |
| Not enough time – if you have just recently input your metrics, they may not have had time to affect the high-level business goals. |
Make sure you have given your activity metrics enough time to affect your business goals, and keep an eye on how your activity metrics are connected to the leading metrics to meet your goals. |
Symptom: Long streaks of red or green on your scorecard or metrics that never prompt action.
| Likely Cause |
Suggest action |
| You are tracking things that can’t be controlled weekly. The big idea with using a scorecard in your leadership and departmental meetings is to track metrics that prompt action every week. For example, tracking lagging metrics for individuals is not a great idea. |
If you’re not taking action on those metrics, could you remove them from your scorecard and track the activity or leading metrics that will prompt action weekly. |
Remember that your scorecard is a journey. Ensure that you are getting to the root cause before you make changes to keep your scorecard moving in the right direction.
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