Quick Note: If you haven’t been following our Fix This Next series I really recommend you review the business hierarchy of needs.
Need #1: Sales
Sales is the most foundational of our business’ needs. With that in mind, what’s your sales goal? I think when most business owners are asked that they reply with a canned answer. At first it’s “enough to keep the lights on,” but when we have more than enough we don’t think about it anymore. We might say “1 million,” or “25% growth” because those answers sound good.
Our Sales Goal
We know, though, those aren’t real answers. How should we know what our sales goal is? Well let me give you an example. Sooter Consulting has a sales goal, and that goal is: “Enough for Donna to semi-retire.” We have a number, of course, but the number is less important than what that number accomplishes. If you’re new to your business, how much money does your business need to make before you aren’t working 80 hour weeks? How much until life becomes fun? Congratulations, that’s your goal.
The OMEN Method
Now our desires are aligned with the needs of our business. We’re far more likely to think critically about how to achieve those goals. Michalowicz suggests his system, OMEN, as the tool to help work through that critical thinking.
However the implementation of OMEN often requires the help of experts and innovative ideas. I want to note the importance of ‘evaluation’ and ‘nurture’ being different steps of this system. A lot of marketing is giving information, education, and explaining how you work until someone decides that what you’re offering has value. Sometimes, your evaluations demand immediate change, but sometimes the best option is to remain consistent with your current plan.
If you believe that your business is struggling to fulfill its sales needs then we highly recommend using this system to analyze and course correct! Here are two tips that we have learned using the system:
- Keep your OMEN simple. If you need to measure multiple metrics for a single objective consider dividing your objective into simpler pieces. For example, Sooter Consulting needs more leads and better lead conversion. Originally we divided this objective into 2 pieces, but since then we divided that objective further to simplify the scope of the problem.
- Patience is key. Sales doesn’t change overnight, and is impacted by variables outside of your control. As entrepreneurs we must develop a sense for when an opportunity is too good to pass up, and when a rash decision might do more harm than good.