Building a scalable, repeatable and predictable business is hard work. Even if you have a competitive solution in an attractive market and have the resources to support your growth, it can be hard to expand at the level anticipated in your business plan or expected by your investors. Here are 10 critical factors that could be constraining your growth…
Every business is affected by unique constraints, and much of the art and science of management is associated with identifying and eliminating these barriers to growth. But I’ve also observed a number of common patterns, and I’d like to highlight 10 factors that seem particularly common in high-value, complex B2B sales environments.
Low scores in any of these areas could be holding you back:
1: CUSTOMER/MARKET FOCUS – the extent to which you been able to identify the common characteristics of your most valuable prospects and customers.
2: DIFFERENTIATION – your organisation’s ability to clearly “stand out from the crowd” in your target markets
3: SOLUTION REPEATABILITY – the proportion of your sales revenues that come from standardised, repeatable solutions
4: MARKETING STRATEGY – the ability of your marketing strategy to measurably and consistently deliver the intended results
5: SALES PROCESS – the extent to which you have been able to establish a repeatable, scalable and successful sales process
6: SALES FORECASTING AND PIPELINE MANAGEMENT – the accuracy of your weekly/monthly/ quarterly sales forecasts
7: SUPPORTING SYSTEMS – the extent to which you have been able to establish repeatable, scalable sales and marketing systems
8: PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS – the measurable impact that your partner relationships are having on revenue
9: CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS – where you sit on the scale between being just another vendor and acting as a truly strategic partner to your customers
10: PEOPLE – your ability to recruit, develop and retain all the people you need to sustain the growth of your business
Where does your own organisation stand in each of these important areas? Drawing on a combination of published research and our own experience from client assignments, we’ve published a self-assessment benchmarking guide that you can download here.
Why not take the test today? Please let me know how your organisation performs, and whether you can suggest other factors that should be included.
