Only Measure What You Want To Grow……………But How?

Only Measure What You Want To Grow……………But How?

Every day I speak with window covering dealers from around the country. They call me asking for an evaluation of their websites and how to drive more traffic to their sites. I have a series of questions I ask ranging from total sales to goals to key performance indicators. (KPI’s) I’m guessing less than 25% of them measure anything.

I spoke with an owner this morning who he and his partner didn’t know year’s total sales. How can this be? Measure something, anything!

What should we window covering retailers measure?

Here are a few ideas, If you want to grow your business you might want to know:

1. Total sales
2. Monthly sales
3. Weekly sales
4. Sales breakdown (Blinds, Shutters, Etc)
5. Overhead
6. Marketing cost
7. Number of leads
8. Sources of leads
9. Cost per lead
10. Cost per sale
11. Time spent per sale
12. Time spent per install
13. % of profit
14. Website Traffic
15. Website Leads
16. Google Ads ROI

I’m not saying you have to measure all of these, just pick 6 and start.

When I started my window and blind cleaning service business in 1986, my dad allowed my brother and I to use a room in his office. This is where our father taught me to run a business. I was good at marketing but needed help to run the business. We decided I would stay in the office and run the business and my brother would run the crews. Within a year we were moving into a much larger office with warehouse space. We were running 4 trucks in Orange County and 2 in San Diego. A few years later when I sold this business I could show a history of profits, a database of over 4000 customers and a business with employees. Everything was on my computer, Yes, I had a computer in 1986. By doing this I was able to sell the business for much more than a mom and pop business. My dad’s number one rule was, Know Your Numbers. He was right.

But how do you actually measure something? The short answer is, just start today, not next month or next year, today!

My best tip: Are you using accounting software? Quickbooks Pro or Freshbooks are very simple solutions for any small business. Accounting software, if used correctly will get most of this information for you, plus countless other metrics.

My advice is: Pay an expert to set it up for you and teach you how to use it. Back that up with watching videos on how to use it.

By using cloud-based accounting software you’ll be able to update the info in the field, from any phone, tablet, or computer. You can use Freshbooks or Quickbooks as your database of customers or they will integrate with most CRM’s. (Customer Relationship Management software)

My CRM of choice is OnePage CRM at $12 per month. I have full access to my data from my phone, laptop, desktop or tablet. It’s fantastic.

I actually measure my business by the day. I use Google sheets to track the daily numbers. This way I can look back at previous years to see historical trends.

I could go on and on but I think you understand that you just need to get started……….TODAY

As Peter Drucker Says: Only Measure What You Want To Grow……