Size may not matter but measuring definitely does!

Many years ago I worked for a large corporate firm that required me to measure my activity each day. How many calls did I make? How many sales? How many new customers? How many current customers upgraded? How many minutes was each call?

On and on. I excelled there and I was often near the top of the leader board for sales and new customers. It’s no accident that measuring specific criteria made a difference not only my results but in how I approached my job as well.

[ctt template=”5″ link=”wtv1c” via=”yes” ]Size may not matter but measuring definitely does![/ctt]

Measuring will always affect the outcome.

Like you, I love that I don’t have to report my calls or my activity each day to a supervisor. That is one of the joys of owning my own business and I’m not giving it up.

But I do measure the things that matter to my business success and you should too.

Simple things like how much revenue or how many new clients help you keep an eye on trends and patterns. Do you always see a dip in July or January? What month is the biggest for new clients? Now you can create exactly what you need during these times.

You can also measure your reach. How many new followers you have is a basic place to start on Facebook or Instagram but even better might be how many people comment on your posts? Which posts receive the most interaction? How can you do more of those?

When we measure and track, it becomes clear what’s working. It also means we can do more of what matters to our audience. Resources are finite and limited for many of us, so knowing where we can make the best impact is critical if we want to be successful.

Lately one of the things I’m tracking is places to speak and make presentations. I have a spreadsheet that I use to track events, contacts and the information I’ve sent each one. By taking a glance at this sheet I can easily see where I need to follow up and the types of events that are eager to have me on board.

How to track?

Keep it simple. I keep revenue on one basic chart so at any time, I know exactly where I’m at for the month.

Make it visual. Use post-it notes or a blackboard or white board or even a flip chart and fill in the blanks. Want 5 new clients? Create a space to write in each one as they hire or buy from you.

Review once a month. I take time at the end of each month to review my progress. It doesn’t take long, but boy is it helpful. I can see instantly if I’ve not made the effort to bring in new clients or if I’ve had a surge of requests to speak, it’s easy to see which activity produced those specific results.

Start small.

If this type of tracking is new to you then make it easy and fun to start. Use a calendar or make a chart to track a specific metric that is important to your success. Do a little dance when you fill in a square or check of a goal.

[ctt template=”5″ link=”qLg23″ via=”yes” ]What you measure matters. And when you measure; results follow. It really can be that simple.[/ctt]