5 Habits that Hinder Revenue

In a recent post, I talked about how a deep understanding of your business model can expand profitability for your organization. 

 

Not only does your business model underscore current or highlight where new revenue opportunities exist, it also allows you to be more efficient. It reveals exactly the activities and relationships that will drive results.

 

Becoming more efficient and profitable, however, is not a simple snap of the fingers. You may understand your business model, but that doesn’t mean everything changes easily. Sometimes you don’t even recognize when you’re off kilter.

 

That’s when having an external resource take a look can be especially valuable. 

 

I, personally, have benefited beyond measure through ideas, suggestions, corrections, even tough love shared to me by my business advisor and mastermind groups of peers. They have pointed me in better directions and made my life much easier and more rewarding. 

 

Our behaviors and habits become so entrenched that we become inured. That’s when we need someone to wake us up and get us unstuck.

 

For example, here are just five habits out of a long list that actually hinder revenue and profitability. All are straight from my work with top clients. Once I brought the habit to my client’s attention, together we could resolve it. See if any of these may be lurking around your organization.

 

1. Focusing on low value vs. high value activities. Having your most enthusiastic and boldest business development leader administering the database as more than an occasional part of her job—“occasional” translates to updating a recent client change and/or updating CRM info—means that time and energy being invested in much higher value activities, such as relationship-building, is not happening. Plus there’s a double whammy. Because these low-value activities are rote and energy depleting, productivity is jeopardized because the energy engines need to rev back up again. 
2. Poor systems. Without systems, staff members may be delivering service or completing tasks inconsistently, which can erode trust by your clients and customers. It’s also inefficient because things fall through the cracks, forgetfulness causes repeat tasks, and ultimately relationships degrade and money is left on the table.
3. No sales process. Without a sales process, your team cannot discern what made them successful or not. They will have difficulty repeating successes and correcting failures. Besides revenue rollercoasters, this poor habit can erode staff confidence.
4. Poor pricing strategy. This one is simple. With no pricing strategy, I guarantee you are leaving money on the table.
5. Mindset. We all at some point in our lives have issues with money, with moments when we question our confidence levels, when we’re burned out or fed up. I get it. At the same time, we need the ability to come home to our own resilience and a positive, confident mindset.

These are just a handful of issues that can be compromising your organization’s ability to consistently generate profitable revenue. 

 

This week, take a look around your organization to see what may be weighing things down. Start with your own performance. How are your habits? How well supported are you by your organization’s infrastructure? What is your mindset?

 

Where might you need an upgrade?

 

Did you find this article valuable? Save the date—December 5, 2019—and join my colleague Karen Eber Davis and me for Breaking Through the Million Dollar Glass Ceiling, an online, interactive webinar. We’ll show you how to crash through the impediments that are stopping you from achieving your desired revenue goals.

 

Enhancing your efficiency so you and your organization have the right focus will get you to your goal faster and with less stress.