Do You Need to Make Any Half-Time Adjustments in Your Business?
It is always a good idea to take a time out this time of year and review how the first six months have gone versus your business plan. If things are going well, you want to know what is working so you can do more of those things. If things are not going as expected, then you need to make some half-time adjustments. As a salesperson, you want to take some time to ask some of your top customers what they think you are doing right and what you can do to improve your service.
Top organizations do not wait until the end of the year to make changes but are constantly making small adjustments to keep their business on track. In my past life, we would ask each employee to give their feedback in their areas by asking them to answer some questions. I found an excellent example of the types of questions you want to ask your team in this article by Harry Marsland
“Harry’s 5 Questions to Double your Business”
- What do we do that you like?
- What do we do that you don’t like?
- What could we do more of?
- What should we do less of?
- What will it take for you to double the business you give us over the next 12 months?
You can modify these questions to fit your business. Questions one through four are some you should ask all of your people as it relates to their part of the business. It is important to get your whole team involved. As business is picking up, I am hearing many issues being raised that can affect the second half. This is a good time to pause and make sure that you are meeting your customers’ expectations.
One issue that I am hearing the most about concerns lead times. As business picks up, you must understand what your customers’ expectations are for the second half. You are communicating to them what adjustments you’re making to meet them. The best way to understand your customers’ needs is to ask.