By Corey DeJong, Director of Marketing, Tigerpaw Software
Is your business on a slow decline or just treading along, and you can’t seem to get to that next level? It could be time for a change. I call it the “used-to” factor. That is, you’re so used to doing things one way, it’s hard to break out of the routine to do something else.
Business can be resistant to change, but it is possible with determined leadership, the right model and the right tools to help get you there. Here’s a look at how to improve or resolve three common problems that cause companies to keep doing what they’re “used to” and how to break through the status quo.
See Things Clearly
If you don’t have visibility across your entire organization, you’re going to have problems. At 10 people or $1 million in sales, maybe it was OK. But once you grow past that point, there are more layers, more complexity, more everything, to obscure your view. That makes it more difficult to make the right decisions for your business. So look for tools that can help you see more clearly.
Automating certain business processes and functions can go a long way to increasing your visibility. I encourage you to watch this video that demonstrates how automation can help you become more profitable. From contact management to inventory and accounting, there are plenty of opportunities to integrate multiple functions into a single system to make it easier to grow your business—and see more clearly.
Delegate to Others
When you’re the leader of a small business and you want something done, many times you just do it yourself. It’s easier, faster and you know it’ll get done the way you want. But as the company grows, it’s impossible to be everything, everywhere, all the time. Your ability to delegate and to have the proper solutions and procedures to ensure that delegation runs smoothly becomes critical.
For example, if you want to expand cybersecurity business, it’s unlikely you will have the time to get trained and start selling and supporting cybersecurity yourself. You have to let someone else do it for you. That can be a tough pill to swallow, but if you trust the management and staff you’ve hired, you’ll find that they can get things done right too. Having the right sales management solution allows you to track progress to ensure that things get done right—the way you would do them.
Increase Efficiency
To properly grow your business, it’s important to invest in new technologies, new solutions, new services. Of course, accomplishing that goal takes training, which takes time away from regular duties, which reduces your productivity and efficiency. Sound Stage, Winterpark, Florida-based AV services provider, invested in training and improved productivity. Click here to learn how. And if you don’t have enough coverage for a specific job or function if somebody is out of the office, sales and operations can really suffer. Service management solutions provide a great function to better track productivity and efficiency, and allow you to better allocate your resources to maximize their time.
Your ability to better schedule, manage and support your resources can have a dramatic impact on your bottom line and open up more opportunities to expand the business. Create workflows to optimize the skills of your staff with outstanding service tickets.
Predictability Equals Success
Keep in mind that if growing a business were easy, everyone would do it. The truth is that most small companies will fail—for any number of reasons. Don’t be a statistic. Leverage the great tools available in the market to make you more productive, more efficient, and more profitable. Having more control over your entire business can go a long way to determine how you’ll be received by employees, customers and other business partners. There’s no reason to keep doing things the way you “used to.” Remember, businesses that are more predictable are ultimately more successful.