“Why isn’t my business growing?” the founder asked as she sent an email to another lead, made a note to contact a prospect, posted updates to all the company’s social media networks, then checked to see who commented or liked previous posts to find potential prospects and leads.
It doesn’t take Nancy Drew to solve this mystery. If this fictional scenario sounds all too real, you’ve got a problem. It is one that can be fixed fairly easily, however, and it’s something we’ve talked about before: the need to focus on working on a business, not in it.
Think of your business as a delicious cake. If you have ever made a cake before – especially from scratch – you know it’s a rather large undertaking. You have to gather all the ingredients, find the right cookware, closely follow the recipe, and time it just right. You, as a company founder, should not be involved with most of that. All you need to be concerned with is that the cake tastes great. This is why you need to get out of the kitchen.
Sounds a little counterintuitive, right? Nobody knows your business like you, so why should you stop doing things like selling? The main reason, at the risk of overusing this metaphor, is simple: You’re not a baker. If you’re spending large chunks of your day manning the phones or email inbox, you can’t focus on the overall picture of your business. You don’t have the time to strategize, brainstorm, make plans, or create goals. And, when you can’t do any of that, your business won’t grow.
Now that you know what’s impeding growth, you can think about bringing in people to take sales off your plate. Building a sales team is easy, but building the right sales team takes a lot more work. You need to figure out the type of sellers you need, then equip them with the best tools and monitor their progress. Perhaps most importantly, you need to provide them with regular training so they can improve their skills.
Finding somebody to hire may be as simple as posting an ad. Getting the best salespeople for your business requires more effort, though, and training so they know your products and your customers might take months. That sounds like a long time, but it’s a lot shorter than you may realize. Think about it: Six months from now, you could have outstanding salespeople in place and raring to go. That means you can start experiencing magical moments as a business owner – like the first sale you get from a new client – pretty soon.
As a founder, you’ve likely had your hand in as many projects as you could for longer than you can remember. It may take some time for you to get used to not being an integral part of the sales process, but the day will come when it feels normal. So much free time could be a little overwhelming in the beginning, though. This is why it’s important to focus on a few key areas so you can get the most out of those precious minutes.
A couple of years ago, this would’ve been a silly question. You’d be at the office, of course. But, with remote working so prevalent, you may have choices. You don’t have to be in a dedicated workspace anymore if you don’t want to be, although you can certainly if you do. Find a place that works best for you, as delegating a lot of the day-to-day means you won’t have to worry too much about anyone on your team needing to reach you.
There are times when you should probably just shut all your technology off, at least for a little while. It’s a good idea to create a schedule in which you carve out a few hours – or perhaps an entire day – so you can really concentrate. Make it known that you don’t want to be disturbed during these times unless there’s a big problem. Do you best to get rid of any other things that distract you, too, so you can clear your mind.
Sure, now that you have the time, you can devise new marketing strategies or figure out when to launch a new product. But, above everything, you need to focus on your “why.” Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why did you start your business? What’s your purpose? You’re no longer chasing down leads and just trying to make a buck, so all of your business decisions should be made with this Why in mind.
If you’re ready to stop selling so you can actually work on growing your business, MetaGrowth Ventures can help. We’ll build your sales team, make sure they get the right training, and track their performance for you so you can focus on the big picture. Get started now so you can start seeing the results in a few months.