Issue 1: Deadlines

Case Study: Sales Dashboard

At the end of the year we talked and worked with so many folks to get their sales dashboards up and running. Often we get the request to create a similar dashboard for a sales team. 

The biggest challenge I had this year was creating a dashboard for a trade client. 

It's not the same as an OSC or salesperson who sells based on volume of homes sold. Instead, it's based on retail sales numbers - average ticket prices can be per individual residence or in bulk for large scale projects in communities.

Utilizing our typical approach to a dashboard where we take our end result to create our top-of-funnel goals, we were able to determine a projected sales volume amount per month, per operational team. Because we've been tracking sales we were able to use their established conversion rates as a multiplier and used their average monthly sales numbers to determine how much of the annual volume each month was expected to be accountable for.

This is the first time this 25 year old company has had something like this in place and it's completely changed how we hold our meetings and speak about goals. Everyone knows what we're working towards and the guesswork is gone. 

This Month on Substack

We explored some big topics last month, click here to read them: 

• Revisiting Excellence 
• Presenting Your Work
• Lead Ownership: Are Our Rules of Engagements Causing Bad Service?
• Why January is the Most Important Month for an OSC

   

Deadlines Are a Funny Thing

Did you know I had a deadline of getting this out to you last week? I really wanted it to be the first week of February so it could cleanly review January and get you excited for what's to come (and hey, I hope we're still going to do that!). But, like most things, this was a deadline I carried around in my head that no one was holding me to or requesting from me. 

Even the deadline I have for Substack is made up - I decided when it goes out and on those days when I'm behind on writing or I'm working on a client project that takes up creative time I still have that deadline looming. 

I could very well change that deadline and only a few might notice. 

I could very well give in to the flu that's been holding my family hostage or say forget it, no one knew I was doing this anyways - but then where would my personal accountability be? 

Small businesses have to operate on accountability of self and expect their customers to expect more of them. Otherwise, we're never going to get better. 

I've got a few deadlines I've created for myself coming up and they'll pass if I don't share them with you, so here's the big one: 

I'm release Scout the Sale, my first book, in 2025! I have a deadline I'm flirting with but for now I'll keep it quiet. Just please bug me if you want to know more. 

Another deadline? Growing my customer base this year. I know, that's something we all have! It's our quarterly goals, it's our weekly goals. If you've got someone you think might benefit from my services, please let me know. It's the nicest thing you can do for a small business and I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Anyways, those deadlines keep us going and if that past month has taught us anything it's that staying present in our work and finding accountability are really important. It gives us a little control and balance when we don't always have it. 

I appreciate each and every person who supports the work of Scout and in turn, the OSCs out in the building world. We all hold each other accountable to excellence and I for one, can't get enough of that - even if it's just a few people, working around a made up deadline.