The owner of a business is like the captain of a ship: He must keep his eyes forward, to make sure that the course is correct, while checking that the crew is doing their job, or that everything is in order in the engine room. When the business grows, that balance between strategy and day-to-day operation can get out of hand as the workload and responsibilities increase.
That is why it is so important that the entrepreneur forms high-performance teams and begins to delegate tasks, even the most important ones. But this does not mean that he disregards the operation or the results obtained: on the contrary, the challenge in this new stage is to give precise instructions and to be able to monitor the key functions that will determine the future of the company.
What then are those tasks that allow the company to remain in a continuous movement towards achieving profitability? That they must be efficient and stay aligned, so that the entrepreneur can then concentrate on the strategy? This is what the experts say.
1. Prod
What do you sell? Customer satisfaction is the basis of any successful business, so the first thing is to check that we are meeting their demands and expectations. And it all starts with the manufacture of products, or the generation of services. Depending on the line of business, review topics such as cheap logo designers, fixed and variable costs, inventory management, quality standards, and delivery times.
2. Marketing
Here we are not only referring to the promotion of the company’s products or services, but also to the decisions on the competitive advantages to be highlighted, the sale price, the promotional campaigns and the definition of the points of sale.
The products, no matter how good they are, do not sell themselves: if the business does not have an adequate strategy to link the company’s offer with the market, no marketing effort will work.
3. Sales
Here the machinery is activated that will make a potential customer make the decision to buy our products or services. And there are several important questions you should ask yourself. For example, what is the most important factor in the marketing strategy of your business? In the case of a chain of beauty salons, there may be three “star” stylists who generate a loyal clientele and generate the highest sales receipt. Once you’ve identified those revenue “enhancers,” you need to make sure they have what it takes to continue delivering the same results, or even better them.
4. Collection
As we have said many times in this blog, a sale is not closed until the money is in the company’s account. However, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of concentrating only on the number of purchase orders or invoices, while the administration area suffers from a lack of liquidity to pay payroll or basic services. Do not fall into this fatal mistake, which in the medium term can end the financial health of your business. Review the collection cycle, compare it with the payment cycle of the company’s commitments (for example, a credit), and make the necessary adjustments.
5. Administration
Last but not least, there is the area that ensures that everyone in the company has the necessary resources to do their job. Every day it is necessary to check that the employees comply with their working hours, that the invoices requested by the vendors are generated, that the payments to suppliers are made or that the liquidation of taxes is complied with on time. In business, the manager is often thought of as a “minor” director, when in fact he is one of the leading actors.
