Creating Dashboards For Your Business
In the financial services industry, there’s always a focus on numbers. Revenue numbers. Prospect numbers. Conversion numbers. Numbers can be discussed so often they lose any real meaning.
Yes, you’re making progress, but how many reports do you have to look at to find out your metrics? How easy is it for you and your team to glance down and know without a doubt where you are now and where you’re going?
This week we’re challenging you to think about creating a dashboard for your business. One page that has the essential numbers you need to track to ensure your business is on track to meet your goals.
Just like the dashboard of your car it will tell you any problems (both immediate and upcoming) and allow you to track vital metrics. Your business needs a dashboard so that regardless of how fast you are going you can quickly see what’s working and what’s not.
For your business the dashboard might include numbers for:
- Sales (premium dollar, assets under management, and new clients)
- Prospecting Activity (calls, quotes, etc.)
- Number of Prospects in your Pipeline
- Percent of Prospects that make a decision to buy
- Client Retention
- Profit
- Cash Flow
- The gap to your goal
While you might look at some of these metrics already, imagine being able to look at your progress at any given time and make immediate corrections. There is power in the knowledge of knowing your metrics.
Yes, it takes time to build and update a dashboard. But it’s something that can be assigned to someone on your team to maintain. However, having the dashboard information to make decisions on a daily basis is vital. Make sure your dashboard goes beyond sales and includes business health indicators, such as profit and cash flow.
Numbers are about counting and comparing. They tell you where you are in relationship to where you are going. They measure your success in progressing towards your goals. Just like the dashboard of your car, you need to keep an eye on the numbers to ensure you are operating efficiently and effectively. Now is the time to implement one and focus on action!
