I got a partner, and her name is Katri. She works in a big corporation, as a sales analyst. She compiles the sales data and makes it into a format that can be understood by the decision makers at the highest level. This way, they can pick the best tactics and strategy for the company.
At one point, I look over to her computer and she was making a spreadsheet that was similar to a car’s dashboard. It even had dials!
Asking how the thing worked, she explained that in a car you wouldn’t do much if you didn’t have a dashboard. You wouldn’t have the speed, fuel consumption and many other bits of information.
Thinking about this, I realized that a lot of small companies don’t have a dashboard of their own.
Just because you have some accounts, it doesn’t mean that you have a dashboard. It resembles more an annual MOT. The part that is important is how you use that information to create great tactical and strategic decisions, which help your company grow and avoid problems that are bigger.
Wondering how such a dashboard should look like? Here are some things that a lot of people don’t know about their business, and a dashboard can fix: how much each client yields, net and gross profit for each client, the size of the average size, the client acquisition cost, the income that is recurring per client and the lifetime client value.
Think about all the possibilities for your business if you had this information at your finger tips. You can get rid of work that isn’t profitable, so you can get as much money as possible from your business.
You might not realize it, but the importance of such a dashboard can be huge and the information it provides you can be crucial for you business during times of crisis.