Sales Go Bummer This Summer?

Touch down! Yes, yes, yes, and yes! The phrase "Fun in the Sun" will soon be replaced with "Look at the Book"-- I meant your QuickBooks, of course. How productive were you this summer? Did you increase sales or decrease productivity?

As a business owner and mother of a ten-year old pre-teen, I look forward to the days when my kiddo goes back to the routine of expected military orders: wake up, school, homework, and repeat. The summer season is usually the hardest for entrepreneurs because they are forced to take beach days, park days, birthdays, and summer fun days with the family, which may reduce productivity and prospecting effort. But alas -- life is not all work, now is it?

I took the summer season to reset my own strategies: evaluate my business growth plan, access my profit/loss statements, construct new partnerships, and brainstorm more effective marketing tactics for the fall. This is the perfect time to reset your business plan. These are some of the questions I found most useful during my summer session:

1. What's giving me the biggest ROI?
2. How many resources do I consume prospecting for one client?
3. What current partnerships could I leverage for my business?
4. What new partnerships could I create to grow my business?
5. What are my weaknesses and which experts should I consult with to improve my weaknesses?
6. How many sales do I need to make a month to increase profit margins or break even?
7. How can I amplify my reach with the least amount of time and resources?
8. How does my business appear to others?
9. Who are my target buyers? Has that changed? Can I identify my buyer personas?
10. What content resonates with visitors and how do I amplify my reach online?