She Talks Business

Start Measuring 3-5 Things that Matter Now

 

What do the flashing speed indicator box on your street and your KPI report have in common? They both exist to tell you when to speed up or slow down. That is the beauty of metrics put right in front of you—they give you the information you need to make a choice. No metric indicator, no choice. 

 

 

This week’s episode is all about giving you the information and the metrics you need to either accelerate your revenue growth, or relax your foot off the gas.  

It’s time to talk KPIs (or key performance indicators) and figure out what 3-5 things you could be measuring to help you grow.  

 

 

Join me to hear what different types of KPIs you should be measuring, what they are used for, how to figure out which ones matter for your unique business, and how frequently you should monitor your KPIs. 

 

 

As the third season of She Talks Business on money, measurements, and metrics wraps up, it’s more important than ever to make sure we’ve turned on all the indicator lights and gauges you need to see where you’re at and what progress you’re making towards your business goals.

 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. What a KPI is

2. How to choose the right KPIs for your business

3. 3-5 things you should be measuring in your business

4. How to use your KPIs to reach your revenue goal

5. Why end-of-year financial analysis can bankrupt you

6. My secret weapon when it comes to tracking my numbers

7. How to simplify keeping track of your metrics

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e37 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Define what wealth is to you.

 

There are topics in the entrepreneurial world that are guaranteed to make you squirm. More than sex, politics or taxes… And that topic is retirement. Many an entrepreneur has told me they are too busy to think ahead to retirement. They’ve got places to go, things to do, fires to put out! What do you really need for retirement? From the few entrepreneurs who do answer this question thoughtfully, I hear a whole lot of, “I have no idea what I need. I just know I won’t have enough to retire anytime soon.” 

 

 

In this week’s episode, we are diving into the steps to take to start building wealth even if you don’t have any savings right now. I don’t want to spoil it, but the answer is surprisingly simple and totally doable. The same goes for how to calculate and increase your net worth. 

 

 

Listen in to hear the secret money-making practice I have around Facebook Marketplace. Feel free to take it on yourself to become a better salesperson and negotiator.

 

 

We’re also going to get a little personal and have you redefine what wealth is to you and actually calculate how much you’re going to need to retire. I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the number you arrive at. So, pop in those headphones and let's get planning your future! 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why shame is keeping you in the dark about your finances 

2. How to calculate your net worth

3. 5 ways to make money

4. What to do to  build wealth as an entrepreneur

5. My secret sales practice on  Facebook Marketplace

6. How to pay off your debt faster

7. Why automating your payments and investment will make you wealthy

8. How to calculate the equity in your home and business

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e36 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Find Your Community

 

When building a business, how can you stack “luck” in your favour?  Answer: by networking or joining an online community.  That’s what Nabil Ould-Brahim, co-owner of Venture Creative Collective and I are talking about this week! What do we mean by luck? Listen in to hear how joining the right small online community can connect you with new clients, keep your business strategy alive ALL year-‘round, and spark your most valuable product ideas yet, not to mention, make your entrepreneurial journey a whole lot less lonely. 

 

 

Join Nabil and I as we pull back the curtain on what it’s like to be a part of The Strategy Lab and how members are learning just as much from each other as they are from the monthly Learning Labs and discussions I lead. Get the inside scoop on how Lab members are setting ambitious goals in their quarterly Planning Sprints, reverse-engineering the tactics to get their desired results and  holding each other accountable to execute their plan. You’ll also hear why Nabil says The Strategy Lab gives him a sense of belonging. 

 

 

When our chat turned to strategy and sales, Nabil shared how the Planning Sprints are changing the face of his and his wife’s (Michelle Weger’s) business and actually making each of their contributions and professional relationship stronger.  He also warned that “drifting” in your business is one of the most dangerous things you can let happen simply by getting caught up in the day-to-day.

 

 

If you're looking to stack luck in your favour and find meaningful connections, plug in and enjoy this week’s episode! 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why joining the right business community will change your bottom line

2. How to stack growth odds in your favour

3. The #1 best way to foster business partnerships 

4. What being part of a community can give you that private coaching can’t

5. How planning quarterly will keep your business from drifting off course

6. The secret benefits of reading business books with others

7. Why the Learning Labs beat DIY courses every time

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e35 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Have a Conversation with Your Clients About “Where Do We Go Next?” 

 

Stephanie Allen is in the hot seat this week with two burning questions about retaining clients and how to measure where your leads come from. I have no doubt that you will find something for yourself in our discussion. 

 

Stephanie is the owner of not one, but two companies—Stephanie Allen Consulting, where she is the primary management consultant and The Peaceful Parentpreneur, where she coaches executives on how to get clear on what matters to their family and business. 

 

Stephanie had two questions she wanted coaching on, the first being how to sell your next service to a client you are doing work for before you wrap up the current work project.

 

I love this question because it is really about what I call the Second Sale Strategy. Listen in to hear how I coach Stephanie on how to:

 

1. Clean up her current service parameters so that there is a defined line of where one service ends and the next service begins

2. Ask the right questions to uncover what her client needs next 

3. Seed her other services into conversation with the client 

4. Offer the client what she thinks they need next to achieve their big goal without sounding pushy or awkward

5. Make selling a natural part of the conversation and NOT leave it to your last interaction with the client

 

 

Stephanie’s second coaching question was, “How do I measure where my leads are coming from?” This led to a conversation you won’t want to miss on how to realistically keep track of your leads, what the best lead sources are, and what the real purpose behind writing valuable content for your website and social media channels is. Psst...it probably isn’t what you think!

 

It is one of my favourite things to dig into a real-life business and find out what the one thing the business owner can do to make a leap forward in reaching their goal is. Is Stephanie’s one thing the same as yours? Tune in to find out! 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. How you can make the Second Sale Strategy work for you

2. How NOT to make your second sales pitch awkward

3. Why knowing your client’s idea of success is key to retention

4. What BIG mistake to avoid when a client becomes a friend

5. Why paying attention to your clients matters 

6. How to keep track of where your leads are coming from

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e34 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Reflect and Set Goals in Q4 

 

The time to plan and get clear on exactly what you want and need from your business in 2022 is now, in Q4! But how doyou plan and why would you want to set goals for next year when this year isn’t even finished yet? 

 

 

It’s simple. You can’t aspire to what you haven’t planned for. The sooner you have an actionable plan in place and revenue, profit, and marketing goals written down, the more momentum you will have behind you for January 1st of the new year. 

 

 

In this week’s episode, Stephanie Rainey is back and she is drilling into my advanced planning methodology. We are covering:

 

1. What financial data to gather in preparation for planning 2022

2. How to set yourself up for “thinking time” 

3. What financial goals to set for 2022

4. What to do if you don’t know your numbers

5. How to structure your planning day(s) 

6. Where you can go to plan with other like-minded entrepreneurs 

 

 

Have you noticed that my podcast guests earning six and seven figures in their business have mentioned that keeping track of their metrics is a key factor in having the information they needed to scale?! When you take the time to gather data from your current year, analyze it, ask yourself where you want to grow to and then reverse engineer how to reach those goals (revenue, profit and marketing goals), you become the leader your company needs to take them into the new year with A PLAN. 

 

It’s time to get planning for 2022, so hit play and let’s get started! 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why plan for next year in Q4

2. My Advanced Planning Method

3. What financial metrics to gather for your planning session

4. How to make space for “thinking time”

5. The secret to having your 2022 already underway on January 1

6. Why planning for the new year in January will leave you behind in Q1

7. How the best big corporations plan their growth & you can do the same

8. The most common mistake I see business owners make in planning 

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e33 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

 

 

Make More Than You Spend

 

Mike Michalowicz, the author of Profit First and six other best-selling books, is on this week and wow, did we hit the ground running! At the top of the show we jump right into debt, inflation, shrink-flation, and why in the next year it's going to be crucial that business owners keep a close eye on their profitability and eliminate their debt. 

 

 

What is the difference between leveraging, bridging, and anchoring debt? Don’t know? I didn’t either! Listen in to hear Mike explain these terms he’s coined—it will change the way you look at borrowing money! As well, hear why Mike believes small businesses have an advantage over big corporations when it comes to retaining customers, that is if they make keeping their customers a priority. 

 

 

Mike and I also discuss the right time to bring on a new employee and what increase in revenue you can aim to achieve in a service-based business with this new team member on board. He calls it the “150 Rule.” We also get real about why you will likely need to restructure how you run your business and how involved you are as the business owner at the 1 million dollar mark. 

 

 

Stay tuned to the end to hear why Mike recommends you no longer refer to yourself as a business owner or entrepreneur, but rather as a shareholder and how this mind shift will completely alter the way you see your business and how you make decisions. 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why you need to destroy your debt

2. The difference between leveraging, bridging, and anchor debt

3. How saving may actually save your business

4. Why your customers matter now more than ever

5. What strategy to use to retain your customers

6. The 150 Rule  (when to invest in a new team member)

7. A critical mindshift that will make your business more profitable

8. How to set your business up for weathering a financial crisis

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e32 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Raise Your Prices to Protect Your Profit 

 

This could be the MOST important episode you listen to in preparing your business for 2022! With economists warning that hyper-inflation will change the small business landscape and business owners oblivious to shrink-flation, it’s the perfect time to ensure you are paying attention to the right numbers in your business and adjusting your pricing to protect your profits. So, grab your pen and paper or print out the transcript and let’s get to work on what you need to know about inflation and pricing for profit. 

 

 

Did you know that the cost of living has jumped an average of 5.4% in the US and 3.1% in Canada this year? Economists predict it will continue to rise. Why is this important to business owners? Let me tell you. If your cost of doing business increases in the coming year by 5% and you don’t have plans to raise your prices, guess what?! You’ve already lost 5% of your profit for 2022 before the year has even begun. It’s that simple. 

 

 

In this week’s episode, we are getting real about three important numbers in your business: profit margin, your pricing and the cost of operating your business and diving into how knowing and tracking these metrics will help you keep your profit margin healthy in 2022. Listen in to hear the advice I give my clients on pricing for profit and how to adjust your pricing to ensure your profit margin is not degraded in the face of a big jump in inflation. 

 

 

It’s time to get your financial house in order for next year... Plug in your headphones and let’s get started!

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why inflation will eat your profits in 2022 if you’re not paying attention

2. How to track your profit margin and cost of operations

3. A simple formula for pricing your products and services

4. What hyper-inflation is and why it matters 

5. Common errors made in pricing your products

6. How to protect your profit margin 

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e31 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

 

Set Priorities for Business Growth and Your Time

 

If you take one thing away from listening to this week’s episode with productivity expert and best-selling author, Tanya Dalton, let it be this: being intentional with your time, executing on your priorities, and paying attention to the key metricsis how you grow a seven-figure business! 

 

 

Want to know how Tanya built not one, but two profitable businesses, what habit helped her exponentially grow her revenue and why she’s the queen of productivity? 

 

 

Listen in to hear Tanya and I discuss why your to do list just isn’t cutting it anymore and what to replace it with to skyrocket your productivity. Hear how Tanya’s practice of being intentional led to writing a book proposal that started a bidding war between seven different publishing houses and landed her a two book deal with Harper Collins. 

 

 

In the interview, Tanya gets real about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and shares with us the story of a $45,000 mistake she made early on in her business and DOESN’T regret. She also reveals the key metrics she’s measuring in her two businesses to ensure their growth, and the number one thing she did to scale her business to seven figures. 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. The one habit that helped Tanya build a 7-figure business

2. How to start a bidding war over your book proposal

3. How NOT looking at your metrics is keeping your business “sick” 

4. Why you need to replace your To Do list with a Priority List now!

5. How to use a daily planner to grow your business

6. What metrics matter most

7. How to be intentional in your life and business 

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e30 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

Hit That Sales Conversion Lever

 

Sales conversion rate determines your revenue. Period. What is your conversion rate? If you’re not sure what it is, can’t shout it out from memory, or you know your conversion rate is something you definitely want to increase...this episode is for you!

 

 

There are a lot of different conversion rates you can track in your business and I’m going to point you in the direction of the only ONE you need to keep an eye on to increase revenue. Why? Because measuring and tracking gives you the power and the knowledge to improve how you’re doing business which will in turn grow revenue (sometimes with less effort!). 

 

 

Listen in and we’ll uncover the 10 factors influencing your sales conversion rate that go undetected behind the scenes, why these factors are deciding your revenue, and how you can positively affect them. Put it this way, for each factor you positively influence it will guarantee you a higher revenue—it’s not magic, it’s basic math! 

 

 

It’s time to take control of the metrics deciding your business revenue. Grab your earphones, start the car, or find a quiet space and let’s get to work on the numbers in your business so you can become extraordinary at this thing called entrepreneurship. 

 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. Why you NEED to know your sales conversion rate!

2. How to measure it

3. 10 hidden factors that determine how effective you are at selling

4. Why people are not buying from you

5. How conversion rate decides your revenue

6. My top 3 secret weapons for a high (like 90-95%!) sales conversion rate

7. What’s standing in the way of you increasing profits

 

 

What To Do Next

Visit lisalarter.com/e29 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.

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Flex Your Money-Making Muscle!

 

Let’s face it, as humans, we are full of excuses and fears. Especially when it comes to money and selling. That’s why I believe it’s crucial to learn how to generate income on demand and this week I’m going to teach you how! Tune in to hear Stephanie Rainey and I talk about how flexing your money-making-muscle actually rewires your brain to blow through excuses and move your fears to the back seat.

 

Not sure how you can make money on demand? I have 5 ideas for you: 

 

1. Sell something, anything! Work out that scrawny money muscle.

2. Invitation marketing. Ask, sell and then build it. 

3. The $100 week or $1000 month challenge (aka: fund my Ferrari)

4. Sell a new product, service or experience. 

5. Sell to your customers: retain, expand, refer. 

 

Want the details on these money-making ideas? Heck ya! Take a deep breath, press play and let’s jump in and have a little fun learning to bring in the dough. 

 

What’s in This Episode

1. The secret exercise you can do to hit your year-end revenue goal! 

2. 5 Ideas to generate money in your business NOW

3. How to use “How can I?” to get what you want

4. Why a protection money mindset is stifling your selling creativity 

5. How to generate enough money to buy a Ferrari or designer jeans

6. When to spend, when to generate money, when to protect your money

7. How to get your money muscle back in shape 

 

What To Do Next

 

Visit lisalarter.com/e28 for the transcript and all resources from this episode.