The Number One Thing To Do Before The New Year Starts
With the new year right around the corner, every business owner regardless of what field you work in should take the time to reflect on this year. You should be asking yourself;
- What worked great this year?
- What didn't work?
- What did I really enjoy doing this year?
- How can I do more of that this upcoming year?
- What did I not enjoy at all?
- Is there a way for me to change my business or outsource this task?
- How did I do when reaching the goals I set for myself?
The truth is that most business owners will jump feet first into the new year, cheering about 2017 and won't take the right amount of time to reflect on this year. The only way you can grow into the direction you want to go is by taking a close look at what you did this year, find out what worked, and find a way to put more focus on what worked, and remove what didn't.
THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE THE NEW YEAR
Make a list of the services and products you offer. If you're a photographer you'll want to make two lists. One for sessions you offer, and one for the products you offer.
Next, you'll need to look at how much you made from each type session. (write down how much you made in 2016 on just newborn sessions, baby sessions, maternity sessions etc.).
Once that's complete take a close look at your stats. You'll see something pretty important in those numbers and that is this:
80% OF YOUR INCOME CAME FROM
20% OF YOUR SESSIONS
What does that even mean?! 20% OF YOUR HUSTLE ACCOUNTS FOR 80% OF YOUR RESULTS
If you have 10 different sessions, the top 2 sessions brought in 80% of the money.
And the other 8 only brought in 20% of the money.
If you KNOW what your top 20% is, you'll be able to spend more time promoting that and in return bring up sales for next year. The truth is that a lot of business owners spend too much time on their 80% which is only bringing in 20% of their sales. This happens because most people have no idea what their "top 20%" is. I know it's a little time consuming, but take the time to write it all out, take a look and know where your numbers are.
The 80/20 rule also applies to your products. Make a list of all the products you offer to clients, and then write down how much you made on each type. You'll quickly find out what your top 20% is that is bringing in 80% of the sales. You'll know what items 80% of your clients want, and you'll then be able to promote those items to potential clients as well.
The game is simple. Find out what you love and what works; promote that. Find out what isn't working and remove it.
If you love fun stats like this you'll love my long list of examples for photographers showing how the 80/20 rule works. You can read the whole list here.
Here's a few of my favorites:
CLIENTS & BUSINESS
80% OF BUSINESS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS
Figure out who your top 20% clients are – these are your superstar clients!
80% OF YOUR NEW CLIENTS ARE REFERRED OVER BY 20% OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS
Who are your top 20% referring clients? They bring in over 80% of your NEW clientele!
80% OF CLIENTS COME FROM 20% OF THE BUSINESS REACH
What is your top 20% business outreach strategy? It is bringing you 80% of your clients!
80% OF COMPLAINTS COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS
Unhappy clients are hard situations to deal with but realize that it’s only 20%. (Although in the moment it might feel like 80%)
SALES & SESSIONS
80% OF SALES ARE GENERATED BY 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS
This is KEY – Who are your most loyal clients? They generate 80% of your sales!
80% OF YOUR BOOKINGS COME FROM 20% OF YOUR SESSION TYPES
What sessions do you book most of? It accounts for 80% of your total bookings!
80% OF PRODUCT SALES COME FROM 20% OF YOUR PRODUCTS
What are your BEST sellers? Those items account for 80% of product sales!
80% OF REVENUE COMES FROM 20% OF YOUR CLIENTS
Again – Who are your BEST clients? They account for 80% of your entire business revenue!