16 Questions Every Business Leader Needs Answers to Now

This article is written by Mark Allen Roberts, CEO and Founder of OTB Solutions.

To say 2021 has been a rollercoaster ride of incredible highs and scary lows is an understatement. We have experienced market disruptions, uncertainty, new pandemic variants, and constraints none of us could have forecasted. In response to these changes CEOs and business owners adapted. A recent McKinsey study indicates more than 60% of CEOs restructured their organization in response to the pandemic.

Where do we go from here?

How do we develop profitable buyer-centric revenue growth plans that meet and exceed shareholder expectations?

The below questions once answered will provide the actionable insights to build your profitable revenue growth plan.

1. What are your core customer’s biggest struggles you can solve today?
2. Why do customers buy from you?
3. Why do customers buy products from others you could have sold them?
4. What buying criteria do your buyers use today?
5. How effective are your sales team, systems, and processes today?
6. How much more effective could they be?
7. What are common skills gaps your sales team has that once closed will add the most value quickly?
8. With so much supply chain disruption what level of service and terms of trade will you offer you’re A, B, and C customers?
9. Do your salespeople know how to sell based on value or just price?
10. What customers represent between 200% and 300% of your net profits today?
11. What customers leak profit each time you ship or serve them?
12. What is your value messaging for each of your three top buyer personas?
13. Do you have a targeted ideal customer profile list of net new customers? (Is the data current)
14. Why don’t prospects buy from you?
15. What is your product or service’s distinctive competence that sets you apart from competitors?
16. Do you have the right sales and marketing structure with the right people in the right seats with the right skills to deliver the most value?

When you have the answers to the above questions you are well along your journey to having a buyer-centric sales plan.

How we do things around here…

How we have always done things around here…

Taking 2021 sales results and increasing them by some growth percentage and hoping sales achieve the desired growth is not enough anymore.

We must gather and learn to leverage data to drive strong predictable results.

If you need help answering any or all of the questions above, let’s schedule a call to review your current state and desired future state for your business.

Read the original article.