5 Signs Your Business Systems and Processes Are Broken

As a small business owner, you are constantly wearing many hats.

You're responsible for sales, marketing, product development, customer service - and the list goes on.

It's no wonder that sometimes things fall through the cracks.

But if you're seeing any of the 5 signs below, it's time to address your business processes. 

1. "You don't know what you don't know"

If you can't answer simple questions about your business, it's a sign that your systems are weak.

• What are your key metrics?
• How many sales did you close last month?
• How many leads did you generate last month?
• What's your current cash flow?
• What was your customer churn rate?
• What's your NPS?

If you don't have good answers to these questions, it's time to start tracking them. Knowing your business numbers is the first step to making informed decisions about where to focus your attention. Without paying attention to them you can't keep a close eye on your business's vital signs until it is too late.

2. Things aren't done right the first time

Are you constantly having to redo work because it wasn't done right the first time? This is a sign of poor quality control in your processes. Or simply a lack of a well-communicated or well-documented business process or system.

When things are done correctly the first time, it saves everyone time and frustration. Review your processes to see where quality is suffering and make changes accordingly.

3. Leads are falling through the cracks

If you're not following up with all of your sales leads with at least 8 touchpoints, you're missing out on loads of potential sales.

Make sure you have a system in place for tracking leads and following up with them in a timely manner. Set reminders for yourself or automate the process so that nothing falls through the cracks.

4. You and your team spend too much time "fighting fires"

Do you and your team feel more like firefighters than professionals most days?

If new issues are constantly arising, it's a sign that your processes aren't effective. Take some time to review what's going wrong and put systems in place to prevent these problems from happening again.

When you're in the midst of firefighting it can feel nearly impossible to find time to set aside to do this, but think of it as you saving time for you and your team in the future.

5. You're always the bottleneck

If everything is in your head and no one can get work done without involving you, it's a major problem. It stalls projects. It makes you work overtime. It decreases quality.

You need to be able to delegate and trust that things will get done without your constant supervision.

And you HAVE to invest time in creating these processes on the front end. But even if you feel like you don't have the time or that it is a waste, just view it again as an investment in getting time back in the future.

And if you have processes and are still getting bombarded with questions and projects still stall because of needing you, be sure to review your processes and see where you can better communicate, delegate, or automate tasks so that you're not the only one who knows how things are supposed to be done.

If any of these sound familiar, it's time to take a step back and assess your business processes. Are they really working for you? Or are they just adding more stress to your already full plate?

Small business owners need to be able to rely on their business processes to keep things running smoothly. Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before problems start cropping up.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to fix your small business’s problems!

Let’s take a closer look at your business processes. 

Schedule a free 15-minute Clarity Session using the calendar below.

During this call, we help you identify what system gaps and opportunities your business has and develop a plan to address these issues to save you time and ultimately help you convert more satisfied customers faster.