The Power of Business Systems: 5 Steps to Systemizing Your Company

a drawing of a man pointing at large moving gears with a pencil laying on it, representing business systems

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This is me before building a business system, and maybe it’s the same for you…

I was exhausted.

I told myself I wouldn’t keep doing the same thing… Over and over again…

And yet, here I was…

Doing the same damn thing again.

I knew the harsh reality of not having a systemized business.

Like you know (which is why you’re reading this).

If I couldn’t systemize and “scale” my business, I’d be stuck here.

As an investor once told me, “The business will only go as far as the founder…”

Now, he may not have meant it this way, but I interpreted that as:

If I didn’t find a way to build processes and systemize my business, we could only scale as far as how many hours I could squeeze into the day.

Until it clicked…

If I couldn’t work harder, I needed to work smarter.

I dug in and studied those around me (I belong to several successful entrepreneur groups like the Young Entrepreneur Council).

What did I find?

I saw others growing wildly successful businesses… And not working nearly as many hours.

People who had half the marketing prowess as we did  –  growing twice as fast in a more crowded market.

It didn’t make sense…

How were they doing it?

Ever been to a corporate restaurant?

Sure, the food sucks…

It’s all frozen junk thrown into a fryer – BUT they’re efficient, you get the same experience at every location, and they’re able to seemingly pop up new stores every couple of months.

Ever wonder what the secret is?

Well, first, they found a concept and model that works (after rigorous testing).

But the key to them scaling?

They have business systems.

…Processes in place to ensure that something happens EVERY single time with consistency.

Do you have that same consistency in your business?

Are you stuck doing the same monotonous shit every single day?

Bogged down with tasks that are not utilizing your strengths that SHOULD be passed on to someone else?

Don’t worry ,  you’re in the right place…

I’m going to break down 5 easy steps to systemizing your business today.

These will help you…

  • Steal back your day
  • Be more productive
  • Feel less stress
  • Ultimately scale to the 7-figure (and beyond) company you’ve always dreamt of having…

Before we dive in, I want to add a bit of a disclaimer here:

Just because this advice is “free” –  please understand that these steps have enabled many companies and clients to scale their businesses to 7-figures in revenue and beyond.

Each one is simple, takes only a couple hours to implement, and the results can be felt almost immediately.

The key here?

You MUST take action.

Ok, let’s get started.

Step 1: Identify & Take Inventory of All The Repetitive Tasks Performed In Your Business

Simply start by taking inventory of all the marketing tasks and processes you have in place. This includes everything from strategies you’re using for lead generation and setting appointments to any follow up and re-engagement.

You’ll want to open a spreadsheet with 6 columns ,  the first labeled Inventory, and the others labeled: Automated, Manual, Hybrid, Time Process Will Save, and Status.

Here’s a quick view at what this might look like:

Step 2: Categorize Your Business System (Automated, Manual, Hybrid)

As you see in the worksheet, there are 3 columns to the right of your
Inventory titled Automation, Manual, and Hybrid.

Check off the category that best explains the type of system you plan to use. Automation means everything happens automatically through technology like Infusionsoft  –  you design certain triggers and criteria, and when the criteria is met, the technology sends an email, fax, voice broadcast, sets a task, creates an order, notifies the sales people, etc. You can only be limited by your imagination.

Then we have Manual. These are the types of systems that you can’t automate. Use McDonald’s for example …  You have people manually taking an order, and therefore, they must manually ask the question, “Would you like fries with that?”

And lastly, Hybrid –  a combination of both. While I don’t know if McDonald’s has this process in place, if I were running the show, when an employee entered an order for a hamburger, I would have the computer screen prompt the order taker to ask: “Would you like fries with that?” with a checkbox for “yes” or “no.”

At Predictable Profits, we have a hybrid model in place where our inside sales person will manually adjust the opportunity  –  say from cold to nurturing  –  and once this happens, it sets off a sequence of tagging and emails (depending on the campaign we’re running).

Looking for more tips to improve your outbound campaigns? Check out this related piece on increasing the response to your cold email outreach. 

Step 3: Establish a Priority

There are a couple ways of knowing what to do first…

The first is to identify what tasks are most likely going to move the needle the most for growing your company  –  and start with those! In the spreadsheet, add an approximate dollar figure you believe the system can or will contribute to your business.

My personal preference, however, is to set priorities based upon what repetitive tasks are taking up most time.

If you’re doing something that takes you 4 hours a week, and you’re able to create a system yo free up those 4 hours  (or 16 hours a month),   what sort of impact could that have on your company?

Step 4: Create the Process

This is the most important part of this process. You need to create processes from “step 1 to done” for each action to occur successfully.

The more detail you go into, the less chance you’ll have for any error or variation.

Go into as much detail as possible so you can (theoretically) provide information to anyone in your company – or new hires  –  so they can instantly execute your plan without a hiccup.

Create a step-by-step plan for performing the action, following up, and contingency plans in case things don’t go as expected.

For example, let’s say I have a system for product fulfillment, and for one reason or another, we’re sold out… How should my sales team handle this situation?

There’s got to be a process for everything.

Step 5: Monitor, Track, & Optimize Your Business System

The only way for you to know how well your system is working (or not working) is to build in key metrics and reporting features …  Which must be tracked and followed regularly.

Just like a pilot has his or her dashboard in the cockpit ,  telling them if they’re on the right course or not , these metrics will let you know if your system is working, not working, and where it needs to be improved.

And once you’ve been able to track and identify the “holes in the boat,”   you can set out to tweak and optimize each process.

…Leading to even greater efficiency, sales, and profits.

Look, existing companies often don’t fail because they’ve made mistakes . They fail because they have bad business systems.

As W. Edwards Deming once said, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.”

Systems require ongoing, constant improvement.

You put a system in place to test, you see what needs to be improved upon, and you update accordingly. I’m working with companies that are still improving their business systems 6 years later  – and it’s precisely this type of strategic thinking that sets them above the rest.

Remember these wise words from General Patton: “A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

Start now. Take action.

P.S. If you’d like a copy of the above spreadsheet ,  shoot me a message and I’d be happy to forward it along!

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