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Business Growth Assessment

Benchmarking is the key to any successful business strategy. In order to affect improvement we must understand what’s working, what isn’t and where we need to focus the time and attention to improve our business strategy. This assessment has been designed to focus on capitalizing on our strengths and minimizing our weaknesses. You will notice that each area of the assessment is related to one or more action-oriented items. They are the things you need to be, do, and have for a powerful, effective business growth strategy. Think carefully before you rate your organization. 

Assessment Instructions
Use the criteria below to assign a score for each area on the below form:

1 = Do not have an effective strategy in this area
2 = Minimally effective strategy - needs improvement
3 = Effective strategy - but could be improved
4 = Very effective strategy - could not be improved

After submitting the assessment you will receive some resources that correlate with your responses. These may be in the form of audio/video files, written articles, suggested books or a recommended action plan for development. In addition, feel free to contact an SBA Network consultant in order to obtain additional resources on your quest for improvement.

Business Growth Assessment

 Human Quotient
Vision and Mission- There is a practical vision and mission for the company. Members of the team are fully on board with this vision. They have a clear view of where the company is headed and understand the importance of their specific role. They are excited about the growth opportunities and they make decisions daily based on achieving that vision. Team members are focused on personal improvement and several have coaches and mentors to help them achieve these goals.

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Passion and Empowerment- Leaders and team members in the organization are passionate about performance. They feel they are making a difference. They operate in their role as if they were owners. Management communicates their expectations in an unambiguous way conducting periodic performance reviews at least twice per year, delivering honest feedback, listening to suggestions and attempting to implement them.

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Standards and Systems- Each department has very clear standards which are achievable and understood by everyone in the organization. There are established systems and documented SOPs to ensure team members understand the most efficient and effective way to perform their work and accomplish their individual goals. Systems have been developed to accurately track and measure these performance standards. The results are consistently published and reviewed.

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 Innovation Quotient
Destroy and Rebuild- Management elects to periodically destroy and re-invent products, services or systems which have become stagnant, out of fashion or fail to meet the needs of emerging customers. This is a proactive and deliberate effort. They are consistently investigating the needs of the company, customer, market and competition to identify opportunities and to test new and unique solutions. The company does NOT compete on price alone. In fact, their products and services are typically priced higher than most competitive solutions offering benefits that competitors do not.

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Productivity and Accountability- Departments within the company are effectively collaborating with the goal of creating innovative processes and deliverables. Clear communication usually takes place and there is little waste in terms of time or materials. Productivity expectations are consistently exceeded and technology is effectively leveraged. Most of the team members feel challenged yet still capable of accomplishing their objectives with the resources available. There is a culture of “get it right or not at all” among most departments. Individuals rather than just managers hold one another other accountable.

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Profitability and Liquidity- The company is financially healthy with good annual profits and a strong cash position. There is “profit sensitivity” among management as well as key team members. People within the organization make decisions considering the impact on the company’s financial health. While there is an effort to eliminate waste, the company is not frugal about making investments in new technologies, skill development for the team and acquiring the best possible human capital available.

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 Marketing Quotient
Targeting and Exclusivity- The company’s marketing efforts are narrowly targeted toward clients with the highest intent to buy. Products and services exclusively address a highly differentiated audience and few, if any competitors have significantly penetrated the markets being focused on. Sales and marketing departments work together effectively in all initiatives to communicate this exclusive claim and demonstrate how they solve the target client’s most pressing challenges.

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Marketing and Branding- The brand is distinctive and is regarded a remarkable reputation in the industry. The company has built “market advantage” and is already recognized as a leader by some of most influential industry experts. There are several creative marketing initiatives which are producing measurable results in terms of attracting new clients as well as building loyalty among current clients. The marketing initiatives include viral efforts such as buzz-building strategies, on-line marketing, creation of successful alliances and affiliates.

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Sales and Acquisition- The sales efforts both on-line and brick and mortar are successful at attracting new clients and producing measurable results. In addition the sales team consistently exceeds their goals for referrals and cross-selling opportunities. They do NOT focus exclusively on the “loss-leader” products or services but rather expend considerable effort building value with clients for all deliverables. Sales people are skilled at developing rapport, connecting with diverse customers, probing for interest with creative questioning methods, presenting solutions in a compelling, persuasive and professional way, overcoming objections and gaining commitment.

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