As we head into September, typically a ‘back-to-school’ mentality descends on us all. 

Is it just me or does the cool weather make you go crazy buying notebooks and burying them in the office like squirrels hiding nuts for the winter?

Regardless, the fall is a tremendous time of harvest, reaping rewards, and preparing for next season. 

In alignment with this, I’ve had a couple of requests from readers lately. Requests asking for more advanced material about how to build a business to six, and then seven figures and up. 
 
In today’s feature article, we begin a conversation about metrics; Metrics being a boring word for a very exciting thing…watching your business grow! 

If you ever experience a day of excitement when your first passive product hit the market and wow, sales started rolling in…you’ll be just as much of a metrics-addict as me.

Measuring success is definitely one of my favorite gleeful guilty pleasures…as a business owner I hope you have one too, and no I don’t just mean the ice cream you had for lunch.  

Now head’s up, because this is definitely an advanced topic.
That’s not to say you should pass on it if you’re a newer coach or business owner. In fact, you’re one of the lucky ones that get to make measuring a habit early on, when every action you take will show up, and show up big, on your Metrics Spreadsheet.

So here’s the thing, I’m not going to pull any punches here. Let’s go right ahead and look at a screenshot of a real Metrics spreadsheet:

Click the screenshot if you want to open the spreadsheet in a simple web browser. Or, click the Excel format link below to open Excel on your own computer.

Excel Spreadsheet Format
(If you get prompted for a password on your computer, click cancel.)
  
Now hang on just a second before we go any further, so I can emphasize a point…

The spreadsheet in question is a compilation created from real spreadsheets used to build multimillion dollar businesses. 

Put it to you another way, you now have the exact formatting of a business building tool that successfully created some very significant revenue.
 
(Aside: Yes the revenue target shown on this spreadsheet was reached within the allotted time frame.)

Now, a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet after all…so don’t get me wrong. The people who ran and managed the spreadsheet are very important. So…when you look at it through your own eyes, what do you see?

Can you learn a few multimillion dollar tips? I hope so, because they’re there. 

If you haven’t already, click the screenshot above to open it up, and you’ll quickly see it follows a clever format. 

Here are a couple hints about what you can learn from it:
> On a basic level, the spreadsheet tells you how well you are doing from week to week. 

That’s fine, but more importantly, it helps you measure the things it’s most important to measure (pay special attention to Column A to see what.)

> As you collect data using this sheet, you will immediately see when your measurements ’spike’ or ‘tumble.’
 
This means you know precisely what you should keep doing, and what you should stop doing. (As you fill this out, you’ll look most at Row 30 for this ‘intelligence’ about your own business.)

> Think of your own Metrics Worksheet as an EKG for your business…it will tell you if your business pulse goes flatline, fast.

Obviously flatline is not a desirable state for us or for our businesses, and the more quickly you can respond when things are ’slow,’ the better chances you have for a healthy business.

(Simply keep an eye on whether your metrics change on your spreadsheet. In all cases, if they aren’t moving somehow, things are not as they should be.)

> A great Metrics Spreadsheet also sharpens your focus.
Would you be better off adding new income streams to your product funnel? Could your existing streams be doing higher volume? (the numbers in Rows 10 through 29 will be most telling here.)

> Although there are many more deductions you yourself can make when it comes to your Metrics, be aware that a spreadsheet such as this can be an clever and elegant management tool.

Make certain team members responsible for certain figures. If they are not being reached, or they are being exceeded, you’ll know what to do. 

Even if your team balks at first, they’ll soon come onside when they realize putting a big number in their part of the Spreadsheet means Champagne and a Bonus at the end of the month!

As Jay Abraham likes to put it, there are three key ways to increasing your business, and boosting your profitability:

(1) Increase the number of customers you have. 
**Multiple Streams of Coaching Income Translation: Build your list.
 
(2) Increase the number of income streams you have.
**Multiple Streams of Coaching Income Translation: Create more products.

(3) Increase the amount of money each of your customers spend.
**MSOCI Translation: Create and test more invitations to send to your list/ezine/pink spoons.

(Aside: Don’t know the 8 Key Steps to Building a Multiple Streams Product Funnel? Perhaps it’s your time to consider digging deeper into this! Check out our Membership Club here.) 

In concert with a Mission and Vision statement to serve as inspiration or a ‘lighthouse’ for you in your work, a great Metrics Worksheet will coach you on the nuts and bolts of ‘what do I work on today’ in a rather profound way. 
 
So for today, although there is a lot more that can be said about Metrics and using them effectively for you, I’ll leave it at this. 

If this article strummed your curiosity, I encourage you to follow it through. 

Take an additional few moments to click here to consider a few coaching questions about metrics and your business as it is today:

Coaching Questions for you here…