30+ Key Performance Indicators to Watch Before You're Consistently Earning
This online business journey can get very discouraging especially if you're looking at the wrong key performance indicators for your business growth stage. You want results and you don't see them because they don't scream at you.
In the beginning, we all go thru the startup stage. This stage is marked with experimentation where you're trying to discover which key performance indicators most influence sales. You're trying to decide:
- Which traffic sources are most effective?
- Which offers are most effective?
- Which content topics do website visitors like seeing most?
- Are you targeting your audience the most effective?
- and there's other things you have to figure out before sales start rolling in regularly
I wanted to encourage you by letting you know that EVERYONE starts at ZERO in sales and EVERYONE has to watch other key performance indicators before sales become consistent. If you're constantly looking at the sales counts, you're focused on the wrong metrics for a startup, and it can be frustrating and discouraging.
When you start to look at other key performance indicators (which is a MUST in the beginning), you'll be able to get more excited because you can see growth in your business. This post will give you a few metrics you should watch in the startup phase before getting consistent sales. Watching these metrics will help you focus your efforts on what matters in the beginning and sales will be a byproduct.
Typically, when you're starting out, you won't see money. It takes some time to see money. Instead, the metrics you have to look at are:
# of pageviews: 1st 10, 1st 20, 1st 30, and so on
# of posts
# of traffic sources
# of email subscribers
# of emails sent to email list
Amount of traffic from each source
Quality of traffic from each source
# of engaged communities you're involved in where your target audience is
Amount of community involvement
Amount of time spent on the business
Amount of time spent on lead generation
# of words written
# of people helped
# of prospects contacted
# of networking events attended
# of prospects in the funnel
# of products you offer
# of prospects followed up
# of business proposals submitted
# of cold emails sent out
# of cold calls to prospects
# of social media posts
# of social media followers contacted
# of product/service samples offered
Size of prospect list
# of services you offer
# of social shares: 1st share, 2nd share, and so on...
1st sale
1st $1
1st $10
1st $100
1st $1000
Then, after the preliminary metrics have been watched developed and tweaked over time, you'll get to a sweet spot where the right products and services marry the right audience, the right systems will trigger the right KPIs, your schedule will put emphasis on the right tasks, and you start to see sales.
You'll begin to see a pattern between the preliminary KPIs and sales that will be so clear that you'll know exactly what your most profitable tasks are in your day, and you'll be able to make a schedule that hones in on your most profitable tasks. Then, you'll be able to look at metrics like:
1st year with income monthly
1st $1000 month
1st $10000 month
Products/Services which get the most sales
How many A/B tests running
A/B Test Results
Underperforming products or services
# of problem areas in the customer journey
Frequency of sale
Conversion rate
Pricing effectiveness
1st repeat buyer
# of repeat buyers
Lifetime customer value
Customer acquisition cost
# of B2B ventures
and so on...
Every business is different, but you should find a few of the key performance indicators I've listed will be very important and directly correlate to sales. Once you see the pattern of moving one lever that directly effects sales, then you simply continue to scale from there.
What key performance indicators directly effect the sales in your business? Have you found where a few of the KPIs listed above spike your sales numbers consistently? I'd love to hear from you.
Recent Comments
26
Definitely gave us a good list of things to look at instead of just whether or not we're making money!
Janelle
Thanks Fleeky! When you say inciting to a gift for charity, what do you mean? Have you used that as a KPI to get sales? Tell me the secret sauce!
You did great job so far!
Well some blogs are about wOrld issues like caring for trees.
You can make shirts or cups and sell them or add a donation,button.
If you are a webbuilder you can sell your services.
If you are an artist showing your work, you can ask people to contribute wIth a cup of coffeee...
(I never did that
Not ready yet)
Best look at other performing websites
And look what they do...
Lol
Yes...
You asked remember..'
;-)
Take care
Keep it simple
Follow Kyle... and Carson in lessons
See more comments
Thank you Tiffany.
You're welcome Juliet! Best wishes for you in your business!