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How Conquering My Fear of Numbers Transformed My Business

I’m going to share a little bit of my own story this week, just in the hopes that it helps those of you that might be struggling with this too. This is kind of painful and actually a little bit embarrassing, but I think it’s so relevant. A few weeks ago, we had a retreat for some of our members. It was lovely – we got to meet them and understand more about their businesses. One of the things in the goodie bags was a mug that said “Numbers don’t lie.” This mug got me thinking about my journey with numbers and how it made me feel, what it kept me from doing, and what it allowed me to do in my business.

My Early Business Days

To tell you how it used to be, I have to go back to my first business. I started it in 1990. That business grew really quickly – it grew to a million dollars worth of sales by the second year. My entire focus was on growing my sales. As a result, I saw very little value in the data. It was always the last thing on my plate, and you know how that goes. When it’s the last thing, it never gets done.

I was the person who kept all my financials in envelopes and dumped them on the accountant’s desk at the end of the year. I thought that focusing on sales was the only thing that mattered. But here’s the truth – I was afraid of the numbers. I told myself that numbers made my head hurt, that I wasn’t good at them, and that they didn’t matter because they didn’t directly get me sales.

Numbers Don’t Lie: My Wake-Up Call

What I’ve realized is that a lot of people fear knowing their numbers. This fear keeps us stuck because instead of knowing where we are, we make up stories about what’s working in our business.

The bottom line is you can keep making stuff up or you can know for sure by tracking your data. 

When you know the numbers, you know what’s real, and that really changes your perception of everything in your business.

From Fear to Control: My Data Strategy

When I bought Wee Squeak, I committed to using data to make decisions. I needed to find a way to make it easy for me to understand because I was the decision-maker in my business. This wasn’t easy, but once I took the leap, I felt like I was in control of my results. It didn’t happen overnight, but I started to feel different about my abilities.

3 Essential Metrics for Success

If you’re not tracking anything right now, start with the key metrics that affect your sales:

1. Traffic: Everything starts with traffic. If you can’t get eyeballs on your site, you have no chance of making a sale.
2. Conversion Rate: This is the percentage of visitors that result in a sale. It’s about the quality of traffic, the offer they get, and the experience they have on your website.
3. Average Order Value: This is the easiest metric to control and the fastest way to increase your sales. Find ways to get people to put more in their cart and check out with more.

Once you’re comfortable with the big three, consider tracking these advanced metrics:

1. Returning Visitors: These are multi-session users who are twice as likely to make a purchase.
2. Cost of Customer Acquisition: Understand what it costs to get a new customer. Compare this to your average order value.
3. Lead Value: Know what a lead is worth to you. Different sources of leads will perform differently.

Feelings Aren’t Facts

Tracking data takes the emotion out of decision-making. Instead of beating yourself up over something that didn’t go well, you can look at what happened and figure out how to change it next time. This makes you feel like you have the power to make a difference.

Set up a simple spreadsheet and start tracking your traffic, conversion rate, and average order value every week. Watch your progress and think about what you can do to improve these metrics. Once you’re comfortable, add in the advanced metrics.

By using data to make decisions, I’ve seen positive outcomes in my business. It took time, but now I feel in control and confident about my abilities. I encourage you to start tracking your metrics and see the difference it makes.

RELATED LINKS:

How To Get Control Of Your Money

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-to-get-control-of-your-episode-158/

A Little Trick To Get The Results You Really Want

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/a-little-trick-to-get-the-results-you-really-want-episode-225/

What To Do When You’re Short On Cash

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/what-to-do-when-youre-short-of-cash-episode-222/

How To Create Profit Goals

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-to-create-profit-goals-episode-209/

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New FREE Course coming September 22nd

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales, without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.