The invoice is overdue and the payroll date is close. A very good prospect and future client has gone quiet, and a key staff member wants an answer that you do not yet have.
Be assured, I have been there before, and I have experienced all of this and more. This is where my business rules that work earn their keep.
Not in a workshop or training session, not on a motivational post, but on an ordinary Tuesday when the numbers are tight and somebody has to make a call.
Most businesses do not fail because the owner lacked ideas. They fail, or limp along, because basic disciplines were ignored for too long. Revenue generation was assumed and cash was confused with profit. Clients were treated as transactions, or follow-up stopped too soon and to top it off, decisions were delayed because the facts were uncomfortable.
The old rules are not glamorous, but they are useful. They give you something solid to do when hype has run out and pressure is doing the talking.
One of my key rules is to focus on revenue and the motivation of your team will follow.
Don't confuse busyness with progress! A busy diary is not a sales strategy - anyone can be 'busy'. Neither is a polished website, a new logo or a week spent rearranging software. If revenue is inconsistent, the first job is to face the sales activity that produces it.
Make sure you know how many new conversations, quotes, proposals, follow-up calls and repeat orders are needed to hit your revenue target. Then measure the numbers every week - remember though that you do not need an elaborate dashboard. You just need an honest record and the discipline to look at it.
This does not mean chasing every possible dollar at any cost. Discounting work you cannot deliver profitably or taking on clients who will not pay creates a different problem. The point is to keep the commercial engine running. When the pipeline is weak, fix the pipeline before you start blaming the market.
Another one of my key rules is to make sure you follow-up on every prospect - this is where many sales are won.
Too many owners send a quote, receive no immediate reply and call it a lost opportunity - it is usually neither won nor lost. It is simply unattended or abandoned.
I know people get busy and priorities change. Decisionmakers need to check budgets, speak to a partner or put out their own fires. I can personally attest to the fact that a professional follow-up is not pushy - done well it is simply part of doing the job properly.
Set a follow-up process before you need one. Record the next action, the date and who owns it. Be useful when you make contact - clarify a question, restate the value, provide a practical option or ask directly whether the opportunity is still live. Then keep going for a sensible period - tactfully, respectfully and professionally. Persistence without record-keeping is chaos and record-keeping without action is theatre.
These are just some of my key rules for business success - there are many more.
I believe totally hat disciplined rules reduce self-inflicted damage - they serve to stop you from confusing activity with progress, optimism with cash, or intention with execution. They make weaknesses visible while they are still manageable.
That is the value of commercial scar tissue. It is not a promise that business will be easy. It is a reminder that the fundamentals remain when conditions turn rough. Foundation 52: Old Skool Business Rules is built around those hard-earned fundamentals, not fashionable slogans.
Start with one weak point this week - chase the overdue invoice and call the dormant prospect. Check the cash due over the next 30 days and don't lie to yourself - don't overstate cash that will come in and don't understate the payments you will have to make.
Write down the process that keeps failing. Remember that small acts of commercial discipline are not exciting, but they are how a business stays standing long enough to grow.