Business Housekeeping Checklist
Historically, summer has always been a quiet time for financial organisations: there are few events to attend, people tend to take vacation time, and the ‘summer slowdown’ comes into effect.
Hopefully we haven’t just jinxed ourselves, but now is a great time to do a little self-auditing within your business to prepare for busier times. Here’s what’s on our list:
Update your website and strategies
Roughly 25% of tasks in a business don’t get fulfilled. We call these ‘secondary priorities’, and now is your time to crack down on the to-do list and get them ticked off. A common secondary priority is that of website and strategy updates, so take a look now. What improvements could be made? Is there any out-of-date copy that needs correcting? What strategy goals are working, and what could be enhanced?
2. Optimise your database and filing system
As with our first point, take a look at your database and filing system. Often, during busy periods, we let these slip and things can quickly become disorganised. Do some tidying and make sure all your contacts and files are complete and easily accessible, ready for a fresh season.
3. Reach out to potential new clients
If your sales team is on top of things, there’s likely a list of potential clients ready and waiting. Why not make a start on that now, and send out some meaningful emails and resources that will put you on their radar? Now is also a great time to look at contacts you’ve reached out to previously but have yet to hear back from - sending out some quality email contact might just persuade them to get in touch.
4. Check in with your existing clients
Similarly, make sure you keep in touch with your existing clients. Continuing to build relationships is a very good use of your down time so you remain top of mind when it’s important. Conduct a 6 month check in, see how they’re getting on with your products and find out if there’s anything they need - they’ll appreciate the thought, and you might find some simple improvements you could make to your business that will be highly effective. Running a survey during this downtime will also gather some helpful feedback that you can use as a starting point for making improvements too.
5. Evaluate your processes and work on improving efficiencies
Set some time apart to evaluate your business while you are not under as much immediate pressure. Some good points to examine include:
Strengths & weaknesses
Products & services
Costs vs income
Marketing initiatives
Don’t forget to look at your mistakes as well your successes from the past year - learning from these is crucial for business growth. Check out our blog about how you can learn from your mistakes to find out more.
6. Get ready for the busy season!
As with everything in life, nothing lasts forever. Before you know it, things will be picking up again and you’ll be wondering where the last few months disappeared to. So, make sure you’re prepared for this. Plan ahead, make predictions and scenarios and have a clear plan of action ready to go so you can hit the floor running when the time comes.
