The Sweet Business Barometer is a simple tool you can use when you decide it's time to get strategic. The audit, unique to Sweet, rates your readiness in 17 critical areas across your business, and gives you a simple to understand barometer report to highlight where work is needed.

1. Business Barometer
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Prepared for
John Appleseed, Sample Co.
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[Customer Logo]
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Prepared by: Will Noble
Date: [DD Month YYYY]
Commercial in Confidence
© Copyright 2006-2014 Sweet Business

2. Discovery
Planning
Execution
Measurement
Business
Planning
Sales
Enablement
Sweet
Counsel
Net
Promoter
Score
Market Intelligence
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Special Ops
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Project Management
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Representation
Sweet Business
Introduction
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The Sweet Business Barometer is a discovery tool employed to benchmark your
business, highlight the areas where you need to focus most effort, and contextualise any
potential Consulting and Services requirements. The dashboard informs your growth
journey, not least by providing the yard-stick against which your progress will be
measured.
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Growth Modules
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Discovery
- Business Analysis of the "As-is" and "To-be" situation
Planning
- Formulating a strategy to deliver the agreed transformation
Execution
- Services, tactics and enablement to deliver and manage the
change defined in the strategy
Measurement
- Performance against KPIs and benchmarks defined in
discovery and planning
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Consulting
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Business Planning
- Clearly define your Purpose and Vision, and create
your roadmap for success
Sales Enablement
- Create a simple, measurable, results-orientated sales and
marketing plan; providing your team with the right skills and tools
Sweet Counsel
- Not coaching or mentoring, not training or consulting;
but at the same time it's all of these things
Net Promoter Score
- On average, an industry’s NPS leader will out-grow its competitors
by a factor greater than two times
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Services
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Market Intelligence
- The Intelligence, Business Analysis and Insight required to shape the Planning phase
for the business overall, programmes of work or discreet projects
Special Ops
- Flexible and knowledgeable on-demand resources to undertake non Business-as-
Usual engagements
Project Management
- Agile and PRINCE2 project management to manage risk openly and keep business
requirements prioritised ahead of implementation convenience
Representation
- On-demand, card-carrying, on-brand members of your team for sales, events, and
special promotions
Commercial in Confidence
© Copyright 2006-2014 Sweet Business

3. Purpose
Strategy/Direction
Vision
Marketing
Goals & Targets
Offering
Sales - new business
Sales
existing clients
Systems
Culture
Financials
Technology
Personal
Fulfilment
Action
Review
Wealth Creation
Profit
Enhancement
Business Barometer Results for Sample Co.
Overview
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Sample Co. rates 8.5/10 for
readiness and likelihood to fully
achieve its growth and development
plans. There are a number of units
you should consider for review.
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Modules
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Discovery: 7.5/10
- Clarity of purpose and vision. The
business’ self awareness of the
"As-is" and "To-be" situation and
the appetite to grow.
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Planning: 7/10
- Strategy to deliver the
programmes, projects and tactics
require to achieve an agreed
transformation. SMART*
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Execution: 9/10
- Tactics, skills and tools driving the
enablement to deliver and
manage the
change defined in the strategy.
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Measurement: 8.5/10
- Measuring performance against
KPIs and benchmarks defined in
discovery and planning and
translating that into a new cycle
of Discovery and Planning.
*old school: SMART:
• Specific – target a specific area for improvement
• Measurable – quantify an indicator of progress
• Assignable – specify who will do it
• Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources
• Time-related - specify when the result(s) can be achieved
10
9
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6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Commercial in Confidence
© Copyright 2006-2014 Sweet Business

4. Discovery
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Purpose
- It is critically important that you understand your own values and those of your business, and
that these are reflected in a clearly articulated statement that delivers the What, How and
Why of your business.
- The purpose of your business, its values, must be communicated through everything you do
(it’s more than a sign in reception!). Staff, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders must
all understand what it is you stand for.
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Vision
- Create an easily accessible and up-dateable document that describes what your business
will look like when it is “complete”. It’s OK for this Vision to change over time.
- As part of your written document, create progress milestones for what the business will look
like at 3, 5, and 10 years. These milestones make are critical preparation for measurement.
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Planning
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Strategy/Direction
- When you have constructed a Vision you are comfortable with, create a strategy and planning
document that will ensure you achieve the vision for your business.
- Brainstorm with people from outside the business to ensure you have considered all other
options available to you to help you grow your business and achieve your vision.
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Goals & targets
- Commit to written objectives for the business for the next 3, 6, 12 months, communicate this
to staff and ensure they have 3, 6, 12 months objectives focused on delivering success.
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Execution
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Culture
- Give staff crystal clear expectations of what their role is in the business and reward and
recognise performance and behaviours you wish to promote and cultivate.
- Spend time with your team to ensure buy-in to the purpose, vision and short-term objectives
of the business. Remember “the meaning of our communication is in how it is received” - if
you’re not getting your message across, it’s more likely to be your problem, not theirs.
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Marketing
- Create a marketing plan/schedule driven by the Purpose, Vision and strategic direction
- Understand and maximise all routes to market for your offering, implement reporting.
- Implement a simple-to-follow brand guideline, including tone-of-voice and social media
policy for all communications (on-line & off-line).
- Define what your ideal customer looks like and focus effort on communicating with them.
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Offering
- Keep offerings simple, if your team are confused - imagine how your customers feel.
- Understand and communicate to your team the value proposition of your offering.
- Ensure you understand where you do and do not make margin vs building loyalty.
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Sales – new business
- Implement a sales process, then measure at evert stage to understand and optimise lead
generation, conversion and maximise sale value; crate feedback-loops to marketing.
Sales – existing clients
- Become a CRM Nazi; measure customer advocacy (using a simply tool such as NPS).
- Measure, understand and make it the mission of the business to eradicate customer churn.
- Work with your front-line staff to formulate tactics to increase repeat / up-sell.
- Set benchmarks to focus the effort of your team on maximising the opportunities to
generate revenues from your current list of customers.
- Create a written Account Management plan for the business linked to reward/recognition.
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Systems
- Incentivise your team to create efficiency in the business, to create systems or automated
systems.
- Regularly review systems and processes to identify opportunities to out-source.
- Create an environment, and test it, whereby you don't need to be present in the business
(try day a week, week out, month out, quarter out).
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Financials
- Drive processes to obtain as close as possible to real-time financial data.
- Produce monthly management accounts with a key metrics dashboard.
- Monitor proportion of turnover coming from how many customers, manage to spread risk.
- Determine a threshold of financial health for the business to include in your dashboard.
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Technology
- Wherever you see paper in the organisation, make it your mission to make it electronic.
- Document a data back-up routine/procedure and test it regularly.
- Regularly review any on-premise technology; research out-sourced or cloud alternatives.
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Action
- Agree an approach to meetings; purpose, agenda, desired outcome, necessary preparation
- Formulate a standard project delivery procedure; business analysis, business case
development, change management, delivery, testing, training and support.
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Measurement
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Personal fulfilment
- Define your requirements from the workplace; working hours, pay, environment, etc.
- Understand your ideal work/life balance (specifically what you wish to achieve outside of
work), document it, and do it.
- Consider and document possible exits from the business; MBO, disposal (to who), IPO, etc.
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Profit enhancement
- Schedule a review of pricing at least once every 12 months.
- Schedule a review of costs at least every 6 months.
- Review up-sell and cross-sell opportunities (new and existing sales) every 6 months.
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Wealth creation
- Appoint a Personal Financial Advisor; discuss, agree and document a plan for your
personal wealth creation.
- Regularly (every six months) review the value of your superannuation against an agreed
target to allow you to retire.
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Review
- Review every key project to understand “lessons learned”.
- Establish a 360 degree review process for all staff and given them an opportunity to
suggest ideas to improve their own role, your offering, or the business.
- Create a mechanism to celebrate success on a periodic and ad-hoc basis.
Units for Consideration Commercial in Confidence
© Copyright 2006-2014 Sweet Business