Speak their language with KPIs

Ever had someone ask you to “explain it like I’m five years old”?

Feel like the other person would just never get it?

As technicians in our respective fields, this happens all the time. We try to explain some aspect of our expertise or method to customers who can’t get it.

It’s usually then I realize I’m going down a rabbit hole for no reason. Not because what I’m explaining isn’t essential.

It isn’t what the customer cares about in their terms.

In business, those terms are usually profit, cash, and peace of mind.

That’s why I’m learning to love dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs).

KPIs can take abstract business concepts and convert them into meaningful insights for non-accountants.

KPIs help us speak our customers’ language.

It isn’t just financial data, either. KPIs should draw on all aspects of the company, from sales and marketing to fulfillment to administration. Because to the owner, all these functions tie back to those key terms: profit, cash, and peace of mind.

No matter what industry you’re in, if you work with other business owners, they want to hear and see the same key terms you do.

The better you understand your own company from the perspective of KPIs, the better you can help your customers understand theirs.

The easier time you will have selling your business’s work to others.

Because you can make a business case for what you’re doing. Your customers need to know that the work you’re doing for them will reap them some business benefit, some desired result that ultimately ties back to that purpose of generating a profit and cash flow and finding peace of mind.

In other words, you need to show how working with you will improve their bottom line.