Are You Running Your Business Blind? Why Keeping Score Matters

I had a great conversation recently with a member of Impact Club, and it reminded me of something I see far too often when working with independent butchers, farm shops and other food retailers.

They're working incredibly hard, but they're not running their businesses by the numbers.

Now, I've written about scorecards before, and I'm making no apologies for returning to the subject. Because if there's one simple habit that can make a huge difference to how you run your business, it's keeping score.

And I think a round of golf explains why.

Imagine You're Rory McIlroy at Augusta

Picture Rory McIlroy walking down the 18th fairway at Augusta, with the Masters on the line.

He's got one hole left to play, and he needs a four to win.

Would he rather know exactly what score he needs? Or would he prefer to have absolutely no idea whether he's winning, losing or somewhere in the middle?

Of course, knowing the score brings pressure. But it also brings clarity.

He knows what he's aiming for, he can make decisions based on the situation, and he knows exactly what success looks like.

Business is no different.

Yet I regularly come across business owners who couldn't tell me their average transaction value, how many customers they've served this week or whether they're actually ahead of their sales target.

They're effectively playing the final hole without knowing the score.

What Happens When You Start Keeping Score?

Something interesting happens when you begin tracking your numbers, setting targets and getting a little competitive about beating them.

You start paying attention to things you might previously have overlooked.

Let's say you run a butcher's shop and your average transaction value is £24. What would happen if you set your team a target of £26?

That extra £2 might not sound particularly exciting. But if you're serving 200 customers a day, that's potentially another £400 in daily sales.

And you haven't necessarily needed another customer through the door to achieve it.

Of course, you need to train your team, improve how you sell and make sure you're offering customers products they genuinely want.

But it all starts with knowing where you are today and where you want to get to.

You can't improve a number you're not even measuring.

You Don't Need Complicated Systems

One of the things I regularly remind Impact Club members is that tracking your numbers doesn't need to be complicated.

Every quarter, I send members a pack of simple, old-fashioned pen-and-paper tracking sheets. I can also show them how to create digital versions if that's what they prefer.

The important thing isn't the technology. It's the habit.

Start by tracking a few key numbers:

• Daily and weekly sales: Are you ahead of target or falling behind?

• Customer numbers: How many people are actually coming through your door?

• Average transaction value: How much is each customer spending?

• Items per transaction: Are your team making the most of every opportunity?

• Gross profit margin: Are those extra sales actually making you more money?

You don't need to measure everything from day one. Pick the numbers that matter most to your business, track them consistently and start having conversations about what they're telling you.

Because the real value isn't in filling out a spreadsheet.

It's what you do with the information.

Better Numbers Lead to Better Decisions

Here's something worth remembering.

Filling in a tracking sheet doesn't put an extra penny in your till.

But the decisions you make because of it certainly can.

When you understand your numbers, you can make better marketing decisions. You can identify where your team needs more training, spot opportunities to improve your average transaction value and see whether your promotions are actually working.

You can also recognise problems earlier, rather than waiting until the end of the month and wondering where all the money has gone.

And when your team knows the targets and starts taking ownership of them, that's when things can really begin to change.

A little healthy competition can be a wonderful thing.

So, Do You Know Your Score?

If I walked into your shop tomorrow and asked how you're performing against your targets this week, could you tell me?

Not roughly. Not what you think the numbers might be.

Could you actually tell me?

If the answer is no, don't overcomplicate it. Start with a few important numbers and build from there.

And if you'd like some help, that's exactly the sort of thing we work on inside Impact Retail Success Club.

I'll help you get your scorecards in place, understand which numbers really matter and use that information to make better decisions. You'll also be surrounded by other ambitious independent retailers who are working on improving their businesses.

Because running a successful shop is hard enough without doing it blindfolded.

You can't win if you don't know the score.

Mark Turnbull