Is Your Business Ready for Predictable Growth?
- Fergal O'Carroll
- Dec 4, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: May 16
Welcome to the first post that ties in with the launch of the Supercharge Your Sales Velocity podcast.
After years of leading sales teams and mentoring brilliant people, I’ve finally taken the leap and started my own sales performance improvement business. This podcast and blog are just part of that bigger picture.
Why Now?
After decades working for other people, I reached a point where I knew I had more to give. More value to share. More people to help. I wanted to bring what I’ve learnt to a much wider audience and build something I could shape on my own terms.
I also wanted the freedom to choose who I work with, how I work, and what I focus on. That clarity led me here.
This isn’t my first go at running a business either. Back in 1988, I wrote software for video rental shops. The product was ahead of its time. The market wasn’t ready. No one had the computers to run the programme. It fizzled before it really got started.
Fast forward to today and the tech landscape has changed dramatically. One of the biggest drivers of that change is AI.
The Shift That’s Coming
On a recent trip to San Francisco, I saw driverless taxis from Waymo on the roads. Not a person in sight. Just fully automated cars, navigating real traffic.
Think about that for a second. Uber drivers, who disrupted the traditional taxi model, are now being disrupted themselves. And this is only the beginning.
For those of us in sales, AI is going to impact how we work, how we engage clients, and how we measure success. But let me be clear. AI will not replace you. However, someone who learns how to use AI effectively could very well outperform you.
That’s why I started this podcast and blog. To keep you ahead of the curve.
What Predictable Growth Really Means
Predictable growth isn’t about chasing the next big client or hoping for a lucky break. It’s about building a system that creates consistent, measurable revenue over time.
Here are six signs your business might be ready:
1. Clear Strategy
You know who you serve and what you help them solve. Just as important, you know what you don’t do.
2. A Distinct, Scalable Offer
If your offer is tailored from scratch for every client, growth becomes slow and painful. A strong offer stands out and can be delivered repeatedly.
3. Client Growth Beyond Referrals
Referrals are brilliant, but they can’t be your only channel. If new clients are finding you outside of your immediate network, you’re on the right path.
4. A Balance of Inbound and Outbound
Growth comes easier when you’re not dependent on just one channel. A healthy mix of both puts you in control.
5. Solid Win Rates
If you’re meeting prospects but struggling to close deals, look deeper. Are you targeting the right people? Is your offer compelling enough to prompt change?
6. A Repeatable Lead Engine
You can’t scale what isn’t predictable. If your growth relies on ad-hoc activity or heroic efforts, it’s not ready to scale. A repeatable process means future gains are within reach.
Introducing the Sales Velocity Metric
Sales Velocity is a way to measure how quickly your business is converting opportunities into revenue. It combines four key elements:
Number of open opportunities
Average deal size
Win rate
Length of the sales cycle
The formula looks like this:
(Opportunities × Deal Size × Win Rate) divided by Sales Cycle Length
By improving any one of these, you’ll see better results. Improve all four and the impact is significant. It gives you a much clearer view of where to focus your efforts.
Quick Exercise for You
Take five minutes and do this now:
Pick a timeframe from the past three to six months
Count your open opportunities
Calculate your average deal size
Work out your win rate
Measure the average number of days to close a deal
Put those numbers into the Sales Velocity formula and you’ll have a clear benchmark to work from. That’s your baseline for improving results.
Final Thought
If your business ticks most of the boxes above, your sales team has a real chance to thrive. If not, no sales hire, process, or playbook will magically fix the gaps.
This is just the beginning. In future posts and episodes, I’ll break down strategies to improve each lever in your sales velocity engine.
If you’ve found this useful, please subscribe to the Supercharge Your Sales Velocity podcast, share it with someone who’d benefit, and stay tuned for more tools and tactics that can help you close better deals, faster.
Until next time, here’s to more opps, bigger deals and faster wins !
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