I once helped a client “see” a million dollar profit, just using a spreadsheet. Sounds ridiculously unlikely but in fact it was easy. Together we used their data to join dots that nobody in the organisation had taken the time or thought to join up before. Once those dots were joined up, the campaign went from strength to strength.

We often get so caught up in the day to day running of a business, chasing deadlines, paper work and sales, that we can’t find the breathing room to take a fresh look at what we are doing.

The company I mention above took an expense and turned it into a profit center. All they had to do was what they had done all along with a small twist; take their traffic and email sign ups and convert it into product trials, then convert those trials into purchases.

In my last post I wrote about using data in your organisation. While having data does not magically make your business more successful (you still need to use your brain!), or instantly bring more customers in your front door, you might convert more of the ones you do get or have a valuable asset.

Until we ran the numbers the company wasn’t sure they would be able to find the budget to maintain their sites, let alone for large scale product trial. After we ran the numbers and tried a limited test, they couldn’t understand why they had never tried it before.

Have you run your numbers? If you do not have the time yourself, get someone to do it for you. It could be the most profitable excercise your business does this year.