The Importance Of Setting Up Robust Review Processes

Morning all, Much later than I normally start when it comes to writing these - but today I’m determined to get at least two done by hook or by crook. It’s been really interesting to review the calls of some of the sales team to understand more about what’s happening on the phones. And to see the gap between self-reporting results and running due diligence upon results. It’s here we begin to see a chasm. I’ve seen it happen time and time again when it comes to what people say is the reality versus what the reality actually is. There’s always a gap between those two. This is where the power of reviews comes in. It’s really (really) important to be sceptical of absolutely ANY result that’s put in front of you whatsoever. Because when you began to analyse a report or a piece of work - this is where you can begin to make real progress. [convertful id="197358"] I’ve been hurt time and time again wherein I haven’t set up proper review processes and it’s come back to bite me in the arse when months have gone by and I’ve not been close enough to something…. And then later you discover that there have been basic and fundamental mistakes made from the outset which means everything else that follows it is completely wrong also. To give some practical examples of this:

1. Yesterday I discovered our head of content is taking keywords too literally and then generating semi-spammy titles when it comes to blog content
2. Service and blog pages in terms of their audience are being confused
3. Some of the sales team are booking in partnership calls rather than actual proper appointments
4. We’ve discovered a way to include hidden fields on booking forms so we can share feedback with our internal sales team that the prospect can’t see

All of this has come through focusing on micro-analysis. And the end result will be a massive positive impact when it comes to seeing the success this drives. I hope - to some degree this underlines the importance of having review protocols in place because it can literally transform your own results when it comes to the returns you can drive. This can apply to every level of your business - and there are some practical ways that you can ensure that feedback and in-depth reviews become a core part of your work:

• Setup review calls with your heads of departments to ACTUALLY look at their work
• Understand the distinction between showing versus telling - don’t ask someone to ‘tell you what they do - ask them to ‘show you what they do - and then you’ll get much closer to understanding how they actually work
• Expect excellence. Don’t expect people to ‘need time’ or that ‘it’s ok to get things wrong more than once’ - expect quick learning and quick success

Much of the above requires a certain level of gall and emotional comfort with being in difficult conversations - but ultimately it will be for the betterment of everything that you do. The above hopefully underlines some of the examples of transformational changes that RIGHT now are coming from the way we’re reexamining our processes and looking to make many many micro fixes that can lead to massive changes for Pearl Lemon.