How to Diagnose and Solve Growth Issues

by Forrest Dombrow

A Concept to Consider

"If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution." – Steve Jobs --

My clients often misdiagnose marketing and sales challenges.?

A common example: if a campaign fails, they blame the tactic or marketer; if a salesperson struggles, they blame the individual. But sometimes, the real issue is a generic service offering with no unique value. In these cases, better promotion or sales strategy won’t fix the problem.

Do you feel like you truly understand the root cause of your growth challenge??

A Growth Tip

Solve at the root, not the surface.

Before wasting more money on another tactic, tool, or hire, step back and work through this simplified diagnostic process. We’ll use lead generation as an example, but the framework applies to any growth issue.

First, clearly define the problem: What specific symptoms are you seeing? Is it a lead quantity issue? A quality issue? Inconsistency? High cost? Each problem requires a different solution.

If lead quality is the issue, then ask “Why?” five times:

1. ?Why is lead quality an issue? Marketing targets the wrong audience.
2. ?Why? I don’t have a clear picture of my ideal clients.
3. ?Why? I never defined my ideal clients.
4. ?Why? I’m too busy serving existing clients (or I don’t know how).
5. ?Why? I don’t have enough help to offload work (or I've never tried to learn how).

This simple process reveals root causes that may be far removed from the symptoms. If you reach a question you can’t answer, it may be time to seek outside help.

A Valuable Resource

When we work with clients, we conduct a much deeper diagnosis to uncover root causes across all areas that impact growth—positioning, service development, marketing, sales, and client experience/retention.

Want to see a list of the exact tools, tactics, and the 56 targeted questions we use? Just reply “Roadmap,” and I’ll send you our full Diagnostic Roadmap.

I believe this is a pretty valuable document, and some industry friends told me I shouldn’t give it away for free. But I believe in leading with value, and I find that generosity always comes back 10X. So...

Reply “Roadmap,” and your next growth move will become crystal clear.

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