Ready, Aim, Fire!

Something that always trips up marketing and sales leaders: not agreeing on success metrics before the quarter begins. 

Too much: Ready, Fire, Aim!

Not enough: Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Fire!

 Questions to ponder: 

👉 Do we have clear success metrics in place for Q1, 2023?

👉 Have they been communicated to the sales and marketing teams?

👉 Are they easy to measure and track?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does not agreeing on success metrics before the quarter starts trip up so many leaders?

Because it leads to a "ready, fire, aim" dynamic, launching activity before clearly defining what success actually looks like, which makes it much harder to measure progress or adjust course mid-quarter.

What does "ready, aim, aim, aim, fire" actually represent in this context?

Taking the time to properly define and align on success metrics before launching activity, rather than rushing into execution first and figuring out how to measure results after the fact.

Why does it matter whether success metrics have been communicated to both sales and marketing teams?

Because metrics that exist only in leadership's mind don't guide day-to-day execution. Both teams need clear, shared metrics to actually align their efforts toward the same defined outcome.

Why should success metrics be easy to measure and track?

Because a metric that's difficult to actually monitor in real time provides little practical value during the quarter. Simplicity in measurement is what allows for timely course correction if things go off track.

What are the practical questions worth asking heading into a new quarter?

Whether clear success metrics are actually in place, whether they've been communicated to both sales and marketing, and whether they're genuinely easy to measure and track throughout the quarter.