More leads or better-fit customers: what should you fix first?

Before spending more money to bring in more leads, ask yourself how much you’re already spending chasing work that isn’t your best work.

Think about the time your people spend answering questions, visiting sites, preparing quotes, revising proposals, and following up with customers who were never a good fit for your organization. Those hours cost money whether you win the job or not. And sometimes winning creates an even bigger problem. Now you’ve committed your team to work that stretches their capabilities, eats into your margin, and takes their attention away from customers you could serve exceptionally well.

When cash flow is tight, it’s understandable to chase whatever looks like revenue. But what will that revenue actually require of you? How much of your time and your team’s attention will it consume, and what other opportunities will you have to pass up to deliver it? A full schedule doesn’t necessarily mean you’re building a healthier business.

Start with the customers and projects where you consistently do your best work. What do they have in common? Where does your team deliver real value, earn a healthy margin, and build relationships you’d gladly repeat? Then look at the work you’re spending your sales and marketing resources trying to attract. Are those the same kinds of opportunities?

If they are, and you have room to serve more of them, increasing your reach may make sense. If they aren’t, getting clearer about who you serve and what you do best could save a lot of wasted effort before you spend another dollar generating leads.

That thinking is at the heart of GET, the Growth Engineering Tool from Legacy Sustained. Growth isn’t simply about finding more customers. It’s about consistently attracting the right customers, so the time, money, and people you invest in growth support the kind of business you actually want to build.