Data visualization of KPIs in Excel to increase sales by 100%

The main difference of a successful businessman is the ability to focus not on the results, but on the processes. To achieve this, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be used. Data visualization significantly improves the ability to focus on information. After all, a person always perceives images quickly on a presentation and analyzes them easily, unlike numbers and text. To practically confirm these facts, take a look at this Excel dashboard template for analyzing KPI indicators.



How to Effectively Use KPIs to Increase Sales?

Attention is the main currency in the modern world. Everyone competes for the attention of their customers because energy always follows attention. And everything alive in the universe fights for energy. But it's not enough to possess attention; you also need to learn how to manage it effectively. For example, to earn more money, you can't focus your attention on money itself. That's how the world works. To make flowers bloom in a garden, you need to focus not on the flowers but on the process of growing them: preparing the soil, fertilizing it, planting seeds, watering, and caring for them. As a result, flowers are the outcome, arising as a positive side effect of key actions. Therefore, the result can never be predicted with 100% accuracy.

Why Do We Need KPI Plans?

Every action always yields a result. By managing the quantity and quality of actions, you can influence the quality of the outcome. For this, we need Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to systematically track the impact of actions on results. Each key action that significantly affects the outcome is assigned its own ambitious but achievable KPI plan based on statistical data on past achievements of similar results.

For effective analysis of KPI indicators, it is recommended to use a dashboard with data visualization in Excel. By spending just 10 minutes looking at an Excel dashboard, a business manager can visually analyze the correlation between KPI plan execution and their impact on performance:

Next, to provide a clearer explanation, let's consider a practical example.

Best Strategies for Efficiently Doubling Profit

Now, let's explore how to effectively double sales with the help of KPIs.

Interesting Fact! If your profit is only $2, and you want to earn all the money in the world, you just need to double your profit 48 times!

Goals should be ambitious yet achievable. Therefore, let's set a task closer to reality. It all starts with asking the right question. For example: "Where is the growth point in your business to double profits?"

Initially, simple but low-quality answers come to mind:

• increase sales volume by 100%;
• double production volumes;
• double the staff;
• increase the advertising budget by 100%, and so on.

These solutions are simple to understand but complex and inefficient to implement. There are more effective strategies for scaling business profitability.

Raise Product or Service Prices by 10% to Double Profit

Raising prices by 10% is much easier than increasing sales volume by 100%. If your business margin is 10%, then by increasing the price by 10%, your profit will double—increasing by a full 100%. A slight price increase may slightly reduce sales volume. However, if you think about it, there's another option without raising prices.

Reduce Expenses by 10%

Reducing production or selling expenses by 10% can double the profit for a business with a 10% margin. Money saved is money earned.

Increase the Influx of New Customers

A flow of new customers increases the number of loyal customers, and loyal customers bring in 60% of the profit. Therefore, if we increase the steady flow of new customers by 30%, we will double the business's profit by increasing the number of loyal customers. However, the result will be delayed until a sufficient number of loyal consumers is accumulated.

In strategic business development planning, it's unnecessary to set many plans for different types of KPI processes. It should be a maximum of 4 key growth points affecting the final result. For example, we present an Excel dashboard on four KPI indicators for multiplying business profits:

1. KPI Plan for product sales in quantity.
2. New customer acquisition metric.
3. Plan for reducing expenses.
4. Increase in average check.

It's important to note that setting a sales plan based on the first KPI indicator should ideally be in product units, not money. A sales report in money can be easily distorted for several reasons, such as currency fluctuations. When comparing sales data in units, it's easier to identify trends and understand which products are in higher demand.

A sales report in units provides a direct metric for managing inventory. In retail, inventory is the top priority. If there are too many items in stock, it means the assortment is not properly tailored to target consumers. If there are too few items in stock, it means the supply strategy is poorly organized, leading to a risk of missed profits simply because the products are not available.

Data Visualization for Improving Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The value of data visualization cannot be overstated, especially in the modern competitive business environment. To stay ahead, it's necessary to gather a vast amount of statistical data. Then, not only should this data be effectively utilized, but even more importantly, it should be timely! Because in the shortest time frame, most of the collected data will lose its relevance. Sorting, structuring, and even processing data with artificial intelligence will never surpass the advantages provided by data visualization. After all, the final decision always rests with the business owner, who is the highest authority in the project. Only data visualization can provide the best intuitive understanding of the situation in a specific context!

Download Excel Dashboard for Professional KPI Management

Data visualization opens up great opportunities for managing key business processes.

Key advantages of data visualization for businesses over AI:

1. Rapid detection of non-obvious correlations.
2. Productive communication and engagement of employees from different fields and levels of expertise in processes.
3. Interactive capabilities for test experiments and forecasts of likely values ​​when changing certain conditions.

Although artificial intelligence can be a useful tool for data processing and analysis, data visualization always remains a crucial component for a comprehensive understanding of information and making informed decisions.