I know I do.

Every time I hear statements like this I want to respond with, “So what?”

But I don’t mean that to sound rude.

What I mean is, “So what happened as a result of the work you did for those clients? Or, what happened because of the things you sold?”

I am always more impressed when I find out about the impact of someone’s business on its customers, than I am about the scale of their operations.

Hear me out…

Numbers count, don’t they?

We live in a time that is fixated on statistics. We’re endlessly checking quantitative metrics – website views, article downloads, likes on social media, subscribers to our newsletters…

And those numbers are important. They can give us a sense as to whether what we are doing in business is working or not. But for me, they only tell part of the story.

For me, I’d much rather we spent our time talking about the impact of our work.

Impact in business is so much more than counting numbers. It’s about the difference you make… the impression you leave... and the value you create… the transformation your clients achieve as a result of your work.

Once you can confidently demonstrate the impact of your business, you can:

Grow your business and win new clients

If you have a way of proving the positive change that you bring about for your clients, you have something you can use to persuade new people to work with you too. It gives potential customers the confidence that what you do works, and it shows the results of the work you deliver.

Sam Moinet is an international coach and speaker, whose business, The Educators Coaching Academy, is on a mission to transform mental health support in schools for children, teachers and school leaders. He needs to be able to prove that his coaching methodology is effective to get more schools to sign up: “Having evidence of my impact gives my current schools confidence that what we do works and it allows prospective schools to see our results from other education providers. Our impact evidence has generated more sales and money into my business.”

Secure new funding/investment and make your organisation more sustainable

Knowing how to confidently articulate the impact of the work you do makes you much more attractive to investors / funders. They can immediately see how their money will be spent to make a difference

Making Me is an organisation that teaches children about emotional wellbeing: “Because our impact evidence is both robust and independent, it has enabled us to apply to bigger pots of national funding rather than simply restrict ourselves to smaller local ones. This will now enable us to focus on our growth and expansion rather than simply worry about our day-to-day existence.”

Justify how you allocate your budget

How you spend every single penny in your business matters. So, if you know that one element of your operations – especially if it’s something you outsource – is particularly valuable because you have indisputable evidence of the impact it creates, you can confidently support the decision to invest in it.

“I rely on impact evidence to demonstrate the relative value of three of our programme delivery partners’ activity as part of the case I build to justify the cost and extent of the RAF Youth STEM programme. The true benefit for us is about being able to provide external evidence of the value, rather than having to rely on my own explanation.”  Wing Commander Russ Barnes, RAF Youth & STEM team.

So now you’re convinced it’s a good idea, how do you go about starting to have a better handle on your impact?

First you need to be able to talk about the impact you want to have.

I set up The Impact Specialist to help businesses to improve the way they talk about, measure and showcase their impact. And to be able to measure and prove your impact, you first need to be able to articulate it.

Most people describe their businesses and what they do by referring to their job title, company name and industry. And that feels logical, doesn't it?

But it often means that they sell themselves short, and they don’t stand out in a very overcrowded marketplace. They aren’t appealing to the emotions and needs of their potential clients, so they’re missing a huge trick.

Instead, I encourage my clients to focus on what changes for their customers: what is different for them after they have used your service?

A brand designer will probably tell you that they create logos and brand guidelines for their clients. But this doesn’t even begin to describe the impact they have, and it feels cold and clinical when you compare it to how it could sound if they focus on their impact.

Consider this description instead, which focuses on their impact:

“I’m a brand designer. I empower my clients to showcase their services authentically and confidently. I give my clients a visual identity that encompasses their values and allows them to reach the audience they want.

I enhance their reputation, I increase their visibility, I give them self-assurance, I give them pride in their business, and I enable them to be recognised.

I give them the tools to communicate their story with clarity. I help them make a lasting impression, build trust with their audience, and position themselves as leaders in their field.”

Immediately, you are drawn in, and as a potential customer you want to know more.

So I’d like to challenge you to try and do the same.

How can you get into the habit of describing the services that your business delivers, without simply referring to their name or to your wider industry?

What are the changes you create for your customers?

Because in there, lies your impact.

It’s time to change the narrative.

What do you think? Let’s change the way we define success in business. Let’s end this relentless focus on the numbers and the bottom line, and let’s talk more about our impact.

Because after all, if you’re known for creating a positive impact for your clients, won’t the numbers take care of themselves?

What’s next? How can we measure our impact in business, especially when it feels a bit intangible?

In my next article, I will share the five simple steps you need to incorporate into business as usual to make it easy to routinely reflect on, measure and prove beyond doubt the impact you create through your work - making the seemingly unmeasurable measurable!

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