Thursday, November 05, 2026
Busy one month, silent the next, and no idea which deals were ever real? Neil Rackham's SPIN questions surface the truth weeks before a quiet month does.
When revenue stays flat, the cause is usually one weak link, not five. Before you hire, advertise or discount, run five checks: reach, conversion, purchase frequency, your own capacity and margin. Each has one number. The one that looks worst is where your next dollar and your next hour should go first.
Written for owners in New Zealand and the United States. Updated 5 November 2026. This guide is part of why has my business stopped growing?, the Simple-Growth guide to finding the real constraint first.
Flat revenue feels like a marketing problem, so the budget goes to marketing. Sometimes it is. The US Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, built on the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, found that "Reaching customers and growing sales was the most commonly reported operational challenge, followed by hiring or retaining qualified staff." Those are two of the five checks below. The other three get less attention and are often cheaper to fix.
Score each check from one to five for how weak it looks, using your own numbers. Choose the lowest. This is the logic of the Theory of Constraints, which Eliyahu Goldratt set out in The Goal. The Theory of Constraints Institute lists its first steps as identify the constraint, exploit it with what you already have, subordinate everything else to it, and only then elevate it by adding capacity. In small-business terms: find the weakest link, squeeze more from it before spending, and stop improving things that are not the limit.
Then run a 14-day test with no new spend. Break a business constraint in 14 days without new spend shows how, and the eight-link growth chain is the longer 20-minute version of this check.
Effort goes where the owner sees the problem, not always where the limit is. Run the five checks to find the link that limits the rest, then direct the effort there.
Only if reach is your weakest link. If enquiries are healthy but few convert, or customers rarely re-buy, more marketing makes the leak bigger.
A first read takes about 20 minutes with your last 12 months of numbers. Confirming it with a 14-day test costs time, not money.
Want a second pair of eyes on your five scores? Bring them to a free conversation and we will find the weakest link together.
Sources (checked 5 November 2026): Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms (United States; 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, published 3 March 2026). Theory of Constraints Institute, Five Focusing Steps. The funnel and solvent-recycler examples are from Kevin D'Ambros-Smith's Know Your Numbers training. Last updated 5 November 2026.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Close to six in ten of this year's US holiday shoppers are already buying, in October or year-round. Here are three sales moves to make this week before Black Friday arrives.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
77.6 percent of US consumers used AI to help with a purchase decision in the past six months. Here are three moves that make your small business visible when customers ask AI about you.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
54 percent of US business owners have no real plan, and only 11 percent have anything detailed. Here's the one-afternoon exercise that gives your business a sharper three-year direction than any spreadsheet.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Before you spend another dollar on ads, staff or software, find the one step that limits your growth. Here is a one-hour spend-gate test you can run this week.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
ActionCOACH began in Brisbane, Australia. What does its story tell US owners about where good growth ideas come from, and how to test an outside idea in your own business?
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
SME owner confidence is climbing, but for most, revenue isn't following. Here's why time isn't your real constraint, and the three-step framework that finds the one that is.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
49% of business owners question monthly whether running the business is worth it, a US survey found. Here's what changes when someone else is asking that question with you.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Nearly half of NZ SME owners are planning Christmas trading changes, MYOB research found, and most of it is a discount. Here's how to build memory before you build the offer.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
46% of New Zealand business owners aren't paying themselves, Xero research found. Here's the Profit First fix that changes the order money moves through your business, not the hours you work.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
The share of businesses reporting serious dead stock has doubled since 2024, new research found. Here's why rising revenue can still mean tightening cash, and the three numbers that catch it early.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
42% of business owners named efficiency their top 2026 priority, a US survey found. Here's Michalowicz's Clockwork system for building a business that doesn't need you in every decision.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
B2B win rates fell to 19-21% in 2025. Here's why a quiet Q4 pipeline is usually a budget deadline in disguise, and the three moves that use it instead of waiting for January.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Chemical and industrial distributors rarely have a product problem. Here is how to find the real constraint, escape the price war and build a 90-day plan.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
97% of small business owners believe branding matters to their success — only 18% have an actual strategy for it. Here is the 3-question Brand Key test that closes the gap without a rebrand.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Roughly 90 percent of companies never achieve sustained profitable growth. Here's Jim Collins' Hedgehog Concept for telling which growth opportunities are actually worth chasing.