This self-assessment gives your business a score out of 50, five points for each of the ten growth levers. Print this page, or copy the statements onto paper, and tick the box beside each statement that is true today. One tick is one point. Total each lever, then total the whole sheet. There are no fields to type into and nothing to submit; it is a workbook, not a sign-up. If you want to know what each lever means first, read the ten growth levers.
Before you start: three rules for honest scoring
Score what is true now, use evidence where you have it, and when in doubt leave the box empty. Owners who score from optimism get a flattering sheet and a useless plan.
- Today, not soon. A tick for something you plan to do next month does not count.
- Usually, not once. If it happened last week but not most weeks, leave it empty.
- Checked, not assumed. If a statement involves a number, look the number up. Have your phone log, sales records and last three months of revenue within reach.
Write the date at the top of your sheet. You will want to compare it with your next attempt in three months.
Demand levers
Lever 1: Offer
- ☐ I can describe my main offer, including a price or price range, in one sentence.
- ☐ My three biggest sellers are also among my most profitable.
- ☐ I have raised prices at least once in the last 18 months without losing my key customers.
- ☐ Customers can choose between at least two clear options or packages.
- ☐ I win most work without discounting.
Offer score: ___ / 5
Lever 2: Customer focus
- ☐ I can name the two or three customer types that are most profitable for me.
- ☐ My website and marketing speak directly to those customers, not to everyone.
- ☐ I turn down work that does not fit, at least occasionally.
- ☐ I know the main problem my ideal customer is trying to solve when they call.
- ☐ At least half of last quarter's revenue came from my ideal customer types.
Customer focus score: ___ / 5
Attention levers
Lever 3: Findability
- ☐ I appear on the first page when someone searches for my main service plus my town.
- ☐ My Google Business Profile, or equivalent listing, is complete and its hours are current.
- ☐ My name, phone number and address details match everywhere they appear online.
- ☐ New customers come from at least three different sources.
- ☐ I know which source brought in the most new customers last quarter.
Findability score: ___ / 5
Lever 4: First impression
- ☐ On a phone, a visitor can tell what I do and where within five seconds.
- ☐ My phone number and email are visible without scrolling on a phone.
- ☐ My website or profile shows real photos of my work, team or premises.
- ☐ A visitor can find at least a rough idea of price or how pricing works.
- ☐ My website has been updated in the last six months.
First impression score: ___ / 5
Conversion levers
Lever 5: Response
- ☐ I know how many calls went unanswered last month.
- ☐ At least nine out of ten calls during business hours are answered live or returned within an hour.
- ☐ Emails and website inquiries get a reply the same business day.
- ☐ Someone other than me can answer an inquiry properly when I am busy.
- ☐ My voicemail greeting tells callers when they will hear back.
Response score: ___ / 5
Lever 6: Closing
- ☐ I know what share of quotes or proposals I won last quarter.
- ☐ Every quote gets at least one follow-up if the customer goes quiet.
- ☐ I ask customers who say no why they chose someone else.
- ☐ My quotes are clear enough that customers rarely call to ask what something means.
- ☐ Quotes go out within two business days of the request.
Closing score: ___ / 5
Trust and loyalty levers
Lever 7: Reputation
- ☐ I received at least one new public review in the last 30 days.
- ☐ I ask satisfied customers for a review as a routine, not occasionally.
- ☐ Every negative review has a calm, public reply.
- ☐ My reviews mention the specific things I want to be known for.
- ☐ A stranger could find proof of my work, such as photos or examples, in under a minute.
Reputation score: ___ / 5
Lever 8: Repeat and referral
- ☐ I keep a list of past customers that I could contact this week.
- ☐ I know roughly what share of revenue came from repeat customers last year.
- ☐ Past customers hear from me at least twice a year, with their consent.
- ☐ I ask for referrals at a set moment, such as when a job is finished.
- ☐ I thank people who send referrals, every time.
Repeat and referral score: ___ / 5
Engine levers
Lever 9: Capacity
- ☐ The business could run for two weeks without me and customers would barely notice.
- ☐ My main processes, such as quoting or onboarding, are written down.
- ☐ I could take on 20% more work next month without hiring in a panic.
- ☐ Quality complaints do not rise in my busiest months.
- ☐ I spend at least a few hours a week working on the business rather than in it.
Capacity score: ___ / 5
Lever 10: Numbers
- ☐ I see revenue, gross margin and cash on hand every month, within two weeks of month end.
- ☐ I know my gross margin by main product or service.
- ☐ I know roughly what it costs me to win a new customer.
- ☐ I have a simple forecast of cash for the next three months.
- ☐ I can tell, without guessing, whether last year was more profitable than the year before.
Numbers score: ___ / 5
Totalling your sheet
Add the ten lever scores for a total out of 50, then copy them into one row so you can see the shape. The shape tells you more than the total.
| Lever | Score / 5 |
|---|---|
| Offer | ___ |
| Customer focus | ___ |
| Findability | ___ |
| First impression | ___ |
| Response | ___ |
| Closing | ___ |
| Reputation | ___ |
| Repeat and referral | ___ |
| Capacity | ___ |
| Numbers | ___ |
| Total | ___ / 50 |
As a rough guide:
- 0 to 15: the foundations are thin. Pick one demand lever and one conversion lever and start there before spending on marketing.
- 16 to 30: typical of a busy owner-run business. There is probably money leaking from two or three specific levers.
- 31 to 40: a solid business with one or two clear bottlenecks. Fixing them can change the year.
- 41 to 50: well run. Growth now comes from fine-tuning, new markets or new offers.
What to do next
Circle every lever that scored 2 or lower, then rank the circled ones by how much they would change revenue if fixed. The guide on reading your score gives a simple impact grid and worked numbers for doing this.
If you want someone to check your scoring, a review session goes through the sheet with you line by line. If you would rather have the business scored against hard evidence, that is the ten-lever diagnostic. Either way, bring the sheet when you get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the self-assessment take?
About forty minutes if you have your last three months of numbers nearby. Owners who do it from memory finish faster but tend to score themselves a point or two too high on each lever.
Should my team score it too?
It helps. Ask a manager or a long-serving employee to score it separately, then compare. Where your scores disagree by two or more points, you have found something worth a conversation.
What if a statement does not apply to my business?
Tick it if the spirit of it is true for you. A business with no website can still tick the first-impression boxes by applying them to its Google profile or storefront. Do not leave a lever with fewer than five possible points.
Do I need to send you my results?
No. The scorecard is yours. If you want Ali's view, you can share your lever scores when you call, text or email, but the self-assessment works on its own.