Step 3 of 6 · Products & Services

Products & Services: know which lines make the money

A plan is only as good as what you sell. The Product & Service Review looks at every line — what it brings in and what it really makes — so the range is fit for the plan.

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The question · what you do

What do we sell that produces them? The Product & Service Review.

What you’re left with

Which lines make the money, which are dying, and which to grow, fix or retire — so the range is fit for the plan.

Watch step 3 in a minute

Narrated by Nigel Moore. Shown with an invented business, Pemberlow Coffee Roasters Ltd.

The tool in this step

Product & Service Review

Every line’s sales and margin, each placed as a Star, Cash Cow, Question Mark or Dog, checked against your three-year plan, and turned into actions with an owner and a date.

How it fits the plan

Once you know which lines to grow, step 4 works out who will buy them and how many leads it takes. Everyone walks all six steps; your diagnostic scores decide which get a full audit and which a ten-minute check, and everything lands on your dashboard as one action plan.

← Step 2: Strategy Step 4: Customers & Prospects →

Questions about this step

What are Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks and Dogs?

Four ways to describe a line by its growth and its share of your sales: a Star to back, a Cash Cow to protect, a Question Mark to prove, and a Dog to deal with.

What if my plan grows a line the review says to cut?

The review asks why, so you either record a good reason or change the plan before it costs you.

Is it included in my plan?

Yes. Every BBE plan includes every tool. Start with the free diagnostic to see which steps need the most work.

See how your business scores on step 3

The free diagnostic takes about ten minutes, scores all six steps and shows what to fix first. Every BBE plan then includes every tool in this step.

Start the free diagnostic See plans