Traction, by Gino Wickman, was first published in 2007 and has since sold over one million copies. Now a renowned business book, the author’s team estimates over 130,000 companies use its framework, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), to achieve organizational success.
The book guides readers through defining a clear vision, setting long-term goals, establishing core values, and implementing practical tools for enhancing productivity and accountability, with emphasis on simplicity and practicality. Among the concepts introduced are rocks, meeting rhythms, scorecards and an issues list, for ambitious entrepreneurs not looking to reinvent the operational wheel.
John Ainsworth is founder of Data Driven Marketing, a company that helps online course creators 2-5x their revenue by converting their website to more leads, converting more leads to sales, and increasing the average order value of customers. Implementing Traction in his business helped it grow from annual revenues of $100,000 to $750,000, with the business running mostly without him. Ainsworth has since helped other businesses implement Traction, to similar success.
Combined with ChatGPT, Ainsworth suggests 5 simple ways to implement Traction’s teachings in your business. Copy and paste each prompt into ChatGPT, edit the square brackets, and keep the chat window open so your information carries through.
Implement Traction with these 5 ChatGPT prompts
Define your values
“We already had values, but they were only in my head,” said Ainsworth. “Identifying and writing them out made it easier to know who to hire and then to write the job description. We found better candidates, who knew what to focus on when they were hired.” Clear company values are a foundational element of Traction. Defined values lead to clear behaviours from everyone who represents a company. Behaviours can be scored, a benchmark can be set, and it’s easy to know who matches up and who has to go. Use this prompt to establish yours.
“Suggest my 5 core business values based on the information I provide. We focus on [type of customer you want], and provide [type of services] services to our customers. We want our customers to have an experience whereby [describe the experience your ideal customer has]. We contribute to society by [if relevant, describe how your work benefits society]. What matters to me about how the business runs is [how you like the business to run], the way we make business decisions is by [describe how you make decisions]. Some of the positive feedback we get from customers is [describe typical feedback and/ or paste testimonials]. We want people to think about us as [describe the way an ideal client might think about your brand].”
Explain your proven process
Now they know why you do it, customers need to know what you do. And so do your team. Pareto’s Principle (known as 80/20) is used throughout Traction. In short, everything should be reduced to the essentials. “We used the 80/20 principle to boil everything we did down to the most effective elements,” said Ainsworth. “That made us more efficient, secured better results for clients and allowed us to make our pay-on-results guarantee.” The more simply you can explain what you do, the more everyone gets it. The more obvious future decisions become, because you can see in seconds whether or not they fit.
“Act as a business operations specialist and create a description of my company’s proven process based on the following information. These are the steps that we take in our work [what you do for clients from when they first sign up till the job is complete] for this kind of client [type of client you work with]. Then create 5 catchy, on-brand names for this process.”
Create a guarantee
“A strong guarantee helps people feel confident signing up,” explained Ainsworth, whose company’s guarantee took them from a 40% sign up rate to close to 100%. Theirs involves people paying only based on their results, but yours can include anything that works for your business. Guarantees, of a success secured or a downside covered, are a strong recommendation in Traction because they work. Customers feel safe that their risk is minimized and suppliers are motivated to perform.
“Act as an expert marketing consultant and use the following information to create 5 options for guarantees we could give to prospects that would make them more likely to buy from us. The results I feel confident guaranteeing are [results here] as long as customers have got this kind of business [what kind of business they must have] and they do these things [what customers have to do to work well with you].”
Establish your rocks
In Traction, “rocks” are specific, short-term goals or priorities that a team aims to accomplish within a defined period, typically a quarter. “When we implemented rocks it helped us to focus on the most important areas in the business and stopped us wasting time on unnecessary work,” explained AInsworth. Rocks should be substantial and meaningful, and require dedicated effort and attention to accomplish. The idea is to prioritize and concentrate the team’s energy on a small number of critical objectives, rather than spreading efforts too thinly across various tasks. Create your rocks using this prompt.
“Acting as a business consultant, list 5 specific projects we should undertake to improve the business within the next quarter, based on the following information. The main issues we’re facing right now are [describe issues]. Our biggest strengths are [list your strengths], and our weaknesses are [list weaknesses]. I see the following opportunities for the business [list the opportunities] and these are the current threats we face [list external forces that are affecting your business].”
Track data like a pro
To break records, you have to make records. Traction is big on recording metrics (the system’s slogan is, “get a grip on your business”), and Ainsworth is too. “Without knowing the numbers for your business, you are flying blind.” At Data Driven Marketing they track every step every customer takes through the prospecting process and customer journey, which “allowed us to identify which area to work on and then improve it.” Get a similar outcome with this analytical prompt. For bonus points, open up Code Interpreter (with paid ChatGPT plans) and upload a spreadsheet of your data.
“Act as a business analyst and outline the main traction metrics applicable to my business. My business aims to [describe your short term business goals]. The main drivers towards these goals are [explain the inputs that contribute towards hitting your goals]. Include both inputs and outputs and when I should track them to check I am on target for achieving the goals.”
Implement Traction in your business with ChatGPT
Grow your business by implementing a solid business operating system used by over 130,000 smart entrepreneurs. Define your values and explain your proven process, create a compelling guarantee, establish your rocks, then track every part of your operation to iterate from there.
Simplify your offer to deliver customers exactly what they need, in line with your values, presented in a way they can’t turn down. Continue to improve your business with specific focus areas every quarter and a way of tracking metrics that leaves nothing to chance. Short of reading the book, these prompts apply the best and most effective parts of Traction to improve your chances of success.
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