“Always be closing…That doesn’t mean you’re always closing the deal, but it does mean that you need to be always closing on the next step in the process.” Shane Gibson

Revenue growth is a metric which is spoken about widely whether you are a brand new start-up or an established business. It is the one metric which investors are always keen to learn about. Revenue is quite simply the number of products or services sold, multiplied by the price. Calculating revenue is fairly  straightforward. Evaluating growth of revenue over a stipulated period of time provides a lot of information regarding the future prospects of the company.

Early stage start-ups that do not have any present revenue, or then very little, need to develop projections to gauge future revenue. Hockey stick graphs are a norm when this information is produced, I  strongly advise backing up projections with sound assumptions and research. For established companies,  regular evaluations of revenue growth projections are required to ensure that they are being met. Some key factors to keep in mind regarding revenue growth are:

1. Industry Growth: One needs to first evaluate the growth speed of the market they operate in . This helps create broad benchmarks for future prospects. For example the overall print media industry is witnessing a massive slowdown in the west. Getting into this particular industry at this point in time is not a viable future growth prospect. However, the online media industry is booming and is growing at a phenomenal pace these days. When evaluating a business it is good to get a broader perspective on what is happening in the bigger picture.

2. Market Share: Depending on the market share the business currently holds, will directly impact its ability to grow revenue. For instance, if you are a market leader in office automation products like Microsoft and control over 70% of the market, a 10% yearly growth is not a realistic target. However if the market is fragmented like the hand held mobile sector, a new entrant like Apple was able to come in, almost immediately take a substantial share in the market, and has aggressive growth targets for the next couple of years. Therefore, evaluate your market position when creating revenue growth estimates.

3. Pricing: Depending on the type of pricing strategy adopted, one can determine what sort of revenue growth is possible. If for instance,  the business is planning on increasing prices next year, and even though this could positively impact margins, it could have a negative impact on units sold. This will impact directly on revenue and thus growth estimates will have to be adjusted likewise. The business must find a balance between its pricing and revenue growth strategy to reach its target.

Evaluating and estimating revenue growth is a tricky and challenging process. It requires a lot of assumptions to be made and does not take into account unexpected events and scenarios. However from a historical perspective this metric can provide a reliable indicator to judge how the business has performed and what sort of average growth figures to expect.