If you try to tell investors 10 things on an earnings call, they won’t remember any of them.
Not because they’re dumb. Because they’re busy.
And here’s the uncomfortable part.
If you truly have 10 “key drivers” of your business…you’re the one who is distracted!
There aren’t 10 material levers in a real business. There are usually three.
Everything else is either a supporting detail, a rounding error, or a hobby.
So use earnings season as your own forcing function to figure out what's important (see, meeting with the Street has some benefits :).
Before you write the script, answer this:
What are the 3 most impactful things driving your business right now?
Not the three things you wish were driving it. Not the three things you’re excited about. The three things that actually move revenue or margins over the next year.
Now make them concrete. Investors can’t remember abstract concepts. They remember pictures.
Bad examples, too abstract:
- “We’re focused on innovation.”
- “We’re driving radical transformation.”
- “We’re helping customers solve their most important problems.”
Those phrases mean nothing. They don’t show up in a model.
Good examples, concrete:
- "Revenue is accelerating because our new product has higher ASPs and is being well received in the market"
- "Margins are expanding because of a mix shift towards our higher margin offerings"
- “Customers are expanding usage because the product now saves them real time. That’s showing up in bigger renewals.”
- “Sales cycles are shortening because customers are seeing our value more clearly.”
- “Churn is down because we fixed the one feature customers were leaving for.”
Notice what those sound like.
Plain English. Cause and effect. Something you can picture.
If your three levers don’t sound like that, they’re not levers. They’re slogans.
Here’s another test:
If I asked your head of finance, “what are the three things that will move next year’s numbers,” would they say the same three.
If I asked your head of sales, would they say the same three.
If the answers don’t match, you don’t just have a messaging problem. You have a focus problem.
And one more.
If I looked at your calendar for the last 30 days, would it line up with those three levers?
Or are you spending time on 10 priorities and hoping one becomes material.
A tight earnings script isn’t just good investor relations. It’s good leadership.
Pick the three levers. Make them concrete. Talk about them early. Then stop.
