Our company is making a major pivot into a completely new market segment, and our leadership team is arguing about how to build a weekly Scorecard when our historical data and industry benchmarks are no longer relevant. How do we run on data when we are entering uncharted territory?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Entering uncharted territory is exactly when you need a weekly Scorecard the most, but you must change how you look at the data. When your historical benchmarks are no longer relevant, your Scorecard must transition from tracking efficiency to tracking learning and validation.

In a new market segment, your primary risk is lack of market fit. Therefore, your weekly metrics should focus on activities that validate your assumptions. Track the number of customer discovery interviews completed, the response rate on your initial outreach campaigns, and the feedback scores from your first pilot clients.

Do not worry about setting perfect targets in the beginning. Your initial targets should be based on activity volume, not conversion rates. For example, set a target to speak to ten target customers a week, rather than trying to close a specific dollar amount of sales.

Use your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ to review these activity metrics and discuss what the data is telling you about the new market. Treat every week as a data point in a larger experiment.

As you gain traction and accumulate real-world numbers, you can gradually replace these early validation metrics with permanent, performance-based indicators. Running on data during a pivot is about using the Scorecard to find your footing, not just to measure your speed.