In this month's issue: How do we find time to do it all?
Getting To the Next Level: An online newsletter helping hi-tech
companies grow to the next level of business success.
Produced by Class IV Solutions, Brian Harp, editor.
Approximate time to read: 5 minutes
Our time is our most valuable resource, and we all seem to lack
enough of it. How do we make the best use of our time and make it
as profitable as possible? Robert Middleton wrote an excellent
article in his last e-zine about this, and from past experience I
know it works. The key is to focus on the tasks that matter and
follow-through to completion.
In this article I have taken Robert's core tenants and included
details specific to small to medium business that will help you
grow immensely if you carry them through. Once you master these
techniques for yourself, work with your employees to apply the
principles to their work time. You will see the results. If you
want one on one coaching in this area, please email me and we can
create a structure that works for you!
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It's About Time
Do you sometimes feel like the world has run out of time?
We don't have time for our families, time for our friends, time to
answer our email or time to market our businesses. In fact, over
the years, the lack of time to actually do marketing is the number
one complaint I've heard about marketing. We often know what to do;
we just can't seem to get around to doing it.
So, reading this eZine could be the most valuable time you spend
today. Print this one out. Read it a few times, tack it to your
refrigerator and work at putting these ideas into action. The
payoff could be huge.
Here are a few things I've learned about time and getting the
important things done that keep my business moving profitably
forward.
A Matter of Priority
We have lost our sense of priority. Everything is urgent. Nothing
is truly meaningful. We just have a zillion things to get done -
NOW! Not only is this extraordinarily stressful, it is living an
illusion, a lie. Clearly some things are certainly more important
than other things.
Without priority, we are at the complete mercy of external events.
We go wherever the wind blows. And we don't get done what truly
matters. For now, just let me focus on business- related
activities.
There are really only three categories of activities Independent
Professionals spend their time with:
- Income-Producing Activities
- Marketing Activities
- Everything Else
Let's look at them in some depth:
Income-Producing Activities
Your goal should be to dedicate about 50%-60% of your time to this
category. This includes actual time spent working with clients,
other billable time if you are in the consulting business, or time
developing your core product offerings if you are a product
company.
It also includes developing services and programs, long- and
short-term planning and increasing your capacity and skills to
deliver value to your clients and to grow your business, such as
professional development for you and your employees.
For instance, coming up with a workshop that will generate new
income, working on your pricing structure, and improving your
coaching skills are all long-term Income-Producing Activities.
It also includes time to read, think, study and learn with the aim
of working smarter, not harder. It has been proven that time put
into planning and into building your skills is an investment that
pays dividends as high as ten to one.
Marketing Activities
Your goal should be to dedicate about 20%-30% of your time to this
category. This can include a wide variety of marketing activities
(which also includes sales activities) such as networking,
speaking, writing, sending eZines, making follow-up calls, sales
appointments and preparing proposals.
Just as importantly, this must include time to learn about
marketing. You need to take a few hours every week to study
marketing ideas (books, tapes, CDs, teleclasses, eZines). If you
want to be a truly effective marketer, you can't just go through
the motions, you need to know what you're doing. Study the experts.
And a certain amount of time needs to be spent on marketing
planning and strategy. How exactly are you going to promote that
workshop you've developed? Again, for every hour you put into
planning, you'll see a dramatically higher return on your marketing
activities.
Everything Else
Your goal should be to limit the time you spend on Everything Else
to about 20%. The trouble is, it's not unusual for people to spend
50% or more in this area. This is the monstrous time and energy
sucker that eats away at your business success. This is where you
need to cut the fat.
This is a long and growing list: Email and mail, paperwork, bills,
bookwork, errands, returning calls, computer troubleshooting,
organizing, etc. Your aim here should be very simple - to dump as
many of these items as you can - at least by 50%.
Again, this will take a small investment - of money, not of time.
Hire a bookkeeper and someone to handle your files and office tasks
on a part-time basis. Get an expert to organize your email so you
get less spam and your top-priority email is filtered into one
email box. (I've done it and my hundreds of daily emails get
handled in less than an hour a day.)
Get a professional organizer to come in to work with you for
several sessions to organize paper, details and your schedule.
These amazing professionals will not only get you organized,
they'll leave you with skills you can use for a lifetime that will
save you time every single day.
If your could cut your time on Everything Else from 50% to 20% and
it cost you $1K or $2K per month (most can do it for a lot less),
wouldn't you make that up many times over by putting your time and
attention on the much more important categories of Income-Producing
and Marketing?
Making It Work
Your first task to make this system work is to start making the
distinction between the three categories. In other words, notice
exactly where you are spending your time and energy. And then work
at cutting down the time spent doing Everything Else.
Your next job is to work at increasing the time you spend on Income
Producing and Marketing. And where almost all of us can spend more
time in these two areas is in long-term planning and development
(creating that second product offering) and in improving your
marketing skills (the best way to market your [product).
If you work on this diligently (and I don't pretend that it's easy)
I predict you'll see the following results.
- You'll be less stressed and overwhelmed
- The little stuff gets handled without you doing it
- You'll feel more on purpose and more fulfilled
- You'll experience more control and power
- You'll bring in more business with less effort
- Your income will increase - often dramatically
I'm sure you'll agree that these results are well worth the effort!
Additional tips for "It's about Time"
Here are some specific strategies for planning and keeping on
track.
* Have your daily schedule and daily to-do items on one page (or
in a large planner - a teensy-weensy monthly calendar won't do)
that's in front of you at all times. If you use a PDA, transfer
your schedule and to-do's to this one page that you can scan at a
glance.
* Only write the to-do's that you actually intend to get done
today. You may choose to have a master list that includes
everything, but transfer items from that list to today's list.
And don't list too many items.
* Make sure you always include Income-Producing and Marketing
Activities on your daily list. They won't get done unless you put
them on your list and you make them a priority.
* Schedule certain marketing activities on a regular basis and
don't get distracted from implementing. For instance, go to certain
networking events every month and put out your eZine regularly
(biweekly, monthly) without fail.
* Get and stay organized. A tidy office and a clear desk help you
put your mind on what's most important. Clutter and disorganization
actually drain your energy and keep your attention on Everything
Else.
The primary concepts in this article where written by Robert
Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site
at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and
resources on marketing for professional service businesses."
Until next time, have an outstanding day!
Brian Harp, Class IV Solutions
"Helping hi-tech companies achieve the next level of business
success"
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www.class4solutions.com
36 Sarles St.
Armonk, NY 10504
914.325.3407
brianh@class4solutions.com
2004 Brian Harp, All rights reserved. You are free to use material
from the "Getting to the next level" eZine in whole or in part, as
long as you include complete attribution, including a live web site
link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The
attribution should read:
"By Brian Harp at Class IV Solutions. Please visit Class IV
Solution's web site at www.class4solutions.com for additional
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business success." (Make sure the link is live if placed in an
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