Are You An Expert In Everything? Thought Not!
In your ongoing quest to acquire as many leads and as much revenue as humanly possible, you may have found it necessary to don quite a few hats you may otherwise have never thought of wearing. This is the nature of the beast! There is always something more to do, another strategy to try, and another path to explore. The problem is, it’s incredibly easy to get distracted from our primary mission and led down the rabbit hole. Here are several things to consider when it comes to making sure you keep your eyes on the prize!
Is Your Focus In Focus? – A major reason we go off task and end up not getting the productivity we desire is because we far too often lose our focus. Business is hard enough without having to perform magic in the form of being in ten places doing twenty things at once! If you’re taking on too many tasks that have only a marginal outcome on your bottom line, this is not a good idea. A good way to do this is to make sure you know your metrics, and where your traffic and leads are coming from, and direct your time and efforts there. Spend your time where there is a return or imminent promise of one!
Is All Your Activity Goal-Oriented? – Closely related to the above is the need to make sure all your marketing activity is closely related to your short and long term goals. It’s far too easy to chase the latest “shiny new toy”, especially when it comes to internet marketing, and find yourself a month or so later in the same place you were before, poorer in several ways for the time wasted! Do not engage in any new strategies, tools, tactics or methods unless they fit like a glove into your present set of goals. Make your goals specific, and achievable.
Do You Have A Plan For Productivity? – First, let’s one thing straight: being busy does not mean you’re being productive! Filling your day with tasks that have no bearing on your bottom line may make you tired but likely won’t make you money! The key here is to integrate your productivity plan with your focus and goals. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “work smarter; not harder”. This is where you apply that alluring idea to your business! Make a plan for each day that emphasizes time management and efficiency. Set priorities and delegate. Make sure that you are taking tasks that are going to advance your business in a meaningful way today!
Are You Outsourcing Effectively? – One of the very best ways you can increase productivity and scale your business efforts is through the efficient use of outsourcing. These days there is almost no excuse not to be outsourcing some of the more mundane tasks in your business. Costs have dropped dramatically, and new systems and micro-worker sites have made outsourcing both affordable and immediate. There are, in all likelihood, many tasks in your business that you can delegate to an outsourcer. This is especially true if you are doing any online marketing. There are simply too many tasks for one person to handle anymore, and the competitive nature of the Web now makes it imperative that you don’t take months to do what could be done in days. There are so many great resources for this. If you need help, Upwork and Fiverr make it drop-dead easy to find someone to do what for you may seem insurmountable, but for them would take an hour and as little as $5 from you. (Your prices may vary)
If you can honestly say that these pieces are in place in your business, you should be miles ahead of a great deal of the competition. If there are areas that still need some work, make a plan and stick to it!