It’s guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing, and today’s guest post is from Jenna Dalton– Enjoy!
You want a life. You want a successful business. But is it possible to have both?
Yes it is. You just need to know the secret to working less without making less. The key is to be constantly asking this one critical question…
“Am I being productive, or am I just keeping busy?”
The truth is, there are very few things that you need to do to grow your business. But a lot of us fall into the trap of thinking that we’re making smart moves when we’re actually just doing busy work.
Spending 3 hours changing our Facebook page cover photo is not a good use of our time.
Spending 3 hours crafting a great guest blog post that’ll drive more traffic to our website is a good use of our time.
The secret is to know what you should focus your attention on, and what you should either hire someone else to do, or just forget about.
If you want to work less without making less you need to learn how to properly prioritize. And it all comes back to your goals.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that your goals probably look something like this… Get more clients or customers. Make more money. Right?
And you’re going to be able to do that by focusing on three key things:
- Doing lots of smart networking
- Generating more referrals
- Getting more email subscribers
This means that – when you’re trying to decide what you should work on each day – if it doesn’t fit any of those categories, you should question whether it’s worth your time.
I’m not saying it will never be worth your time to do something outside those categories. But, if you want to not work so much and still grow your business, these three things should be a priority for you. These 3 things are what will help you grow your business as quickly and easily as possible.
Networking
Maintaining relationships you already have, and actively pursuing relationships you want to have is smart marketing.
Try reaching out to at least 1 person per day. Send them a relevant, useful article. Mail them a birthday card. Or let them know that you enjoyed their latest blog post.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply about keeping in touch and being generous on a regular basis.
Referrals
According to research by Nielsen, 92% of people say they trust word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations by friends and family more than any other form of marketing.
That means that the best source of new business is to make your current clients happy, and then ask them to send other people your way.
So make sure you have a strong referral system in place.
Subscribers
The only reason someone would become a client or buy something you’ve created is because they know, like and trust you.
And one of the best ways to get people to know, like and trust you is through your email list.
Spending time attracting more subscribers, and then giving your subscribers a good reason to stay on your email list – by sharing helpful tips, tools and resources – should definitely be a priority.
Where are your priorities?
If you want to grow your business without working yourself to the bone, it’s time to start paying attention to how you’re actually spending your time.
Prioritize. Delegate. Focus.
Recognize that there are some things that are necessary to grow your business, and other things you can let go (or hire someone else to do).
Focus on what will help you grow your business – networking, referrals, and subscribers – instead of just doing work, for work’s sake.
Having a balanced life – where work isn’t trickling into social time, and social time isn’t trickling into work time – can be tough.
But you can make it easier for yourself by noticing whether you’re productive, or just doing something for the sake of doing it.
So, where are your priorities? How can you shift them so you can work less and still grow your business?
Jenna Dalton is an Elite Level Book Yourself Solid® Certified Coach. She helps coaches use smart blogging strategies to get more clients. Grab her free toolkit How to Write The Perfect Blog Post. And make sure to come say hi to her on Twitter and Facebook.
