Ever stop & feel like you’re working all the time on your small business but wish you had better results?

As small business owners we set goals -> Identify objectives -> Plan tactics-> Execute

BUT

How do these activities actually affect our small businesses moving forward?

An helpful exercise is to track  your daily activities for a week and then categorize them based on their level of effectiveness along with whether they generate revenue in your business.

With regard to promoting your small business they’ll fall into either “passive marketing” or “active marketing”.

Passive Marketing

These are tactics which while promoting your small business don’t directly generate revenue.

For example:

• Posting to your Facebook Business Page
  • Pictures
  • Links to articles which your audience might find helpful
  • Inspirational quotes
  • Announcements
• Other Social Media Posts
• Emails or Blog Posts IF they fail to have a call-to-action directed toward an offer

 

Active Marketing

These are tactics which promote your small business AND lead directly toward generating revenue

Examples:

• Promoting offers for your product or service
• Engaging with those who interact with your passive posts by messaging them and asking questions to determine how you can help them:
  • Those who “like” your business page
  • Those who “like”, share, or comment on your posts
  • Those who follow you on Twitter
  • Those who retweet your post on Twitter
  • Those who comment on your blog post
  • Those who comment or share your You Tube videos
• Attending local networking events and setting follow up appointments
• Displaying at trade shows or community events again setting follow up appointments
• Of course, making sales presentations

If most of your time is spent on passive marketing then you are probably “working busy” and wonder why no money is coming in.

Here’s another way to evaluate the week’s worth of activities on your list.

Create a table with 3 categories:

• Result Driven- Growing, Engaging, Promoting
• Preparation
• Distraction

Then decide which category your weekly activities fall under.

Check out this example:

Results Driven	Preparation	Distraction
Growing- Placing Ads	Creating Blog Posts	Reading Your Email
Engaging- Messaging Prospects Calling Prospects Setting Appointments	Scheduling Posts- Facebook Twitter LinkedIn	Checking Your Social Media Feeds
Promoting- Facebook Live Sessions   Hosting Webinars Messaging Emailing Offers	Writing Emails   Self Development- Books Trainings	Watching TV   Answering Every Phone Call

 

Now commit to spending the bulk of your time in the Results Driven column and minimize your distractions.

I recommend allocating your time this way:

• Results Driven Activities   60%
• Preparation Activities        35%
• Distraction Time                   5%

When you commit to devoting your time in this fashion you will really be moving your small business forward at a faster pace with bigger results. You’ll be “working harder & smarter”!

If you’re looking to improve your productivity even more check out these 12 Tips To Get More Done

Let me know if you got value from these ideas by commenting below. It means the world to me to hear from you!

Until Next Time – Here’s To Your $uccess