One of the key struggles busy SME leaders often have to deal with is lack of time. Are you one of them? Are you overwhelmed by wearing too many hats? When your colleagues, family or friends ask: How are you?, is your answer pre-set to “too busy” or “swamped with work”? Are you struggling to grow your business, as you lack time for business development? In this case read on and learn three simple but powerful tools to multiply your time.
#1 Change your mindset
Immediately get the control (over time) back.
We all have the same amount of time given to us every day. It is, and always will be 24 hours. It is simply impossible of a Company A having time for sales & BD and “poor” Company B that doesn’t, as if it came late to the party and there is no time left. Rephrase the question to: “How can I use my time more effectively, incorporating BD into my agenda?”. And then, ask yourself: How much time do I want to dedicate to BD activities each week?
#2 Use time skillfully
Learn how to get more done with the time given.
Based on this highly recommended TEDx Talk: “How to multiply your time” by Rory Vaden, the secret of “gaining more time” lies in these three tactics.
ELIMINATE – Cancel, drop (out) or simply say no to a task or activity.
Do you spend too much time on Twitter, but you never had a single client from this channel? Do you sell 5 products, but only 3 are selling well? Do you spend time on no-value-adding activities?
Think what makes most sense for you and your business. Ask yourself:
- What activity do I spend loads of time on without any return?
- What no-value-bringing activities can I eliminate?
- What projects can I drop out of or say no to?
AUTOMATE – Automate your processes leveraging the power of technology.
The common automation hacks are: implementing a CRM system with outbound marketing, creating sales funnels, integrating database management tool into your website, use a project management, scheduling and other automation-enhancement tools.
Ask yourself:
- What are the reoccurring processes / activities? Which ones are inefficient?
- What manual, excel-heavy or other work could be automated?
- What tools and system could help my company save time?
DELEGATE – Outsource and let somebody else do it.
Delegate within your company, hire a sales expert or use one of the now-popular websites such as www.fiverr.com or www.upwork.com to find affordable freelancers to outsource the design or accounting work being on your plate on top of BD.
Ask yourself:
- What do I truly enjoy doing and lights me up?
- Where is the highest ROTI – return on my time invested, to focus on?
- What projects / activities are not my core area of expertise and can be outsourced?
#3 Schedule it in
Move it from the “to-do-list” and actually schedule it into your agenda.
As we schedule our client meetings or our dentist appointments, setting time aside and blocking time for Business Development is absolutely crucial. When are you most creative? When are you able to uninterruptedly think about your Business development strategy? Is it in the morning or do you prefer the time when everybody leave the office and you have the stillness around you to focus?
Run the scheduling backwards: Set big BD goal for next 3 months, then break it by month, and (surprisingly) then define the BD goals per each week…and day. On Sunday evening or Monday first thing in the morning review your agenda for the week and discipline yourself to stick to it. Start creating a new habit of inserting Business Development into your calendar and respecting the time-slots.
Become an expert in time management and get more done with your time, by reading Eat that frog! by Brian Tracy.
