Marketing and Procrastination:  3 Ways to Avoid this Potentially Deadly Combo

Many entrepreneurs procrastinate on one thing or another in the course of running their business, so if you find yourself doing this, you’re far from alone. However, when it comes to small business marketing, procrastination can lead to a lull between clients, which is bad for the health of your bottom line. Here are some ways to prevent this situation from occurring.

Create Marketing Goals & Use a Marketing System

You may have heard of the S.M.A.R.T. formula for setting goals.  Your goals should be:

S=Specific: General goals are harder to meet.
M=Measurable: How will you know when you’ve reached your goal?
A=Achievable: If your goal is too lofty, you’ll sap your will to achieve it.
R=Realistic: Make sure it’s something you can reasonably expect to attain while still pushing your boundaries.
T=Timed: It must have a firm target date.

The S.M.A.R.T. formula sets out the basics for creating effective goals.  A successful small business marketing system will include a goal setting process and provide you with both structure and the tools you need to turn your marketing goals and ideas in to productive action. In particular, a system for following up with potential clients is crucial to your overall marketing success. If you don’t have such a system, and you don’t know where to start, a business coach may be able to help.

Hold Yourself Accountable

As an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to keep your eye on the ball. There’s no one there to nudge you back on track should you start to stray. You may need someone who’s there to do exactly that – to help you to remain focused on your goals and on the “big picture”.

One way to do this is to hire a business coach. He or she can help you avoid the costly pitfalls associated with procrastination. The fact that you’re paying them for their time is an additional incentive for you to make the most of it, so when they ask you how you’re doing on your goals, you don’t want to be making excuses as to why they haven’t been reached yet. Business coaches can help you in any number of ways, but for entrepreneurs who have a tendency to procrastinate, holding you accountable might be the most valuable. Eventually, they can help you to find the root cause of this procrastination and work with you to eliminate it.

Outsource Your Small Business Marketing Tasks

Nowadays, marketing your business online can be a full-time job. If you don’t already have someone helping you with things such as blog posts, social media marketing, shopping cart maintenance, press releases and things of that sort, you owe it to yourself and your business to get some help now. This will leave you free to do what you went into business to do in the first place, and, if done correctly, can put your small business marketing system on autopilot.

Of course, every business is different, so your marketing requirements may be more or less involved than these common types of online marketing, but once you can leave the implementation to your support team, you’ll be amazed at the difference in your productivity and profits.

Clear, effective goals, a proven small business marketing system, a coach looking out for your best interests, and a dedicated marketing support team can take your business to new heights in a relatively short amount of time. Instead of procrastinating, you’ll find yourself constantly striving to achieve your goals and move your business forward.

Copyright, Michele Hanson-O’Reggio. All rights reserved.

The Top 10 Ways to Grow Your Business with a

Virtual Business Manager

Every now and then you stumble upon a set of small business resources so simple – yet so revolutionary – that rapid expansion of your business is ushered in. For many of today’s small business owners and online entrepreneurs, hiring a Virtual Business Manager (Online Business Manager) is one such “big idea” whose time has come.

Imagine having a Virtual Business Manager who is responsible for the smooth functioning of your business to help you achieve your goals. Someone who while keeping an eye on the big picture, can manage all the pieces that bog you down, that you don’t do well or like doing. You’ll recapture the time and freedom you need to produce the results you want and have more work-life balance in the bargain.

Think Big

It’s critical to understand and adopt the mindset that your business is not your life. They are two separate things, according to Michael Gerber, the world’s #1 Small Business Guru, who says: “Once you recognize that the primary purpose of your business is to serve your life, you can then go to work on your business rather than in it.” You do this by spending your time ONLY on marketing developing new products and services and leadership (providing the vision and heart of your business).

Everything else should be outsourced to your Virtual Business Manager and support team or eliminated to achieve maximum profitability. Think of team building as a Profit Center instead of an expense. You will save a lot of money when you outsource tasks you pay someone less to do, plus have peace of mind knowing you will get the results you need , on time, as the tasks are being done by experts.

Virtual Assistants versus Virtual Business Managers

You may have heard of Virtual Assistants, professional independent contractors who provide cost-effective administrative and marketing services to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals. Well, a Virtual Business Manager (also known as an Online Business Manager) is similar in nature but there are two (2) key differences between the two roles:

Focus:

A Virtual Assistant focuses on completing specific tasks.

A Virtual Business Manager is a professional who brings a high-value skill set to handling important managerial duties you’d be smart to stop doing yourself. A Virtual Business Manager manages the administration, logistics, infrastructure and details of your growing online business, working in a long-term collaborative relationship with you.

Success Metrics & Level of Responsibility:

A Virtual Assistant’s success is measured by completing and delivering projects in a timely manner.

A Virtual Business Manager has a much higher level of responsibility. His/her success is measured by the successful management of your teams’ projects, their happiness, motivation and the overall smooth functioning of your business systems.

10 Ways a Virtual Business Manager Can Help You Grow Your Business

1. Implement key components of your business plan/strategies: If you’ve got a business plan your Virtual Business Manager will ensure that your plans come to fruition. With a grasp of the “big picture,” a VOM an work around obstacles before they slow you down.




2. Build and manage your virtual team(s): As you grow your business, you’ll need more than just one person – you’ll need a dedicated team of pros working for you. But you didn’t go into business to manage contractors. A Virtual Business Manager takes the minutiae of management off your plate, freeing you to do what you do best.




3. Source and manage vendors: If your business is one that relies on rock solid relationships with your vendors, you know that even the smallest snafu can set you back days and even cause you to lose customers. A Virtual Business Manager will have the time and expertise to create and maintain vendor relationships and ensure that needed items arrive on time, every time.




4. Build and manage key business relationships to increase your profits (i.e. affiliates, joint ventures): Are you convinced you can do more with your business, but you don’t have the time or expertise to check into every available avenue? Virtual Business Managers have the business acumen to cultivate joint venture and affiliate relationships that could bring in substantial residual income.




5. Implement new ideas and projects you haven’t had time to: Are you bursting with cool ideas that never see the light of day because you’re too busy making sure that your everyday operations go smoothly? With a Virtual Business Manager, you will finally have the time to pursue these ideas wherever they lead. Imagine having the freedom to take risks and try new strategies, knowing that your core business will continue to generate profits.




6. Manage projects through to successful completion: A Virtual Business Manager’s job is to see to it that your projects are completed to your specs – on time and under budget. No more juggling a bunch of projects and just waiting for someone to inevitably drop the ball. A VOM always has your goals in mind and will do everything they can to insure that they are met.




7. Create and streamline systems: Do you have standard operating procedures that you try to always follow? A VBM will streamline and enhance your procedures, and delegate them appropriately. If you don’t have any such procedures in place, you’ll realize a huge benefit, as your VBM identifies and implements time and cost-saving procedures throughout your business. A critical system a Virtual Business Manager should create, streamline and/or manage for you is your marketing system. The magic formula for marketing is doing effective activities consistently with systems. Your Virtual Business Manager can also be a sounding board, someone for you to brainstorm with, share ideas and consider options.




8. Assess and manage your customer service process to ensure you’re providing consistent and added value to your customers: It’s been proven time and again that businesses rise or fall depending on customer service, so it’s obviously in your best interest to provide the best service possible. But many times, that’s easier said than done. Imagine if you had procedures in place to ensure that no customer issues would slip through the cracks, and that customers requiring increased attention were sure to get it! Reputation is everything in the business world, and a Virtual Business Manager will help ensure that your business is seen in a positive light.




9. Money Management: It is vital for any business to keep track of their numbers on a regular basis to know if they’re making a profit. A VBM can collect the information you need to see what is going on in your business – your email lists, sales/revenue, promotion results and also expenses. A common area for improvement in a client’s business is expenses. A Virtual Business Manager can suggest ways for you to cut back on expenses.




10. Offer support and advice to automate your business with technology: Keeping abreast of the latest and most effective technologies is a full-time job in itself. A VOM will be able to filter through the maddening array of options to find the ones that will have the greatest potential to help your business, by either saving time, money or both. Automating certain tasks could allow you to reshuffle your personnel to put greater resources toward marketing and attracting more clients.

Virtual Business Managers are committed to the success of their clients. As a business owner, your VBM’s success is your success, and vice versa. It’s a collaborative relationship who’s bounds are limited only by your combined imagination!

5 Strategies to Generate a Stream of Referrals

You may already know that referral marketing (word-of-mouth) is a powerful and cost effective way to grow your small business. Many entrepreneurs face the challenge of how to get referrals. Getting referrals should be thought of as a marketing system and not a one-time activity you do when need to generate sales.

A referral marketing system is a “viral marketing” strategy. Viral marketing encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s influence and exposure.

Your referral plan should answer the following questions:

1.  WHO would be a good referral? Do you know who your ideal client is?

2. WHEN are you going to ask for referrals – at the beginning or throughout the relationship? Do you have a system for testimonials?

3. WHY should someone refer you? If you don’t know what makes you unique why should anyone else? How will you handle clients that won’t refer you?

4. HOW do you receive referrals? Do you make it easy for others to refer you? Do you have a system in place to thank referrers?

5. WHAT is your process to turn each referral into a client?

A Referral Mindset

The foundation to building your business with referrals is the mindset you bring to your marketing efforts. One of the ways to creating a success-based mindset is the mindset of service. You should look to provide value to prospects each time you come in contact with them. You must believe that you have the skills and knowledge that can help others and be generous in sharing your expertise with others. Always do more than is expected of you. When you shift into this mindset of service instead of focusing on ‘closing the sale’, you will be more successful.  Get started with these 5 referral strategies:

Referral Strategy # 1 – Team 100

Each month, identify 10 professionals who serve the same target market that you do (not direct competitors!) or that sell complimentary products/services to your offering. Send a letter informing them about your services and that you would like to develop a referral relationship with them. Within 10 months, you would have contacted 100 people and created a network to generate a stream of referrals. Feel free to go at a quicker pace of course!

Referral Strategy # 2 – Get the Word Out!

Include a request for referrals on all your marketing materials and on every piece of communication: letters, invoices, quotes, faxes, emails, ezines etc. Some ideas are:  We appreciate referrals We thrive on referrals We gladly accept referrals Thanks for your referrals We crave referrals By referral only (you do not accept any clients unless they are referred to you)

Referral Strategy # 3 – Offer a Reward

Clients may refer you if they are happy with your service, even if you do not offer a reward. However, offering a reward can speed up the process! Rewards must have value such that clients want to get them.  One way to do this is to send them a list of options so that they have a choice. A reward of $25.00 is usually acceptable. Offer this in the form of a gift certificate (ie. Amazon) or a discount coupon for your services or for your information products (ie. e-books, ecourses).

Referral Strategy # 4 – Give them Tools

Often we ask others to talk about our services but we don’t give them any tools to help them. Make it easy for your clients to refer you. You can send them three business cards and brochures. Add a “With Compliments” slip and write “For when you are talking with work colleagues or friends…”. If you prefer doing this by email, send them a short introductory message that includes their testimonial, along with your brochure and a link to your website. Send this message at least 4 times throughout the year.

Referral Strategy # 5 – Help a Worthy Cause

By offering to help a worthy cause, you can increase referrals and at the same time improve your community. You can donate a percentage of all business acquired by referral to a non-profit agency. Non-profit agencies can become strong referral partners because if they benefit from referring clients, they may be highly motivated to provide referrals to you.

Copyright, Michele Hanson-O’Reggio. All rights reserved.

Focus is what successful entrepreneurs use to maximize their business growth while maintaining their work-life balance. Most solopreneurs are able to focus to a certain degree but start to lose focus as their business grows around them. Overcoming three distinct blocks can help solopreneurs who may be spinning their wheels increase their focus and take their business to the next level.

There are three major blocks that prevent solopreneurs from taking their business from where it stands now to a level that will give you them the success and peace of mind they went into business to achieve.

When Doing Too Much is Not Enough

If you’re a solopreneur, then by definition, you’ve gotten to where you are by doing things yourself. It’s your talent at your particular business that has allowed you to succeed to this point. But as your business grew, you no doubt found yourself spending most of your time on activities unrelated to the core of your business.

Imagine if you could spend the bulk of your time on your Power Skills ™  -  the things you love doing that utilize your greatest strengths. The 80/20 rule states that 20% of your business activities bring you 80% of your results. Ideally, you’d like to spend 80% of your time directly achieving results for your business.

Look at your to-do list and categorize each task as either something that is your Power Skills™ , something that is a side effect of your success -administration or something that helps grow your business – marketing. As you go through your list, you’ll probably find that more than half of the items fall into the last two categories.  These tasks that  take up valuable time and aren’t related to your  Power Skills ™ should be eliminated or outsourced.

Stay in Rhythm

Everyone has their own unique rhythms – times of day when they work best, times when they like to exercise, times when they need to relax. If your business forces you to work counter to your natural rhythms, it can be a drain on your productivity, not to mention your mood.

The first step toward working within your natural rhythms is to make a list. Are you a morning person? Do you need time after lunch to mellow out before you get back to work? Writing everything down will give you a thorough understanding of how your internal clock works and how it effects your work habits.

Now it’s time to rework your daily schedule to coincide with your rhythms. Don’t be afraid to change your routine, even to the point of asking clients if they mind a change in meeting time, for the sake of your rhythms. You’ll be rewarded by increased productivity and a brighter outlook.

Personalize your Workweek

Your workweek doesn’t have to be all work. In fact, for most people, it’s impossible to prevent some personal and family activities from encroaching on their workweek. So why not schedule these activities so they don’t constantly compete with your business?

If you have family obligations that are continuously pushed aside in favor of those of your business, add these activities to your calendar so that your business activities don’t step on them again.  You’ll eventually realize that creating a time for family obligations actually helps focus the rest of your day and week.

If you exercise on a regular basis, plug those times into your calendar, keeping in mind your natural rhythms.

The combination of delegating your non-core tasks, scheduling your business around your rhythms and integrating personal and family time into your workweek will enable your to focus more firmly upon your Power Skills™. At the same time, you’ll be able to approach each day in a more organized manner and with more energy to produce the results you want.

Copyright 2010, Michele Hanson-O’Reggio. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I was having so much fun  creating systems and managing my client’s virtual team, that  I skipped my lunch, didn’t take my cat out for her walk and do some  personal things I planned to do.  Now, please don’t get me wrong, I’m a serious advocate for work-life balance.  I usually stick to my master calendar which gives me the balance I want,  while increasing productivity. What I am sharing with you though, is that when you do  ONLY what you love and are passionate about, you will have more energy, produce extraordinary results and have fun working.  Everything else should be eliminated or outsourced. 

Imagine the success you can achieve when you have a team where everyone does only what they’re brilliant at! Leverage your brilliance to double your income, have more freedom and create a wealthy lifestyle.  Find out how at http://www.bizsuccesspartner.com/teambuilding

I often hear from entrepreneurs that they’re challenged with how to train their Virtual Assistant (or team member) effectively – to communicate exactly what they want done,  in the easiest and fastest way possible.

A simple training process that I use is the  5 step PEDAF technique. Educational and learning theory shows that the use of all 5 senses along with spaced repetition, increases the trainee’s understanding and retention. The PEDAF technique reinforces learning by tapping into 3 of our 5 senses.  The reason why many entrepreneurs don’t get the results they want with delegating is because they only do 1 of the 5 steps.

Today, I used the “Demonstrate” component of the technique which reinforces the trainee’s visual sense. It may not be relevant to use this with every task you delegate, but use it as often you can.  Your objective would be to show your Virtual Assistant (VA) what you want the end result to look  like  and/or what steps they need to take to complete a task .

For example, if you need your VA to do paperwork for you, show her what a completed form looks like. Or if you want your website or document to be formatted to look a certain way, show her an example(s) of what you like – make sure that you’re both looking at the same thing.  Today, I created a video  of a task I did on my computer to train my VA on  a new task.  I recorded step by step audio instructions, using Camstudio (a free and easy to use software).

Note that if you hire your Best Fit tm VA, she/he will often know the process to use to accomplish many of your tasks (ie. article marketing, social media marketing). However, there are things that you will want done a specific way – your way, and demonstrating what you want done will ensure success.

This technique is included in my Delegation Success Formula that I teach in my ‘Leverage Your Brilliance Team Building Program’.  If you’d like to  grow your business by leaps and bounds and have more free time with team building,  schedule a Free consultation with me at:
http://www.bizsucccesspartner.com/consultation

Are you struggling in the effort to make your small business successful?  Does it feel like you are working harder and you still don’t see the results you desire? Or maybe you want to grow your business to the next level of success. Let’s take a look at the top 10 ways to increasing productivity and better time management.

Increasing Productivity

1.  Team Building- Build your virtual support team
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule?  In business, 20% of your business activities yield 80% of the results.  You need to determine which tasks are in your top 20%, and eliminate and/or delegate the rest as a means of increasing productivity and experiencing better time management.  Unfortunately, many small businesses fail or don’t grow to the next level because  they don’t take advantage of small business resources like team building . An excellent way to get started is to work with a Virtual Assistant.

2.  Cultivate marketing relationships
Recruiting affiliates is one of the resources for entrepreneurs to increasing productivity and better time management. Affiliates spend their time promoting your products or services in exchange for a commission on the sale. In addition, find other entrepreneurs with complementary businesses and collaborate on services or developing new products.  You get more breakthroughs and unique perspectives when you are not working on business development alone.

3.  Leverage systems:  Any business can be broken down into two parts — Vision (what do you want) & Systems (how will you get it). Entrepreneurs are usually challenged by the “How will you get it” part and skip this crucial step. Increasing productivity by systemizing your business is one of the critical resources for entrepreneurs.  Systems will save you time, reduce errors, simplify tasks, enhance communication, keep you organized and help remember important things to get done.

4.  Hire a Business Coach or Productivity Expert
A business coach or increasing productivity expert are tremendous resources for entrepreneurs. These professionals will help you make things happen, develop steps to help you reach your goals, and provide you with the necessary support and structure you need to utilize better time management and realize your business goals.

5.   Know your high revenue generating activities
These activities provide valuable payoff in the long run. They are based on your priorities, values and goals, and are the activities you love doing and do best.  In turn, the tasks create immense value for your clients.

Better Time Management
You may have discovered  several ways of increasing productivity, but unless you know the keys to better time management, you may not achieve the results you want. You only have so many hours in a day; so, focus on specific areas consuming your time.

6. Handling Things More Than Once 

Do it, Dump it, or Delegate it! Handle things only once by evaluating every task that comes your way, decide what to do with it, and prioritize your to-do list. Once you’ve started a task, keep at it until it’s done. When you come back to an unfinished task, you need to take extra time to re-familiarize yourself with it and figure out where you left off. Successfully completing a task, no matter how small, gives you a great sense of accomplishment and encourages you to take on other tasks that come your way.

7.  Stop Multi-tasking

Many people try to do more than one task at a time. You kid yourself that you’re getting lots done. But you’re not.  When nothing gets your full attention, errors creep in. In the long run, you end up spending more time undoing those mistakes. Stop trying to do it all at once. By giving your undivided attention to one thing at a time, you’ll be much more productive.

8.  Manage the unexpected
Unexpected or unwanted events occur that demand your time and energy.  Practicing better time management means taking care of disruptions by scheduling time in your day for the unexpected. Give yourself a window of opportunity to face ‘surprise’ issues, and be open-minded about accepting support when needed.

9.  Ruthless time management
Practicing better time management means being ruthless with what you spend your time on and how you spend it. You need to set boundaries; identify the time wasters throughout your workday; schedule blocks of time to work on tasks; make and keep appointments; only do the tasks directly related to your small business goals and spend your time only on what you love and do best.

Ultimately, your goal should be to create work-life balance to ensure you are spending your time and efforts increasing productivity in a way so that you can take time off to rejuvenate and recharge your batteries without compromising your success. Creating a calendar of your ideal workweek is an excellent way to do this.

10.  Slow down to move ahead faster
Take the time needed, by slowing down, to evaluate your options and create a plan for your business goals and lifestyle. Then, design your business accordingly. Not only will this result in increasing productivity, but it is the epitome of better time management.

Now you know some strategies  for increasing productivity, and key aspects of better time management.  I guarantee that if you put this information into practice, you will work smarter and achieve greater success!  

Copyright 2009,  Michele Hanson-O’Reggio. All rights reserved.

TIME SENSITIVE – Sign up by Wednesday, April 29th Noon

Any of us can overcome any setback or financial challenges. Difficult economic times and our own fears should not hold us back from enjoying prosperity in our lives. You can use your money to create a life of joy.

My good friend and colleague  Carol Akright, veteran Financial Advisor, Wealth Building Coach and Certified Financial Planner, is offering a FREE 8-week Pain to Prosperity Webinar Series. If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing financial pain right now or would like to create more wealth, this event is a must!

You’ll also receive tons of Free bonuses including:
- 2 hours of financial coaching with Carol
- audios
- interactive on-line Prosperity Tools and Resources
- special report : “22 Habits to Pursue Money Self-Mastery”
and more!

But you have to HURRY. This amazing offer ends  Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at noon.

Date: Wednesday April 29, 2009
Time: @9:00-11:00 pm EST
To convert your time zone go to: http://www.timezoneconverter.com

Sign Up Now!
http://paintoprosperity.com/friends/

Once you get to the PaintoProsperity website, you may have to enter a password. The PASSWORD is: ProsperityFriends

If you miss any calls, the videos of each Wednesday night class will be made available to you within 48 hours after the call. So, you can listen/watch anytime–at your convenience!

Remember the deadline to sign up is Wednesday  April 29, 2009 noon.

Reserve your seat Now: http://paintoprosperity.com/friends/

‘See’ you on the calls!

Every now and then you stumble upon a set of small business resources so simple – yet so revolutionary – that rapid expansion of your business is ushered in.  For many of today’s small business owners and online entrepreneurs, hiring a Virtual Business Manager (Manager Online) is one such “big idea” whose time has come.

Imagine having a Virtual Business Manager who is responsible for the smooth functioning of your business to help you achieve your goals. Someone who while keeping an eye on the big picture, can manage all the pieces that bog you down, that you don’t do well or like doing. You’ll recapture the time and freedom you need to produce the results you want and have more work-life balance.

Read More at http://bizsuccesspartner.com/online-business-manager/

A Virtual Business Manager (VBM)  manages the administration, logistics, infrastructure and details of your growing online business, working in a long-term collaborative relationship with you.  A VBM gives you the  freedom and time you need to focus on  strategic activities to  sustain a profitable business, to do what you love best and to create the lifestyle of your dreams!

“Michele has been a tremendous resource to my business, Wellness With Rose Inc.

• She is a master at creating systems and streamlining everything from creating and building virtual teams, managing projects, and so much more!
• Michele got us setup on a project management system called Base Camp, that has revolutionized how we get things done.
• It’s nice to know as an internet marketer and entrepreneur that has ton of stuff going on that everything is being taken care of, and nothing is falling through the cracks.
• With Michele’s help I’ve been able to focus only on the things I need to do: bringing in new business, developing new products and services, and providing leadership for my company. Thank you Michele for your professionalism and your expertise!”

Rose Cole
Founder, Wellness With Rose Inc.
www.WellnessWithRose.com

Here’s what a Virtual Business Manager can do for you:

• Implement ideas and projects you haven’t had time to do
• Recruit and build your virtual support team – Virtual Assistants and talented professionals
• Manage your virtual team to ensure things get done, on time, the way you want it
• Source and manage vendors
• Offer recommendations and/or automate your business with technology
• Create and streamline business systems
• Implement business plans
• Create and maintain an Operations Manual
• Manage projects to successful completion
• Develop and implement solutions to things “falling through the cracks”
• Assess and manage your customer service process to ensure you provide consistent value to your customers
• Build and manage key business relationships to increase your profits (affiliates, joint ventures)
• Assist in the development of business strategies
• Help you to work smarter and be more productive
• Any other management tasks to free up your time and make you more productive!

Contact us for more info.