Focus on High Value Activity

Focus on High Value Activity

Here's a great tip from Ann Sieg herself ..... originator of The Renegade Network Marketer .........


Can you afford NOT to do this?

No matter what stage you're at in your business, when you're trying to breakthrough to the next level, it's essential that you not only spend your time efficiently, but also that you only spend it on HIGH-VALUE activities.

This concept that I want to share with you is one of the most important I've ever learned for achieving massive productivity and making quantum leaps forward in your business (in much less time than it takes most people), and, like me, you may just find yourself using this as "the ultimate measuring stick" for nearly every decision you make about how to spend your time.

It's SO important in fact, that Warren Buffet - the world's richest and most successful investor - has said that he considers this one factor above ALL others when deciding how to invest his money.

Any guess as to what it is?

Strength of the company?

Price of the stock?

High profit margins?

ROI (Return On Investment)?

Nope.

According to Warren Buffet, none of these, not even ROI, is the most important thing to consider when making an investment.

What is?

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OPPORTUNITY COST
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What does that mean and how does it apply to us?

Well, opportunity cost means: What else could you be doing with that money?

What other, possibly more important, opportunities are being missed (the cost) because your resources are tied up with another investment?

This same concept of opportunity cost applies to time and energy because whenever you spend your time on something, you're making an investment.

And if there's one thing you'll find that all highly successful marketers or business owners have in common, it's that...

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THEY ALL VALUE THEIR TIME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE
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When most people think of "assets," things like real estate, precious metals, bonds and stock portfolios come to mind. Time is usually left completely out of the picture.

But the truth is, time is more valuable than all of these and smart business owners are more careful and selective about how they spend this asset than anything else!

Why?

Because it's the ONE thing you can't get any more of.

Unlike money and other "physical" assets which can literally be had in any quantity once you learn HOW to invest your time and WHAT to invest it in.

Now the reason this idea of "opportunity cost" is so significant is because when you choose to do something, by default, that means you choose NOT to do something else.

And if the stuff that you choose to do falls under the category of low value activities, you've got a serious problem.

Not only is your time being spent on things that do little or nothing to advance your business, but it also means you have that much LESS time to spend on the things that do.

This is what keeps people in the rat race.

Have you ever had a day where you literally did 2,001 things and yet when you looked back on it, you had absolutely no idea what you got done?

This is called being busy without being productive and its a result of not knowing what the core money-making activities of your business are.

If this hits a nerve with you, don't worry...

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I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE
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I'm probably more guilty of this than anyone!

I think I'm more prone to getting distracted and taken off course by little projects and detours than anyone I know and it's something I constantly struggle with.

Certain family members and close friends havem even referred to this natural "handicap" of mine as "squirrel in the road syndrome."

Very flattering.

However, it just goes to show that if I can succeed in spite of it, so can you.

Here's a great tip for you I learned that virtually guarantees every single day you have is highly productive:

Always take care of the high value activities FIRST THING every day - or as close to first thing as you can get - no matter what.

That way, regardless of what else you do after that, it's already been a good day.

If you don't take care of the most important things right off the bat... life will get in the way.

Guaranteed.

The world will conspire to throw a wrench in your spokes and keep you from getting ahead.

The dishwasher will break down... the dog will get sick... a friend you haven't seen in five years will be in town... the post office is going to close in thirty minutes... and before you know it, the day is gone.

Due to the inherent craziness of life, it's inevitable that some things aren't going to get done.

It's your job to make sure that when you do run out of time in the day, the core money-making activities are not on the list of things that got pushed off until
tomorrow.

Okay, so what ARE the high value activities you should be focused on?

Here's how I've broken things down for my business ..........

Zero/Negative Value Activities
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* Worry

* Figuring out excuses/"reasons" why something won't work

* Idle chatter

* Surfing the internet

* Checking email (did you know they've done studies and have found that the impulsive, never-ending cycle of checking emails/ messages/etc is an addiction similar to doing cocaine? It's true)

* Instant messaging

Low Value Activities
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* Prospecting

* Cold-calling

* Attending "same old" company trainings and meetings that are little more than social events

* Team call, after team call, after team call... (these kind of meetings can be high value, but can also very easily be overdone and give you a false sense of progress)

* Errands for business

* Repetitive/Administrative work

High Value Activities
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* Positioning yourself so that people seek you out

* Setting up sales and marketing systems that automate the grunt work for you and weed out all but the best prospects

* Setting up automated follow up systems that build relationships with prospects and customers

* Developing relationships with mentors and people you can learn from

* Studying copywriting and direct response marketing

You'll notice I have prospecting under low value activities. Why?

The reason is because prospecting is one of - if not THE most un-leveraged methods for acquiring new customers/business builders there is.

When your entire marketing process is dependent on you physically approaching someone or calling them on the phone, your results are strictly limited to the amount of hours you can put in - just like working a job.

If you talked to people non-stop (assuming you don't run out of people to talk to) and you're REALLY lucky, you might be able to book one appointment a day, which is roughly 30 a month.

However, if you take weekends and holidays off, you're probably looking at a number closer to 20. This comes out to about 240 a year.

Maybe.

And all these appointments are is showing your opportunity/product to someone who reluctantly agreed to meet with you.

These aren't even people who raised their hand and asked for information themselves.

However...

When you combine copywriting with direct response marketing, you can attract thousands of qualified prospects through virtually any type of media...

- Internet

- T.V.

- Radio

- Mail

- Newspapers

- Magazines

- E-mail

...in the same amount of time it takes to physically approach one UNqualified one!

And perhaps best of all, these other methods for getting your message across to someone don't require you to personally be there in order for them to continue to work for you.

Imagine getting more prospecting done while you sleep than you previously could all year doing it one at a time!

It's easy to see why some people make $60,000/mo in network marketing... and some people make $60/mo.

Learning how to do this type of marketing ("selling long distance") is, without a doubt, the highest use of your time.

But please don't take my word for it .....

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In Dan Kennedy's 'No B.S. Time Management' book he says"

"If you're looking for the answer that turns your time into the most money and wealth possible, then turn your attention to marketing.

Get free of as many other parts of your business as you can, get passionately interested in and good at marketing, and invest your time there...

Marketing is the highest paid profession and MOST VALUABLE PART of a business. The person who can create systems for acquiring customers, clients, or patients effectively and profitably is the "money person." He is the equivalent of a "high impact" or "franchise" player in sports."

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I personally followed this advice to a T.

I developed myself and became a true master at marketing and salesmanship by studying a plethora of real-world, marketing and copywriting geniuses (both past and present). I literally "dove in" and completely immersed myself in the wisdom each
one offered.

And let me tell you...

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IT WAS THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE!
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Here's just a short list of the people I've studied over the years that specifically teach the kind of marketing you need to know:

- John Reese (Traffic Secrets - no longer available, soon to be Traffic Secrets 2.0)

- Clayton Makepeace (The Total Package)

- Dan Kennedy (Ultimate Sales Letter, Ultimate Marketing Plan, No B.S. Time Management)

- Seth Godin (Permission Marketing)

- Frank Rumbauskas (Selling Sucks, Never Cold Call Again)

- Mark Joyner (The Irrestible Offer, Simpleology)

- John Carlton (Marketing Rebel Rant)

- Vincent James (12 Month Millionaire)

Yes, it took some time to wrap my brain around everything... but when I started practicing what I'd learned, I began to effortlessly attract floods of fanatical, cash-in-fist customers.

In fact, on more than a few occasions, people have actually come by my house and knocked on my front door asking me about my business. Complete strangers, eager to find out what I'm doing. (To be honest, this was a little weird the first couple times it happened, but it just goes to show the power of attracting people to you).

Just remember, anytime you're looking at a given task for your business, always ask yourself, what else could I be doing with my time?

Are there other activities that will help me get ahead faster?

And most importantly, what will happen if I DON'T do those activities?