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There are so many aspects in running a successful direct sales business; it can get overwhelming if you let it. Do you find yourself continually running out of time and not getting anywhere in your business? If so, you are probably spending your time on “time suckers” instead of money making activities. How do we know what activities are time wasters and what are money making activities?
I knew you were going to ask so here’s a little evaluation or check system you can use to ensure you’re spending quality time building your business instead of wasting time on activities that are keeping your business at a standstill.
When working on an activity, ask yourself these questions to determine if it’s a money maker or a time sucker:
• Is what you’re doing going to help your business grow and make you money immediately? The most obvious money making activity is holding shows. Does the activity you’re working on involve booking more shows? If the answer is yes, then that is a money making activity.
• Is what you’re doing going to help your business grow and make money in the near future? Planning ahead for future business is always smart and in direct sales this also involves recruiting new people to your team. When your are interviewing potential recruits be sure they are:
o Truly interested in the business or learning more about it
o In love with the product and excited about it.
o Ready and have the time to start a new business.
You don’t want to waste your time trying to force someone into the business who isn’t interested, doesn’t love the product or have the time to put into the business to make it successful. This is a real time sucker a lot of consultants get stuck in because they are trying to recruit anyone and everyone into the business. Following the above guidelines when considering having someone join your direct sales team will ensure you are not wasting your precious time.
• Is what you’re doing helping you be a better consultant? If you are working on getting more organized or learning to speak better in front of people, those are definitely not time suckers. Bettering yourself will always help you be more successful in all you do. Just be sure you use what you learn and don’t let it go to waste! Knowledge without action is a time sucker! What’s the use of knowing something but never putting that knowledge into action?
Below are some time suckers which are easy to get caught up in:
• Talking to the same people over and over about holding a show for you or becoming a recruit when they’ve already told you they’re not interested is a time sucker. Move on into new territory and don’t continue wasting time on them.
• Being unorganized is a huge time sucker that a lot of people have to learn to overcome. When you are unorganized you waste valuable hours trying to find a sales order, or the phone number of that customer whose call you need to return.
• Being unprepared for your shows or interviews is a time sucker. You may think that preparing for a show or going over questions to ask a potential new recruit is a time sucker, when in fact the opposite is true. When you go into a show without having gone over your check list first and organizing your products and displays, you will waste valuable time trying to arrange your products or displays. Plan ahead how you are going to set your products up for your shows; be sure you have all the items necessary to display your products professionally and in an organized manner. That means packing your displays and products away properly at the last show, so get a system set up that makes this process smooth and easy. It will save you hours of valuable time; hours you can use making money.
Whatever task you are working on, before diving in, go over these things either with this article in hand or in your head to make sure that the things you are spending time on are in fact money making activities and not time suckers. Doing this simple little exercise each time will ensure you are spending your time wisely, getting you closer to your business goals.
Great article, I totally agree, it’s very easy to stay in research or get ready mode instead of taking action with activities that directly affect the bottom line.
Thanks!
I’ve found one of the problems with consultants is you get the same type of people interested in ‘helping’ you – these people sign up to ‘work’ for a number of companies and in the end just wind up costing you time – better to identify real prospects
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“There are so many aspects in running a successful direct sales business; it can get overwhelming if you let it. Do you find
yourself continually running out of time and not getting anywhere in your business? If so, you are probably spending your
time on “time suckers” instead of money making activities.”
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to running your business. There are just too many decisions to make. But how can you get down to the business of earning money? What’s your personal secret of trying to get somewhere in less time as possible?
Thanks for the simple questions. It depends on your business planning, right? If you plan well, you can be sure that what you’re doing fits in the scheme of things in your business.