Tips to optimise your productivity

There is no doubt that there are a whole plethora of productivity tools to help with all the busyness that is attached to running a business and yet most owners find theirs and their teams productivity are not at the levels to produce the results needed to hit their targets. There always seems to be a few more things that need to be done.

It can also work the other way and people with plenty of time can often find they are not as productive as they would like to be.

So what can you do about it? In most cases low productivity stems from poor self-management, little or no scheduling and actually determining what is important.

Here are a few tips that if applied will definitely help take your productivity to a whole new level.

1.    Work from a plan…as business owners you can be spinning a lot of plates and finding time to not only plan and then implement the plan can be challenging, it is however essential. To put together a plan that will work consider all the different areas of your business; sales, marketing, finance etc and ask yourself this question; “if every other area of my business remained at its current level of performance what is the one area that if changed would have the greatest impact? This will give you the most important area to work ON your business. Fix that one thing then ask the question again, in other words keep your plan skinny. Have 1-2 goals and you are likely to achieve them, have 10 goals and you may achieve 1-2, have 10-20 goals you will probably achieve Zero.

2.    Get into a routine…plan your day the night before. Nature abhors a vacuum, in other words if you don’t fill your day with what’s important for you to achieve you can guarantee that something else will come along and fill it for you. Block out time for your important tasks and make sure you allow space in your day for working on your plan. Once you commit to doing this you will be forming a new habit that will serve you in ways you may never have imagined possible.

3.    Have a visual calendar…with the advent of mobile devices a visual calendar would appear to be a thing of the past. Challenge is that sometimes out of sight is out of mind. The fact that we have may have put a reminder into our mobile calendar more often than not they are forgotten about. A traditional old fashioned calendar that is for want of a better phrase ‘In your face’ acts a visual and constant reminder and will help you keep your day, week, month, and year on track.

4.    Keep an eye on the distractions..these could include email reminders, music playing in the background, or just the good old “Have you got a minute?” (and we all know what that really means). Every distraction breaks your focus, takes you off task and with the best will in the world it will take you time to get your mind back into the right place to carry on. Keeping a log of the distractions you get throughout the day will probably surprise a great many of you, with some having half their working day eaten away by distractions. By keeping the log, you will now be aware of just what is side-tracking you and able to put in place systems to offset them in the future. It may be that you have to learn one simple word “NO.”

5.    Stretch your legs…with the best will in the world we all find that our concentration wanes after a certain period of time. Depending on where you read this can be as little as 7 minutes and for the super concentrators as much as a couple of hours. What you need to do is find your natural cycle and build in breaks around that cycle. It would seem strange to advocating breaks when we are talking about productivity but sometimes that’s exactly what is needed a stretch of the legs, a breath of fresh air to break your mental state so that you are in a better place to complete your task.

6.    Drop the perfectionist gene… I was a given a piece of advice once by a good friend when I was having a challenge with what is commonly known as ‘writers block’. I was so obsessed with getting things right first time that it would stop the creative juices flowing and I would procrastinate and never get started. The advice I was given was “write for the bin” in other words just get writing and things will begin to flow even if they are not right first time. Perfection is a myth and if you are going to wait for it to get started then be prepared for a very long and unproductive wait.

7.    Don’t beat yourself up…fact is you may never have enough time to get everything done. If you get into a routine of knocking of 2-3 really important tasks a day that keep you moving forward on your plan you will begin to notice a ripple effect in your day. Suddenly you will start to feel more in charge of your time the key is to aim for consistency and not perfection.

Give these tips a go and see what happens. If you would like to discover more about the mysteries of time/self-management take a look here

Thoughts:

“Time is the most valuable coin in our life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.” Carl Sandburg

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot” Michael Altshuler

“The most important choice we make in life is what we choose to be important” Michael Neil

“Time is life. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it.” Alan Lakein

Your 86,400 Second Warning...

Did you know there are 86,400 seconds in a day. How will you use them?

So many of us get seduced by busyness into thinking that “a day doesn’t matter.” And that we have so many more left.

That can lead to us postponing our dreams, desires and goals for business success to some fantasy period in the future when we have more time, energy and confidence. Often with the thoughts of “someday I will get round to doing the important things in my life”

Time is a thief. It steals the precious seconds of this very day like a bandit on a violent rampage and we never get those 86,400 seconds back. Ever.

Let’s be real. Your days are your life in miniature and as you live this day, you are crafting your business future

In a single day:

• You can continue to do the same and get frustrated by achieving the same result.
• You can work even harder in the hope that it will answer all your business woes.
• You can of course remain in ‘someday I’ll get around to it’ mode

Alternatively:

• You can finally find the answers to just what is holding you and your business back.
• You can learn what it will take to get your business to the level you desire and deserve.
• You can discover new ideas, tactics and strategies to rewire your thinking.
• You can attend a workshop that will change your business and life forever.

The choice is yours

In just over 86,400 seconds we will be closing the doors on the EARLY BIRD price for our Ultimate Planning Day a day where we promise to challenge your thinking so that you can take your business to a whole new level.

Grab yourplace here:

Wait and you will be too late.

“You may delay, but time will not.”   Benjamin Franklin

This day has changed the lives of hundreds of business owners in the North West. Let it change yours, wait and you will be too late!

Snap up one of the last places now

How You Can Cut Back On Expensive Marketing...

Let’s start this week with some questions:

When was the last time you received a card or thank your note from a business that you are customer of?

How often do the businesses you deal with keep in touch with you, for instance, via a newsletter?

Using those same businesses again, how often have you been asked what the experience of dealing with them is like?

Every day we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages from businesses eager for us to become their next customer. Of course, it is essential to have the new customer pipeline producing the correct number of qualified leads to meet your marketing projections; the challenge is that sometimes we fail to have a balance between old and new customers.

Most businesses will have a marketing budget to attract new customers, but I have yet to work with a business that has a budget for looking after the customers they already have! Depending on where you look it has been estimated that it costs between 5-10 times more to buy a new customer than it does get a customer you already have, to buy again.  What effect does that have on the profits of a business?

Businesses go to all the expense of attracting new customers, then just let them slip through their fingers because they don’t look after them!

One thing you should always assume in business is that your competition are always marketing to take your customers and, if you are not proactively doing things to keep them, they could well be enticed away. So what can you do to keep your customers? 

Here’s just a few ideas:

Get to know them. People buy from people they know, like and trust and one sure way to build trust is to have a genuine interest in your customer on a personal level. What are their interests? What hobbies do they have? What sports teams do they follow? Where do they prefer to holiday? Etc..

Most businesses, when keeping in touch with their customers via some form of marketing, are attempting to sell to them. How different would it be if you were to send them some information that is of interest to them instead? “I remember you saying that you were DIY fan, I found this really interesting magazine piece the other day and immediately thought of you, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting...”

Next time this customer is in the market for something that you provide, who will be front of mind for them, you or your competition?

Ask for feedback. In my experience, the number one reason businesses fail to ask for feedback is because of the perception it will be negative. Negative comments are great! They give you the opportunity to fix something that is not working the way your customer would like and also shows your customers that you value their feedback. How often have you been asked to fill a feedback form in and had the feeling that it doesn’t matter what you say nothing will change? It is probably the same for your customers, so imagine how refreshing and different it will be for them when you do listen and make changes. Is their loyalty to you likely to go up or down?

Mystery shop your business. It is quite surprising sometimes the assumptions we make about the customers experience. When I ask owners, “What makes you different from your competition?” the number one answer I get is, “We give good service?” Is this really a differentiator? Surely, as far as customers are concerned ‘good service’ is a given and if I were to ask your competition the same question, I would more than likely get the same answer.

Have you ever phoned your business to see how the phone is really answered?

How many times have you phoned to check for consistency?

How easy is it to buy from your company?

What is the experience like from the customer’s point of view?

Sometimes we wrap our businesses processes in red tape to protect the bottom line and from a customer’s point of view that can be a real turn off their perception can be you are only interested in taking their money.

Map out your process. The key to outstanding customer service is ‘Consistency’ and one of the most consistent businesses in the world is McDonalds. It doesn’t matter where you go on this planet, visit a McDonalds restaurant and the experience will be the same, and this experience is delivered  mostly people under 20 years of age, how is this possible?

Systems. So what customer service systems do you have in place? Does everybody on your team understand and use the system 100% of the time? Once again, how are you measuring that? How often do you look at your system and upgrade it? If systems work brilliantly for McDonalds what is getting in the way of them working for you and your business? How much is that costing you?

Business = Customers, keep them happy and coming back time and time again and your business will thrive.

If you would like to take a much deeper look at this subject take a look here.

When The Tide Goes Out, We Find Out Who’s Been Swimming Naked....

Let’s find out if you’ve got your bikini on!

In 2008 I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be mentored by Keith Cunningham. If you’re not familiar with Keith, you may be familiar with the 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' series of books; Keith is the Rich Dad.

Keith has a ‘tell it as it is attitude’ and one of the first statements he made to me was, “In good times, any idiot can start a business and most idiots do!” Let me clarify what I think he meant by that statement.

In a boom time, for instance, pre-2008, many people that open businesses can be lulled into a fall sense of security. Their business thrives because of the environment; people have plenty of disposable income to spend, this can lead to the owner getting delusional and thinking he/she is great at business. If the tide changes, for instance, a recession, cracks that weren’t noticed in the good times suddenly become gaping holes and the owner has the realisation that they are not such a business superstar after all. They may have been making plenty of money, but didn’t really have any idea where the money was been coming from. They have been swimming naked!

When working with business owners, I ask them to show me the last three years accounts and, with great pride, they hand over three brown envelopes containing the documentation. Problem is, in most cases the envelopes are still sealed! The accounts are seen, simply a necessary exercise in compliance for the HMRC.

One of the main excuses I get for this habit is, “I don’t understand them, so what’s the point?”

The point is that whilst you don’t need to have the level of skill and knowledge of an Accountant, you do need an understanding of what the numbers mean, where they come from and how you can influence them. This will give you greater control over your business and the decisions you make within your business.

What follows is by no means an exhaustive list and yet, if you focus on getting an understanding and the application of these principles, you will, I guarantee, see a return on your bottom line. I am also providing you with a FREE set of Tools to help you get a greater understanding of these principles.

·         Break even - the point at which your sales cover all your costs.  Simple really and yet, this is a really powerful number that business owners overlook. Knowing this number will enable you to plan with greater clarity your pricing policy and your sales and marketing activity.  See below for a simple tool to help you calculate this.

·         Cashflow forecasting - if a business runs out of cash and is not able to obtain new finance it will become insolvent. People within the business will probably use the excuse, “Well we didn’t see that coming!” when the truth is that it's all down to poor management. Cash flow forecasting is really quite simple, once you know how, and (again) we have a tool that will help with the implementation of forecasting into your business

·         Margin analysis - where has the profit come from? When asked, a great many businesses have no idea which products and services are producing their profit and, of course, the reverse; their losses. Understanding the profit margins of each and every product and service you provide will allow you to focus your time and effort on your high margin items. Just the other day I saw an ad for a Cannon printer at just £49! Surely there is very little profit for Cannon at that price, but it doesn’t matter because they understand their margins and realise that the real profit is in the ink they supply for the machine. What is the ink in your business? I once worked with a Builders Merchants that spent a small fortune promoting bricks. After a margin analysis they realised that the real profit was in cement! A switch of focus added 6% to the bottom line.

·         KPI’s/Key performance indicators - the P&L, whilst giving you some vital information, is however information about the past. You can learn from it but you can’t change it. Just imagine if you could predict your future by tracking a set of leading indicators. Leading indicators are the activities that happen on a day to day basis to produce the end result. For instance, if you need more customers you will need to generate Leads and you will have to convert those leads into paying customers. So, you could have KPI’s to measure marketing activity, leads generated, meetings booked, etc. and, providing you know your conversion rate (you do know your conversion rate-don’t you?), you will have a pretty accurate indication of your future sales potential.

The most effective KPI’s are closely tied to your strategic of objectives and help you to answer your critical business questions.

So, the question is how prepared are you if the tide goes out?

Having a  better understanding of the above principles will mean you are less likely to get caught swimming naked and ensure the future of your business.  Alternatively, if you don’t like the numbers, you could always wear a mankini like Borat!

Remember to grab your FREE tools below and if you would like to learn more about this subject take a look here….

FREE Tools;

Break even calculator…Will allow you to make more informed decisions about pricing and profit-enhancing choices.

Cashflow Forecasting…Will allow you to see the bumps in the road ahead so that you can become proactive instead of reactive to cashflow problems.

KPI selector…choose the most relevant KPI’s for your business 100 to choose from.

To receive your FREE Tools simply email susan@mpcforprofit.