Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business
Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business
1. Time Allocation.
In order to grow and develop a small business brand, owners and managers need to allocate time to three key functional areas:
* Servicing existing customers.
* Searching for new business.
* Administration.
The time required to achieve a balance between the day-to-day and long term needs of a small business will vary from situation to situation - A good time allocation rule of thumb to start is:
Existing Customers – 60%.
Once you get a new customer make sure you keep them by allocating time to:
* Continuing to present your client base with the high level of quality products and services that gained their trust in the first place.
* Offering a superior level of ongoing customer service and support.
* Developing Incremental business by offering existing customers new products and services.
Business Development – 30%.
Allocate approximately three quarters of your business development time on marketing, advertising and sales. Some of the tasks you can set aside time for are:
* Preparing quotes and proposals.
* Marketing planning and execution which can include (but not be limited to) thinking about your target markets, researching advertising options, implementing ad campaigns such as Google Adwords, newsletter marketing, website content management, etc.
* Sales prospecting i.e. cold calling, etc.
* Researching potential clients, market segments, etc.
Allocate approximately one quarter of your business development time to networking and publishing. Set aside time for:
* Networking events put on by your local chamber of commerce or industry associations.
* Meeting with strategic allies, vendors, etc.
* Public speaking.
* Tradeshow marketing.
* Online social networking i.e. keeping your LinkedIn profile updated; commenting on blogs, etc.
* Writing content such as website articles, regular blog posts, etc.
* Writing press releases.
Administration – 10%.
Small business owners get caught up in the day-to-day and often sacrifice staying up to date on their “paperwork” because it’s not a revenue generator – but, if neglected for too long, administration can become costly. Dedicate some time each day, week or month to administration including:
* Bookkeeping and accounting (particularly paying bills and invoicing!).
* Staying up to date with any government documents, important registrations, etc.
2. Time Value.
Yes, we all know that "time is money"...but, besides direct payment for products/services, how can your small business use time to create value and build brand equity? Here's a hint: don't just think about your time when it's billable...view the time you spend as an investment in building your small business brand and creating trust and value over the long term. Some examples:
* Spend face-to-face time with customers...take time to learn about their business so you are able to better serve them in the future.
* Take time to really engage with clients and prospects...don't rush through situations that may not pay immediate dividends...listening builds respect.
* Take time to think...about your business, your strategies, your employees, your vendors...it's too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget the value of spending time developing ideas.
* Respect the value of other people's time...when you gain permission to share time with a prospect or client, don't risk eroding the goodwill: Don't be late for meetings; Don't overstay your welcome; Don't waste people's time.
Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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Time management is an important tool for small business owners - organizing your time and understanding its value to your small business is a great way to become more focused and successful.
1. Time Allocation.
In order to grow and develop a small business brand, owners and managers need to allocate time to three key functional areas:
* Servicing existing customers.
* Searching for new business.
* Administration.
The time required to achieve a balance between the day-to-day and long term needs of a small business will vary from situation to situation - A good time allocation rule of thumb to start is:
Existing Customers – 60%.
Once you get a new customer make sure you keep them by allocating time to:
* Continuing to present your client base with the high level of quality products and services that gained their trust in the first place.
* Offering a superior level of ongoing customer service and support.
* Developing Incremental business by offering existing customers new products and services.
Business Development – 30%.
Allocate approximately three quarters of your business development time on marketing, advertising and sales. Some of the tasks you can set aside time for are:
* Preparing quotes and proposals.
* Marketing planning and execution which can include (but not be limited to) thinking about your target markets, researching advertising options, implementing ad campaigns such as Google Adwords, newsletter marketing, website content management, etc.
* Sales prospecting i.e. cold calling, etc.
* Researching potential clients, market segments, etc.
Allocate approximately one quarter of your business development time to networking and publishing. Set aside time for:
* Networking events put on by your local chamber of commerce or industry associations.
* Meeting with strategic allies, vendors, etc.
* Public speaking.
* Tradeshow marketing.
* Online social networking i.e. keeping your LinkedIn profile updated; commenting on blogs, etc.
* Writing content such as website articles, regular blog posts, etc.
* Writing press releases.
Administration – 10%.
Small business owners get caught up in the day-to-day and often sacrifice staying up to date on their “paperwork” because it’s not a revenue generator – but, if neglected for too long, administration can become costly. Dedicate some time each day, week or month to administration including:
* Bookkeeping and accounting (particularly paying bills and invoicing!).
* Staying up to date with any government documents, important registrations, etc.
2. Time Value.
Yes, we all know that "time is money"...but, besides direct payment for products/services, how can your small business use time to create value and build brand equity? Here's a hint: don't just think about your time when it's billable...view the time you spend as an investment in building your small business brand and creating trust and value over the long term. Some examples:
* Spend face-to-face time with customers...take time to learn about their business so you are able to better serve them in the future.
* Take time to really engage with clients and prospects...don't rush through situations that may not pay immediate dividends...listening builds respect.
* Take time to think...about your business, your strategies, your employees, your vendors...it's too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget the value of spending time developing ideas.
* Respect the value of other people's time...when you gain permission to share time with a prospect or client, don't risk eroding the goodwill: Don't be late for meetings; Don't overstay your welcome; Don't waste people's time.
Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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