Have you ever looked at your to-do list and just wanted to
run away? Sometimes, procrastination gets the best of us
self-employed people. It seems that everything is priority
and we tend to put some things on the back burner. The
thing is, if the items on your to-do list have to do with
marketing and Client Attraction, then you don't want to
ignore them (if you do, your pipeline of prospects will be
empty in 6 months).
Procrastination creeps its ugly head in my business every
now and then. Personally, I think it's more overwhelm than
procrastination and the list can be so overwhelming that I
tend to go in avoidance/denial mode, preferring to just not
deal with it. (Has that ever happened to you too?)
Realistically, you can't ignore having to market yourself,
so you sometimes just have to bite the bullet and do what
it takes. Here's my personal action checklist to take me
from procrastination to massive action:
1. Prioritize: Your list may be a mile long or just a half
page long. Either way, the best way to get into action is
to sort out what your return on investment is going to be
for each item on your list (financially, time-wise,
resource-wise) and then sort them by the one that will reap
the most benefits (e.g., clients and revenue) from the
littlest output on your part. You'll start with that one.
2. What's getting in the way? Sometimes, I find
procrastination is more about something getting in the way
than anything else. It could be you don't have every piece
of the puzzle to be able to move forward into accomplishing
something. It could be you don't know how to do ONE aspect
of it. It could also be that this is a SHOULD and isn't
absolutely necessary to your success. Whatever's holding
you back, just get clear on it.
3. How long will it REALLY take: I've found that often, I
delay on a marketing task (or any task, for that matter)
because I anticipate it taking a lot longer than it really
will. To get past this, look at a task and ask yourself how
long it will realistically take to get done. Then, take out
the to-do list and write down the time it will take you to
accomplish it next to each item (15 minutes, 2 hours, etc.).
4. Schedule it: Look at your calendar and find time slots
that correspond to the time allotment for each task you did
above and schedule them, as if they were client
appointments you were unable to cancel.
5. Just do it: Once you've got the "task appointments"
scheduled in your book, just do them. You'll power through
them like you've never done before. It's actually pretty
cool. Your Assignment:
When marketing yourself, take notice of when you start
slipping into procrastination mode (it happens to most
everyone, believe me). Prioritize the tasks on your list to
focus on the ones that will get you the highest return on
investment, notice what's getting in the way or what piece
is missing, and solve the issue accordingly, establish how
long it will take to get done, and then schedule it in your
calendar. You'll have no excuse not to do it.
Remember, there's never a point at which you can say (about
marketing), "I'm successful now, I might as well take a
nap." Notice the very successful entrepreneurs you look up
to. They never stop marketing. In fact, they're always
adding new things to their existing marketing plans. Do the
same. Get past your procrastination and into Client
Attraction. ALWAYS BE MARKETING and you'll always have
clients (especially if you have systems in place).
----------------------------------------------------
You may be wondering WHAT to do to market your business
that'll give you the most returns with little effort on
your part. If so, I recommend getting a copy of the Client
Attraction Home Study System™. It gives you the most
important things to do to set up simple, solid marketing
systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and
continually get new clients. You can get it at
http://www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com .
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