Staying Focused Offline

It is definitely hard for all marketers. Quick items that help me: Calengoo app for Iphone synchs with Google Calendar and has to do lists built in [wake up an check this to do items on my phone]. Another thing that helps is Evernote. The general rule is to quickly do the things that can be done fast without you thinking and getting bogged down; flag the items that you know will take a while or involve someone else. Do those last. There is actually a great system called the "tickler file" if you search online, you can integrate this concept with Evernote.

Thanks Stewane, those are really good suggestions. I will take a look at the tickler file system you mention cause I'm already a big evernote user.

HI there,

It's a matter of planning your time. You can distract yourself with all the electronic planners and time apps you want, but all you need is a pen and a piece of paper.

Break your week into mornings/afternoons.

Mon-Tues mornings you prospect. 4 hours - 8 to 12 in America, 9-1 in Europe.

Afternoons - you follow up on your morning work - send proposals, send thank you cards, get back to clients with questions you couldn't answer.

Wednesday is a day you confer with management and other salespeople if you're in an office environment. We use it for pipeline meetings, etc. You can also set this day for your presentations to clients.

Thurs/Fri mornings - same as Mon/Tues.

End of week 1. Rinse and repeat.

The key is to force yourself to get on the phone, or get on the street in the four mornings. Those mornings are for PROSPECTING - not researching, not compiling lists, not playing around with spreadsheets, not blogging, not anything but beating the street or the phone for NEW clients.

Discipline is your friend, and small steps are your friend. You don't need any apps/electronics to follow this plan.

It's also helpful if you have another business person, or someone you can share this plan with to make you accountable to someone else so that you don't slack on it.

All the best,

Sasha.

http://store.joeverde.com/Product_Earn-Over-100K.aspx

This book is free. It is aimed at Car Sales Professionals but I think it has value for anyone in sales.

Sales is a numbers game. By tracking where you are at now you will see for yourself what you could do if you "came to work to work" as he says in the book.

A lot of that book is upselling his dealer and salesman training, which is why it is free, but the value is still there as it is a quick and informative read that gets you in the right mind set.

You did 8 presentations and closed 1. You don't say how many cold calls it took to get to 8 presentations but if you call twice as many people you should get 16 presentations and close 2. Plus if you get better at selling you could get to 1 in 4 closing vs 1 in 8.

The key is to do the work and do the training to get better and make more money. I know of (friend of friends situation) a guy locally (200k metro area in two states) who makes $400k plus selling cars. So I know the numbers in the book are not bull.

I highly suggest you read it and learn to track you rolling 3 months averages.

I can do that. Would certainly break things up while not compromising on the things that need to get done.

Excellent points and you're right, that's what I've been missing is better tracking and critiquing of my numbers. Although I can tell you that I've contacted over 420 prospects during this period.

I know that b/c I use a lead scraper and that's how many leads I've scraped and contacted. However, I've also done some in person cold calling and I didn't record the numbers on those visits. What's so bad is that I'm not new at sales - at all.

But the last three yrs, where I worked in an office, def. took it's toll.

However, from this week I plan to do better at that. I'll try my best to come back here and post my results. Thanks so much for sharing!

Hey BenBro,

I'm going to say "yea and amen" to what Sasha Lee said.

There's something invigorating and empowering about getting your prospecting for the day done before noon. It's a awesome habit to build for any entrepreneur.

And while we all know it's not only about how many calls you make, but about how many deals you close, you still gain tremendous momentum by getting it "out of the way" early in the day.

Also, in regards to keeping the fire going day in and day out, here's what I do:

Every week, I find little and not-so-little goals that I'm working towards each day and week. This is more of a "things I want to buy" goal setting. The only rule I have is I can't use money that I've already made. It must be bought with "new" money.

For example, this week it's a new boat that me and my sons can use this summer. So, I've priced them out, picked one and found a place to buy it. Now, all I'm doing is hitting my daily numbers so we can go buy it.

While not all of my goals are about buying things (sometimes it's about paying a bill, closing a certain amount of deals or getting a high monthly recurring deal etc.), that's an example of how I keep my mindset from going to a negative mindset about the work I "have to do".

I don't know if you're already doing this, but you should try it and see if it works for you. Some folks have fun with it, while others think it's corny.

I've found that when I tie my daily, weekly and monthly goals to my "real" life, it comes alive for me and energizes me. It's a little cheesy, but it keeps me plugged in and keeps the fun factor pretty high for me.

If I don't keep it fun and relevant, I tend to lose focus and drift.

The last thing I'll add is that I always feed my mind high quality fuel for motivation. I love to read business books about what other successful entrepreneurs had to do to achieve success in their business.

It really inspires me to push harder every day.

Hope this helps,

Chris

Don't get greedy, why not just live comfortably and enjoy the extra free-time?

If you're not so passionate about this work that you can't dedicate all your waking hours to it, then it's just not interesting to you at a subconcious level and probably isn't rewarding to you as a human being.

Do something else instead of hustling all the time, get some rewarding hobbies. And the work will be easier.

Hey Chris, long long time my friend! Good to connect w. you again. I like what you said, its very practical. Actually, you triggered flashbacks to my phone room days back in college.

It's amazing how much we forget when we stop using it. Am jotting my goals down right now. Thanks again!

Hey Ben, congrats firstly on making the leap--starting your entrepreneurial journey is an exciting one but it's also...A LOT OF HARD WORK!!!

Many will have you believe that it's an overnight, one-push-button to success in this game and it's just not true. Just like any business--where you need to work hard (but still smart!), stay focused, dedicated & positive, offline is exactly the same.

I quit my corporate job a year ago, started doing offline marketing full-time and a year later, I can offer this advice:

1. Take this seriously--you will only get out of it what you put in and starting & growing an offline business is an amazing opportunity that we are blessed to even be aware of (let alone have all these great resources & supportive colleagues on this forum).

2. Hold yourself accountable for daily action (or get somebody else who will i.e. a coach)--prospecting for new clients is a daily thing, it has to be done day in, day out (or get somebody to do it for you)

3. Have systems in place--make your life easy, once you have a prospecting system in place, document it so you can teach others and make sure you have a system in place to execute as well (which it sounds like you do with your partnership)

4. Stay positive--you will have good days, booking $2k/month clients, you will have bad days when it seems like nobody wants what you have to offer--keep positive and stick it out

5. Have FUN!! Yes, we're in business to make a profit but being an entrepreneur is also about getting the chance to make choices & decisions that you couldn't in your 9-5, so make this fun by rewarding yourself along the journey! For that $2k/mth client, how did you reward yourself? Doesn't have to be big..maybe it's taking the day to do a local wine tour, or a nice dinner out, or a new watch you've been wanting..just something to link a positive reinforcement with your success!

6. Reinvest in yourself & your business--whether this is through books, seminars, hiring a coach, getting into a mastermind, the payoff is beyond words

Hope that helps and keep on going..you are doing amazing!!!

Hey Preeti, just got through recording my goals a few moments ago. Will certainly try my darndest to heed your advice. Thanks for your words of wisdom!