Filling up “Waste Time”

“Waste Time” is that time within your 40% marketing time that is not being used efficiently. (At BizQuack we advocate a minimum of 40% of your work time be devoted to marketing.) Your challenge this week is to develop another method of filling in your “Waste Time.”

This exercise will require some writing:

• Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three columns. (Notice I said paper not computer).
• Use the following as the three headings
  • Current & past customers that I like to visit with
  • Business owners, or commission sales people, that I like to visit with
  • Good friends that are supportive of my business efforts.

Human touch, person to person contact, is still one of the most powerful marketing tools available to the small business owner. Yes, we still need the complete marketing package, social media, blogs, brochures, etc. but human touch marketing has to be part of the mix.

Your challenge this week is to create this list and add to it as you meet new people that fall into one of those categories.

Whenever you find yourself at a “Waste Time” scenario, call someone on your list and go visit them now. A phone visit does not qualify for the purpose of this challenge. It may take several calls, but the first one that is available is the one to visit. Come up with your own reason for the visit: i.e. share something new you are doing, want to see how they are doing, or just be truthful and say “I need a break to revitalize my thinking process.”

This is an action challenge. Getting out and visiting someone will get you out of your non-productive environment. Changing location, the act of moving from one place to another and sharing a story with a friend or business acquaintance is a powerful stimulus to get you back on the right track.

Please include me on your call list!

Tips & Advice by Nick Petra, CFP – Founder of BizQuack and StrategicDuck