Are You Too Busy to Make Money?

Sales and Networking

Kenneth Brown

May 27, 2008

Are you too busy to make money? You might think this is an odd question. However, it's a simple question to answer. Are you moving forward in business, or just constantly moving?

Time management can be a critical issue for successful entrepreneurs. Time is a finite resource. You only have 24 hours in a day. You can't turn back the clock. To be successful in business, you must become a good time manager. You can't get back an hour or a minute and redo it.

Recently, during a coaching session, I asked this question to one of my clients. I asked him about his priorities. He responded, "Directing employees and keeping them on track, follow-up on emails and telephone calls, completing projects and generating revenue." What constitutes busy work here?

I was surprised. I expected that he would have first said, "Sales, sales and more sales." Instead, generating revenue was his last response.

Is it his last priority as well?

Perhaps, it's not a fair question. Many times, it's unintentional. Business owners do not decide to be unproductive with their time. Sometimes, entrepreneurs are more reactive than proactive. They react to what comes first to their desk.

Here are what I term "reactions" entrepreneurs and small business owners might perform on a normal business day.

•    Read and respond to emails.
•    Take a telephone call.
•    Listen to voice mail.
•    Counsel an employee.
•    Complete administrative tasks.
•    Attend a networking event.
•    Conduct prospect research.
•    Add a page to the website.
•    Create a new sales brochure.

Sound familiar? All these items take entrepreneurs off their focus. Small business owners and entrepreneurs need to stop reacting and start being more proactive. Entrepreneurs should know their priorities, have a daily action plan, work it and never stray from it.

Unfortunately, my client's focus is on the other activities that do not directly contribute to the bottom line of his business, although one of his main concerns was time management. His own response validated his concern. Most of his time was focused on non-revenue generating activities.

Every entrepreneur's priorities should be activities that generate new business, sales and profitability. That is revenue generating activities. These are activities that will generate business and sales. In business, someone has to sell something to stay in business. A business owner can't remain in business unless one is making a profit.

Who is accountable for the success of a company?

The sales team might be responsible for sales, but ultimately it's the business owner who is accountable. The buck stops with the entrepreneur and nobody else. Bills still have to be paid, whether a sale was made or not.

We all have the same amount of time in a day. Some people just do more during this time than others. How are you leveraging your time to get more accomplished? The average person might judge her time based on the hours spent. However, an entrepreneur should analyze her day based on results, sales and new business.

What is your time management system? Is it profitable for you?

Tips for a more productive work day

•    Evaluate your current situation.
•    Create your own time management system.
•    List your top priorities everyday before your day starts and grade them: A, B or C.
•    Focus on your ‘A' priorities.
•    Focus on your activities that will bring more sales, new business and profits.
•    Accomplish your work in two-hour time blocks.
•    Define your money hours. (These are the best hours where you can connect with your prospects and clients face to face or on the telephone.)
•    Focus your revenue activities during your money hours.
•    Seek to become a better manager of your business time.

Kenneth Darryl Brown is president and CEO of E3C, a profit and business development company that specializes in profit success systems, leadership, sales, communication and technology. Brown shows companies how to maximize their sales and profits by implementing best practices for sales, networking and profitability.

Related Articles:

Happy Holidays, Entrepreneurs!
In the market for affordable accounting software? Today's your day...
Chinese Don'ts
A quick guide to understanding what not to do when traveling to China
Want to Improve Performance? Measure It!
Step 3: Define your approach to achieving goals – then create a plan.
ATL Show and Tell
Interested in showing off your Web startup?

Are You Too Busy to Make Money?

Email to a Friend

Sales and Networking

Kenneth Brown

May 27, 2008