This Wednesday: Entrepreneurs in Trouble ?!

This Week's Tip:
I am not someone who is immune to these problems, I had faced the same trouble. But I figure out some solution and thought about formalizing some of the steps I took so that I can share with you. If you can add some more ...go for it and help everyone out  !

What are the 2 most common problem entrepreneurs face ?

1. Not enough clients
2. Off Capacity

The first is that entrepreneurs struggle to keep their sales pipeline full. Often they are so busy one month that they don't take the time to market themselves and as a result, their business declines drastically. This feast or famine cycle is one of the primary reasons why people don't enjoy having their own business. It's exhausting!

The second problem is one of capacity. In this situation, an entrepreneur has a steady stream of business but feels overwhelmed, exhausted, and stressed. It's a constant juggling act.

Are you nodding your head Yes? Don't worry you are not alone. The good news is that there are solutions you can incorporate into your business to solve either of these problems. The answer to these issues involves creating systems. By implementing systems in your marketing and operations, you will attract an ongoing flow of clients into your pipeline and serve more of them with less effort.

Here are some specific tips to help you systemize your business:

1) Delegate, delegate, delegate: Are you still doing your own books, running your own errands, or organizing your own files? If so, ask yourself, "Is this activity my highest pay-off business activity?" Or is there something else you could be doing with your time to bring revenue into your company
You can also outsource to graphic designers, copywriters, bookkeepers, and website programmers to save you money, time, and energy.

2) Document your processes: Take the time to write down the specific way your company does things (or better yet, delegate the documentation). You should have a specific method for closing sales, storing your files, developing proposals, pricing your services, and communicating with your clients. By creating "How-to Guides" for all of these activities, you begin to standardize these processes. This makes it simple for an assistant or other person to step in and take over these tasks. It also makes it easier for you to repeat and refine these actions so that they improve over time.

3) Cluster your activities: When you switch gears constantly, you lose time and money. Therefore, the best solution is to group like activities together and then create a schedule on your calendar and stick to it. For instance, if you know that a high payoff activity for you is to make phone calls to your clients, then set aside blocks of time to do this each day or each week. During this time, do NOT answer e-mails or begin other project work. Commit to these activities and follow through without fail.

4) Put it on autopilot: Look at your business to see if there are any activities that you can automate. For instance, when people sign up for your ezine, you can set up an auto responder to thank them. Another example is placing a page on your website that answers all of the questions your prospects typically ask. You can direct people to this page instead of spending time on the phone answering the same questions.

Do you have more ideas to add ?? go for it !!

Henry Joshua
.DotSign
www.dot-sign.com
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