Top 5 Easy Productivity Tips for Network Marketers
Are you building a Network Marketing business?
Do you sometimes feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to get everything done for your business?
Are you working more than you thought you would have to in order to achieve your goals? Or worse, do you feel like you’re not doing the things your business needs to truly succeed?
Don’t worry! A LOT of people feel this way and there is a simple solution. Below I share my Top 5 Easy Productivity Tips for Network Marketers. These simple tips will help you CRUSH the goals you set for yourself and leave you with time to spare.
#1 - Work Blocking
This little trick is so easy to implement and it’s a total game changer! Work Blocks are 25 minute blocks of time that you set to work on a specific task. To start a work block you set a timer (I like to use the website www.tomato-timer.com because block and break times are preset which saves you time). If you’re already a subscriber to my website, Hilo IPA, we have a link to the tomato timer in our header bar to make it even easier for you to take advantage of this tip.
When you’re working in a block you get rid of all distractions – turn off notifications on your computer, turn off the ringer on your phone, turn your phone over so the screen is hidden (no peeking!), I even like to put headphones on and play focus music like this Spotify Playlist so even the environmental noises around me don’t pull my focus (an app for your Mac that makes eliminating distractions easy is www.heyfocus.com). The point is to remain laser focused on your task for the entire 25 minutes. At the end of the block you get a 5-minute break. After the 5-minute break, you start another work block. By eliminating distractions you’re putting in 25 minutes of truly focused work, rather than bouncing from the task at hand to checking your email or looking at your Facebook feed which causes you to break your momentum.
#2 - Task Batching
We’ve all heard the phrase “Get in the Zone” and task batching is a great way to drive ourselves there. Instead of randomly choosing things to do from your list, group similar tasks together to leverage your brain’s ability to enter a “flow”. Starting tasks is the hardest part, so only start a particular type of task once and then keep going with it. Your reach outs are a perfect example. Instead of doing a reach out and then shifting gears to looking up product information or posting on your team page, set aside a Work Block (those 25 minutes blocks we talked about in Tip #1) specifically for New Reach Outs. See how many you can send in that period of time.
An even more advanced way to rock this tip would be to do all of your reach outs for 1 week in 1-2 days. By writing them all at once, you’ll find that the language you use to reach out will come more easily over the time you’re working. You’ll be a reach out expert by the time you hit your quota for the week!
#3 - Do the thing you hate FIRST
I love this tip, but it can be the toughest one for people to adopt because it challenges us to fight our resistance to performing certain tasks. By doing your most dreaded task first you accomplish 3 things:
Chances are if there’s something you hate on your list of goals it’s probably pretty important or else it wouldn’t be there. By doing it first you’re guaranteeing a productive day! If you keep knocking difficult tasks off your list first you’ll see major changes in your business.
You’ll feel like everything else you have on your list for the day is a piece of cake. Accomplishing something difficult gives us a tremendous sense of pride in ourselves and our ability to get things done. And if the difficult task for you is something like reaching out to new people about your business, which has to be repeated daily, you’ll make each time you sit down to prospect a whole lot easier on yourself. In fact, soon you’ll start to like it!
You’re tackling your inner resistance. Resistance is that fight or flight reaction we all have to things that challenge us. Overcoming resistance is an essential part of our journey to changing who we are and what we have. If you’re sensing dread when you sit down to tackle a particular project, it probably means that this project is something that will take you to the next level. Fear of success is just as real as fear of failure. The next time you want to run and hide when you see something on your list – JUMP ON IT! Get it done! Resist the urge to put it off and instead, annihilate it!
#4 - Track Your Goals
Identify 1-3 month goals. You can have your big, hairy goal out there – like “Make $1 Million”, but if you can’t see the goals you need to achieve on the way to that big, hairy goal it’s going to be hard to get there.
Here’s how you get started:
Write down a short-term goal you want to achieve and then write a list of all the things you’ll need to do to hit that goal. Get granular here – if you need to sign 2 consultants to hit this month’s goal, then reaching out to 100 new people this month might be a task on your list, along with hosting a virtual event to get some bang for your buck. Planning that virtual event and sending out invites would be 2 other items for your list. The more detailed you are in this step, the more clear you’ll be on what you have to get done each time you sit down to work.
Prioritize that list and do the most important ones the next time you have a work session.
Have a weekly personal meeting where you ask yourself: what worked this week? What didn’t work? And what can I adjust in my performance to improve things going forward?
#5 - Use A CRM or Business Management System
When you’re trying to spend less time working it’s so important to have everything at your fingertips when you’re ready to start working. Trying to find files and planning your day as you’re starting to work leads to overwhelm and frustration, but more importantly it WASTES TIME!
By creating systems things become routine and when something becomes routine it’s scientifically proven to take up less of your brain power, which means less of your energy. It also gives you a clear and organized way to train new consultants who join your team. Structure is essential when people are just starting this business and having a system in place shows them that your processes are simple to duplicate.
Investing in a Contact & Business Management Software program specifically designed for Network Marketers gives you and your team the structure needed to keep busy entrepreneurs on track. It takes the guesswork out of where you start your day.
Major Benefits of Using a Contact Management System:
Your contacts are always in the same place
You can access your list anywhere you have an internet connection
Your reach outs are planned for you
Your follow ups are scheduled so you never have people falling through the cracks
Gives you a consistent way to train new consultants
Hilo does all of this and allows you to share marketing materials like email templates, campaigns, and sample language with your teams. When they join your team, they instantly have a library of resources to use so they can completely focus their efforts on reaching out and bringing you 3-Way Calls. It’s time to take advantage of the technology that’s available to us. Excel spreadsheets are a thing of the past!
To try Hilo for free visit:
www.hiloipa.com
