Ever find yourself going off in all directions at once? Ever experienced what the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland once said: “…it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least as twice as fast as that!”
When managing a business–whether you have one employee or 500, you can often feel like you are going everywhere at once, which in the end takes you nowhere. As the owner or executive in your company, you are wearing a lot of hats, and sometimes it can be difficult to prioritize. I know because I’ve been caught in this trap before. In my experience, there is actually not just one, but three sure-fire ways to prioritize each day and get your team to help you expand and grow your business in the process!
First you have to understand three basic principles of expansion, and they are:
- The amount you outflow (promote and market your business in any and all ways possible) is directly proportionate to the amount of expansion you will see.
- Outflow is far more remunerative (financially rewarding) and effective than inflow (the amount of communication you receive). Remember this the next time you’re lamenting over low engagement on social media. While it’s always best to get engagement on your posts, the important thing is that you are being consistent and getting out there–not just with social media, but with as many channels as you possibly can. Visibility and engagement will come with consistent, interesting content.
- Every single staff member in your organization is directly responsible for the amount of income your organization makes, which in turn results in improved survival for each staff member individually in the form of job stability, higher pay, bonuses and more.
If you want to succeed and grow your business, the order of priority for yourself and each of your employees each and every day should be as follows:
- Outflow to the general public using any communication means possible–including in-person visits! So, instead of checking your email first thing in the morning, outflow! You can post something to social media, send several emails to say hello to customers, give a few people a call to check-in or go visit some customers to say hello.
- Only answer and handle income-generating communications next. Save all other production-type of emails or other communications for step #4.
- Send out finished work or reports to other members of your company or organization.
- Now answer emails with requests, information that’s needed and tasks from your boss or other members of the company or your customers. Then get to work producing your products and services for the rest of the day!
If you and your team follow this order of priorities each day, you will notice an increase in your expansion very fast. Keep in mind, the more you outflow, the greater the expansion.
Try this exercise with yourself and your team: Make a list of everything you plan to get done today. Then put a “1,” “2,” “3,” or “4” next to each item based on the category of action it falls under. Do you have mostly 1’s, 2’s, 3’s or 4’s? The more 1’s, the more your organization grows!
The other thing you need to understand (and all of your employees need to understand as well) is that doing the above actions each day, religiously, directly affects your company’s income. What a lot of employees don’t totally connect with is the fact that if the company does well, they get to keep their jobs. And, if you reward your team when your company expands, that means a higher level of survival for everyone.
If your revenue is going down or plateauing (nothing stays the same forever — that plateau will eventually take a downturn), by all means — give this a try! Have your team read this blog post and then sit down and do the above exercise together. Experiment with this for one month and you will see a definite rise in expansion and growth for your business. Reward your people for making outflow a daily priority. Soon, this will become second nature and a part of your company culture!
If you have questions about whether it’s time to UP your marketing efforts, call one of my marketing experts at (844) 475-7268. The consultation is absolutely FREE! Or you can always email me directly at rachel@suite4social.com
Best,
Rachel