Another Fact-Filled, Lead Generating,
Time Saving, Money Producing
Marketing Tip From Reed Hoisington
"How To Use The 80/20 Principle To Skyrocket Your Sales And Profits In The
New Millennium..."
I'm going to share a philosophy with you that
might just change your life. It certainly changed mine!
It's called the 80/20 Principle, and I
GUARANTEE that by the time you're finished reading this newsletter, you'll
understand exactly...
How To Achieve Twice As Much With Half The
Effort!
The 80/20 Principle was first discovered
approximately 100 years ago by an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto
while he was studying income and wealth patterns.
He discovered that there was a pattern of
"predictable imbalance," and that by identifying and focusing on the top
20% of our efforts, we can leverage our results in virtually any area of
our lives, and vastly improve our effectiveness.
Not long ago, a major insurance company did a
study on its sales force to see where the majority of its sales and
profits were coming from. Low and behold...
20% Of The Sales Force Produced 80% Of the
Profits!
They went one step further, and analyzed the
top 20% of the sales force to identify if there was a "predictable
imbalance" amongst this highly productive group of people.
Guess what they found? That's right...
The Top 20% Of The Top 20% Of The Sales Force
Produced 80% Of The Profits!
I have personally used the "Pareto Principle"
in virtually every area of my business and personal life, and found it to
be an extremely effective tool for determining where and how I should be
spending my time and efforts.
Which leads me to why I'm writing this
article...
I've boiled it down to the top 7 ways to use
the 80/20 Principle
in your business and personal life.
So, without further ado, here they are:
80/20 Principle #1
- Products
I have analyzed my own business and determined
that about 20% of our products and services account for approximately 80%
of the profits.
Here's how I'm going to use this information...
First, I'm going to spend 80% of my time
focusing on how to improve these products, and generate the maximum number
of sales to my clients.
Next, I'm going to eliminate any "slow-moving"
merchandise, and create automated selling processes for the rest of the
products which require a minimal amount of servicing and intervention from
me and my staff.
How can you apply this to your business you
ask?
Start by analyzing which product(s)and/ or
service(s) account for 80% of your profits. My guess is that it will be
only one or two products at most.
I have found that the most successful
salespeople focus on one or two products that they are superior at
marketing and selling while most "average" salespeople try to be all
things to all people. They figure that it's better to sell "something,"
but they fail to realize that it's much easier and less time consuming to
make one $6,000 sale than twenty separate $300 sales.
80/20 Principle #2
- Clients
I recently analyzed my customer list, and found
that 80% of my sales and profits were coming from about 20% of my clients.
Conversely, I also found that about 80% of my
headaches were coming from the bottom 20% of my clients.
Here's what I'm going to do with this
information...
First, I'm going to do whatever it takes
(within reason) to keep my top 20% happy. I plan to offer this group of
people special bonuses, private sales, extra levels of support, and
anything else I can think of to let these people know how much we
appreciate them.
On the other hand, I have instructed my staff
not to tolerate the lower 20% who produce 80% of the headaches in our
office. These people will be given warnings when they are abusive or
impossible to please, and if that doesn't correct the problem...
We Will Fire Them!
At first glance, this may sound harsh. But,
after being in business for close to 9 years, I have found that it is far
more profitable and enjoyable to work with people who appreciate what you
do for them, and are willing to pay a fair fee for the help you give them.
I have also found that the universe works like
a vacuum, and every bad client you fire is usually replaced by a better
client who appreciates what you do for them.
Try this in your own business.
Determine who the top 20% of your clients are,
and treat them like gold!
Then, figure out which 20% are causing you the
most problems, and taking up an inordinate amount of your time. Start by
giving these people an opportunity to "redeem" themselves.
If that doesn't work, and they continue to make
your life miserable...
Get Rid Of Them!
80/20 Principle #3
- Sales And
Marketing Methods
There are dozens of different marketing methods
you could use to generate new clients for your business.
Here's a small list:
1.
Direct Mail
2.
Telemarketing
3.
Advertising
4.
Joint Ventures
5.
Public Seminars
6.
In-Home Workshops
7.
One-On-One Sales Presentations
8.
Referrals
Here's the problem: There are so many exciting
ways to market your business that many of you try to do them all!
Remember the goal of any business should be
focus and simplicity.
All marketing methods will NOT work equally
well for you.
So, here's my advice...
Go back and analyze the results of all your
marketing efforts. I think you'll discover that one or two methods will
account for about 80% of your sales.
The bottom line is - test to find out which
marketing/selling methods work best for you, then spend 80% of your time
focusing on them.
80/20 Principle #4
- Time
Without a doubt, analyzing how you spend your
time will have the greatest overall impact on your business and your
personal life.
Start by tracking how you spend every hour of
your day for, at least, one full week.
I think you'll make an amazing discovery...
80% Of Your Results Come From 20% Of The Time
You Spend Working!
If you're like most entrepreneurs and
salespeople, much of your time is taken up doing administrative tasks
(i.e. filing, bookkeeping), talking on the telephone (non-sales related
conversations), reading (newspapers, trade publications), etc.
Unfortunately, none of these activities produce
any revenue.
Then, we spend about 20% of our work week (1
full work day) on "revenue-generating activities" like creating ads, sales
letters, and telephone scripts, doing seminars, meeting with prospects and
clients, and setting up joint ventures.
Guess what? That's where all of your money
comes from.
But you're only spending 20% of your time on
these activities. Therein lies the reason why most salespeople and
entrepreneurs hit an "income ceiling" finding that no matter how many
extra hours they work, they don't make any more money.
Here's my recommendation...
Start by analyzing how you're currently
spending your time. Once you've defined the "non-revenue generating
activities" that you're spending 80% of your time on...
Delegate, Eliminate, Or Outsource These Tasks!
A good friend of mine, and top success coach,
Jeff Smith, found that in most cases you can easily double your net income
by eliminating half the activities you currently spend your productive
working hours on, and instead replace them with "revenue generating
activities."
80/20 Principle #5
- Employees,
Vendors, Joint Venture Partners
By now, you should know that 80% of your
problems and headaches will come from 20% of your employees, vendors, and
joint venture partners.
I'm a big believer in quality of life, and
enjoying the process of running and growing a business.
Most business people will tolerate almost
anything for the mighty dollar...
Not Me!
I like to be friends with, and enjoy my working
relationships with employees, vendors, and joint venture partners.
The minute they become more of a hassle than
they're worth, I'm a big believer in terminating the relationship and
replacing it with a better one.
Life is way too short to deal with someone who
gives you an upset stomach every time you talk to them.
My recommendation: Get rid of the relationships
in your life that are causing 80% of the aggravation - you'll feel a lot
happier!
80/20 Principle #6
- Expenses
I went back and analyzed where I'm spending
most of the money in my business to determine how I could reduce my
overhead.
Interestingly enough, I discovered we were
spending about 80% of our expenses in three categories:
1.
Printing
2.
Postage
3.
Advertising
So, how am I using this information?
Since I can't reduce my advertising costs
(instead, they tend to go up every year!), I am focusing my efforts on
getting more bang for the buck. Ad space costs me the same each month
whether I get no leads or 2,000 leads. So, I've decided to create 12 new
ads to test each month in 2000. This way, my ad copy never gets "worn
out," and my lead counts should go up instead of down.
To reduce my postage and printing expenses, I
plan to collect e-mail addresses from all of my members that have one.
This way, I can start sending newsletters, FREE reports, updates, etc.,
electronically without incurring any postage or printing costs.
By the way,
CLICK HERE to sign up for my
FREE Financial Marketing Tips Newsletter, which contains dozens of
proprietary marketing secrets and strategies on how to generate more
leads, sales, and referrals for your business.
Anyway, here's my suggestion...
Analyze which expenses account for 80% of your
spending. Then, come up with creative ways to replace or reduce your
expenses.
80/20 Principle #7
- Leisure
Activities
If you haven't already figured this out...
It's Impossible To Be Highly Productive Without
Taking Quality Time Off!
That's why it's important to analyze which 20%
of your leisure activities produce 80% of your enjoyment.
Here's a short list of some of my favorite
activities:
1.
Movies
2.
Going Out To Dinner
3.
Playing Tennis
4.
Mountain Biking And Road Biking
5.
Lifting Weights
6.
Traveling
7.
Reading Good Fiction Novels
8.
Hanging Out With Friends, Family, And Most Importantly, My Wife
9.
Going to the Beach
10.
Hiking And Walking Surrounded By Beautiful Scenery
11.
Getting Massages
The problem was that I was only spending about
20% of my leisure time on these activities.
Over the past two years, I have focused on
spending more and more of my leisure time doing these activities. I'm not
quite at 80%, but I'm getting there.
My final recommendation:
Find out what you enjoy doing most, and spend
more of your FREE time doing it.
If you would like more information on how to get qualified leads, sales
and referrals for your business,
CLICK HERE to get a copy of our FREE Report "How To Prosper More
And Enjoy It More In The NEW Mortgage Brokering Profession."
You are welcome to copy this page and post it on your web site or use it
in your newsletters. The only requirements are:
- You must copy the entire article and make no
changes whatsoever.
- You must include the signature file below at the
bottom of my article.
For more FREE articles, tips, newsletters and expert opinions on how to
get more qualified leads, sales, and referrals for your mortgage business,
you can visit the RHPI website at
http://www.ReedHoisington.com Or, you can sign up for Reed
Hoisington’s FREE “Magnetic Mortgage Marketing Tips” Newsletter which
contains dozens of proprietary marketing secrets and strategies on how to
skyrocket your sales and profits. To subscribe, simply send a blank email
message to reedtip@zipdrip.com.
Reed Hoisington,
Executive Director, RHPI
For individuals interested in purchasing Reed’s
"Magnetic Mortgage Marketing System" you can
click here
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