To show her customers she appreciates them, she delivers sweets on a quarterly basis and also delivers sweets to referral sources that send her leads. She buys lunches for those referral sources as well. Relationships in her business are extremely important, so she focuses on those through her customer base and referral sources. She has also incorporated one on one networking using social media to identify potential customers or referral sources. Through the combination of these tactics, she drives substantial revenue growth and customer retention.
If she doesn’t do those tasks on a daily basis, she will not grow or retain at her current pace. To ensure she completes those tasks, she enters time dedicated to each task on her calendar to allocate time to concentrate on those 5 tasks. As with most businesses, there are many other things that she must complete that are related to her 5 priority tasks – such as paperwork, purchasing the sweets or lunches, making travel accommodations, etc. These related tasks are also listed on her calendar to make sure they are completed. She must make time to meet with and prepare for client meetings, which are also listed on her calendar. She wants to handle client meetings and those related tasks mentioned above, but should also consider hiring someone to handle the other tasks.
As mentioned in a previous post, what is the opportunity cost of completing those tasks? Depending on that cost, she can make a decision to delegate those tasks, if needed, so she can focus on the 5 key tasks that drive her retention and growth. In her business, she is best suited for those tasks, so shouldn’t hire someone to do those tasks. However, the other related tasks could be done by someone else while still making a profit on the product – opportunity cost is important.
As a small business, do you know your opportunity cost? Are you scheduling your time to make sure you are focused on what drives revenue growth and retention?
Prioritization and calendaring (calendar, technology, planner, etc) help entrepreneurs stay focused on what drives their business – without those, the other things in the business can take the owner’s focus away from what is really important. If you need help with focus, prioritization, planning, goal setting, or organizational processes, Comprehensive Consulting Solutions for Small Businesses may be able to help with personalized consulting or coaching solutions. We are located in Northwest Arkansas (NWA - Fayetteville), but can help small businesses within Arkansas and neighboring areas.
Call us today to set your free consultation: 479-935-2488!
