Productivity EngineerInternet Marketing Tools to Enhance Your Productivity

Undoubtedly you began this year with some big ideas about what you wanted to accomplish. I know I did!

Perhaps it was the quantity of new clients you wanted to get, or how much money you wanted to make, or how many products you wanted to sell.

In the world of marketing, these “big ideas” are called goals and objectives. And, they are what determine your every move, when it comes to marketing, that is.

If you don’t have a marketing plan or you aren’t familiar with the task, it goes something like this. You establish your vision (that’s where you sit down and picture in your mind what your home business will look like in one year).

If you haven’t tried visioning, try it. It can be VERY powerful. When we work through Step 2 in my 10stepmarketing course, I walk you through a question-and-answer exercise to create your own vision for results.

I encourage you to write your vision down because it’s like a magnet, pulling you toward success. And, it’s great to review it periodically throughout the year to keep it fresh in your mind. (It reminds you WHY you’re working so hard!)

Once you’ve created your vision, write down a few goals (specific things you want to reach) that reflect your vision and write at least one, measurable objective. Measurable means you can easily measure whether you’ve achieved it or not, so think numbers when writing your objective.

For example, “I want 15 new clients by the end of the year.”

Once you have your goals and objective, you can create a plan to attain them. This allows you to focus all your time, energy and money on achieving your goals, and to NOT get distracted by spending time or money on other activities. This is what I LOVE so much about having a plan. It absolutely keeps you on track to results!

So how do you guarantee your achievement?

By checking to see how you are progressing toward your goals and objectives AND by making adjustments as necessary. Yes, it really is that simple, but it does take some discipline.

June is a great month to do a “check-up.” You’re half-way through the year and you’ve given your marketing time to work.

So are you ready to give your business a 6-month “check-up?” so you can get back on the path to results (in case you’ve fallen off?!).

Take my 5-step Business Check-up and see how your organization is doing.

(1) Update your tracking numbers

The best method to know if a marketing activity is working is to track response. I recommend keeping tabs on your tracking on a monthly basis. If you haven’t kept up, update your tracking now.

Create a simple spreadsheet to track the results for each marketing activity you’ve undertaken. For example, number of leads they have produced, or number of new clients or sales generated by each activity.

(2) Evaluate how well each marketing activity is performing

Sit down and review your tracking report. Prioritize your marketing activities, putting the most effective ones at the top of your list and the least effective ones at the bottom.

If you’ve found activities that aren’t producing results, you may want to consider dropping those activities. Make a decision to spend more time, energy or money on the activities that are producing the best results. You may even want to try new activities to replace those you drop.

(3) Check your progress toward your vision and goals

Review your vision and goals. How close are you to achieving them? If you’re at least half-way there, that’s good news! You’re on track and you can probably continue doing what your doing to realize them by years-end.

On the other hand, if you aren’t close to half-way yet, you’ll need to evaluate why and make any necessary changes to your marketing activities, how you’re spending your time, or other aspects of your small business to help get back on track.

(4) Measure your progress toward your objective

If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You’re on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you’ll likely accomplish your goal of 15.

If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don’t have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it’s time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It’s important to distinguish between marketing that isn’t working and marketing that just isn’t getting done.

Once you determine which is the case for you, you’ll be in better position to make decisions about what you need to do to get back on track toward achieving your objective.

(5) Adjust your marketing accordingly

Once you’ve evaluated your current situation, you’ll need to make some decisions about how to move forward. If you’re on track, then keep on doing what you’re doing.

If you’ve determined that several of your marketing activities simply aren’t generating the results you had hoped for, then consider revising or dropping them from your plan, and trying something new.

If you’ve simply discovered that you haven’t stuck to your marketing plan on a consistent basis, re-commit right now to stay on track.

The good news is, you’ve still got 6 months to realize the achievement you set out to reach. Make changes NOW to guarantee your accomplishment at the end of the year. It’s in your power to attain!

If you don’t have a marketing plan, you’re missing a key ingredient in the accomplishment of your home business. Don’t know how to write one or where to start?

Click Here To Manifest The Life You DeserveLearn More About How To Advance Your Goals Now!

Problem solving is a pretty broad topic of discussion. This could mean anything from figuring out how to pay your bills this month to determining who’s spreading gossip at the workplace. We solve dozens of problems every day, but some of them get a little overwhelming at times. When this happens, we really have to put our abilities to the test and think our way through the situation.

The best way to solve problems is with an ordered, logical, step by step approach. The particulars, the specifics of each step are as infinitely varied as the possible problems you might be facing, but in a broad sense, they always come down to three acts…

Isolate the Problem

You can’t fight what you can’t see, as they say, so before you take any steps to actually solve a problem, you need to figure out what, exactly, it is that you’re up against. You need to figure out exactly what it is that’s bothering you, exactly what it is that’s standing between yourself and your goals. Identify it and isolate it. For example, if your car is acting up, this could mean doing a diagnostic on your engine to figure out what part is preventing the vehicle from running at its best. If you’re playing Chess, this could mean figuring out which of your opponent’s pieces is in the best position to thwart your victory. Again, it could mean literally anything, but by looking at all of the factors and thinking it through, you should always be able to figure out exactly what the real problem is.

Identify the Root Cause

You can treat the symptoms of a problem, but you should really get to the bottom of it. So if you have trouble making rent, the problem might be that you’re always coming up a hundred bucks short. This can be solved one month by selling some old jewelry or a guitar you don’t play anymore, but the source of the problem is that you’re not making enough money living check to check. The source is what you want to pinpoint and combat, not just the symptoms of the problem themselves. So if your car keeps breaking down, maybe the source isn’t the part that keeps needing to be replaced, it could be that you’re not getting oil changes regularly enough, or it could even mean that your axle is off and it’s doing no favors to the rest of your car. You need to find the source of the problem and get it at the roots.

Use a PRACTICAL Solution

Whatever your problem might be, whether it affects you mentally or psychologically or emotionally, the root is always practical, and so is the solution. You find the problem by thinking it out, you solve the problem by taking some real, practical steps to solving it. So using the example of impotence, many men go running for the little blue pill, but if your source is stress or depression, then you need to solve that, not the impotence itself. Solve the root cause. With an unrewarding sex life, this could mean just changing your diet, or it could mean talking to a therapist, or if you’re stressed at work, it could mean a vacation or asking for fewer responsibilities. The solution is always to take practical steps to pull the source problem out by the roots.

Learn more about how you can start achieving your goals in your personal and financial life today! You can use the simple strategies and techniques offered and take control of your destiny now!

Tired of waking up at the crack of dawn, running around trying to get ready and then sitting in traffic jams everyday no matter what time you leave? So was I until I found the awesome world of owning a home business. Now I make that long trek to my comfy desk chair about 8:00, in my sweats and not having a care in the world about making it to work on time. These are just some of the perks of owning your own home business.

Ok, enough of the pleasantries. As wonderful as working at home is, you must possess some great skills to find success at it. I am talking about time management and organization. If you are not careful, the comfort and distractions of having a home business can also be the doom of the very same thing. You have to find ways to ignore the laundry, cleaning and cooking that seems to be calling you throughout the day and make sure you stay on the task at hand. To help you accomplish just that, I have come up with a few tips that might make your life easier.

1: Be realistic with yourself. – You might want to start with asking yourself a few tough questions. Can I do this? Do I have what it takes to stay focused and ignore all the household distractions? Can I work to meet the deadlines while still retaining my freedom that I worked so hard to achieve? Freedom is great but it doesn’t pay the bills and if you don’t have the focus you need, this could be a disaster waiting to happen. Before you give a home based business a try, ask yourself the tough questions and try your best to answer them realistically.

2: Treat it like a job. – This may sound simple, but it can slip your mind easily if you can’t find the concentration you need. This is definitely a real job and is what you are counting on to pay your bills. Clock in and out just like you would a traditional business. Schedule your week and put it on a calendar you can follow daily. Schedule breaks and lunch like you normally would if you worked for someone else. Try not to detract form your schedule if you wan to find real success.

3: Is accountability your strong suit? – If it is not and you do get distracted easily, you may want to appoint an accountability partner. A spouse fits that description well, because they are looking out for what is best for you and the family as a whole. Check in with each other a couple of times a day to get a status report and use it as a way to gauge your activity.

4: Separate church and state. To manage your time working at home efficiently, you have to decide what you spend your hours on. Sometimes it is hard to explain to your family the difference between work time and family time. Once the workday is over, focus entirely on your family, and don’t let business intrude on your time with them.

5: How organized are you? – This is another very important question you need to address. De-clutter your home business surroundings. Concentrate on putting things away when you are finished with them, both on your computer and in your filing cabinet. Label everything in folders both online and offline. Being organized can lead to your success more quickly.

I hope these tips will help you with managing your time when it comes to your home based business. Having the right frame of mind and organization can be the real difference in your success.

Glyna Humm helps online marketing owners obtain success through step-by-step teaching, marketing ideas and strategies. To learn more about one of her unique, proven opportunities visit Let Me Help You During These Tough Economic Times