Archive | September, 2022

Yes, you can sing while taking a shower, and you can listen to music while walking and planning your day. But when it comes to the really important stuff, forget multitasking because it’s costing you time and money.

Let’s say you’re answering emails while talking on the phone. A great example of multitasking, right? Wrong.

In this case you’re not doing two things at once – rather, you’re alternating your attention between the two tasks. You can’t listen to the person on the phone while you’re forming your email response. And you can’t formulate your thoughts to speak back to the person on the phone while you’re reading the next email.

So what you end up doing is a little bit of task A, then a little bit of task B, and back and forth. And neither task is done well. The person on the phone can tell you’re not listening, and the email response you write misses the mark.

This goes for any task that you can’t put on autopilot. You can shower, walk, run, drive, make coffee and many other tasks without thinking about them because they’re routine and you’ve performed them many times before. But when you’re doing anything that takes real thinking, it’s best to focus just on that task and nothing else.

And avoid distractions. Checking your email, answering the phone and even getting up to get a cup of coffee can take you off track. You lose momentum and you have to backtrack to see where you left off. A recent study of office employees demonstrated that when their work was interrupted, it took them 25 minutes on average to get back into it.

Anything that requires engaged thinking – writing, reading, speaking, etc., is not something you should try to juggle because it will actually cost you MORE time and provide less than stellar results.

So even if you have to lock yourself in a room, disable your email and turn off your cell phone to keep from getting distracted, I suggest you do it. You can answer those emails and return those phone calls later when your work is completed.

I’ll wager that 9 out of 10 people who read this won’t get it.

Not really.

They’ll say, “Yeah, that’s probably right,” and then they’ll blow it off like they never read it.

But the fact is, I’m nearly certain that’s why some people crush it online and others never make more than a few hundred bucks here and there.

For example, imagine you’ve got some individual who maybe isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. But he doesn’t know that. He thinks he’s unbelievably smart. He thinks his products are radically awesome. He thinks he’s king of the internet and master of his niche.

And even though his products are average and ordinary, and even though he’s not all that bright and certainly not clued in on what’s happening, he still does really, really well.

Then you’ve got this other person who is smart as can be.

She really cares about her customers and wants to help everybody and anybody she can.

She tries her very best to put out products that can revolutionize lives, but she wonders if she isn’t falling short.

Maybe she needs to work harder, or find more answers to give in her products, or just be an even better person.

And she’s failing miserably.

The first guy KNOWS for a FACT that his products ROCK (as he would say) and that he’s “THE MAN.”

And this comes across in everything he does.

His emails, his videos, his website – they all exude a crazy amount of confidence, and customers pick up on that and are drawn to it.

But on her site, and in her emails and videos, she hesitates.

She’s a little bit unsure.

She wants only the best for her customers, so she holds back, just in case her latest recommendation isn’t good enough.

And customers pick up on her lack of confidence and don’t buy.

Simple, right?

Now the question: Are you going to think about this and find a way to use this in your business?

Or… are you going to dismiss it?

“Because I really do think – or at least I believe – that I’m on to something here.”

“In fact, I KNOW I am.”

Take a look at those last two sentences and notice the contrast.

Which one makes you sit up and take notice?

Which one makes YOU confident that I know what I’m talking about?

See what I mean?

You don’t need to be a jerk about it, but confidence and belief in your products will go a heck of a long way towards making you sales and customers who become raving fans.

Try it.

A friend of mine works with brand new marketers on setting up and building their business. Can you guess the number one problem these new marketers make for themselves? They want to target EVERYBODY…

EVERYBODY who has a kid.

EVERYBODY who wants a date.

EVERYBODY who wants to make money.

EVERYBODY who wants to lose weight.

My friend has to go around and around with them to convince them of one simple, powerful fact: 

The more you specialize, the more you sell. 

Think of a general practitioner doctor versus a brain surgeon – who do you think makes more?

Think of a general contractor versus a contractor specializing in high rise buildings – who do you think makes more?

Think of a regular fireman versus one who puts out fires in oil wells – who do you think makes more?

Online marketing is no different.

You cannot target senior citizens the same way you do twenty-somethings or new mothers or busy executives.

That’s why you’ve not only got to pick your niche – making money, health, diet, dating, etc. – you’ve also got to pick your audience.

And even if you are STILL thinking you can target every single overweight person with your diet product, ask yourself this… how are you going to contact and sell to all of these different people?

A market that is too wide does not work.

Want to teach marketing to ALL small business owners? Good luck. 

Want to teach marketing to chiropractors? This is an opportunity worth pursuing, especially if you drill down further into local areas such as chiropractors in regions.

Want to teach dating techniques to every single person out there? Yeah, right. 

Want to teach dating techniques to single guys under 30? You can make a fortune.

Pick your niche, and then pick your audience within that niche. You’ll have a far easier time finding your prospects, knowing how to talk to them and how to sell them.

So if you really want a fighting chance at success in business, learn to be selective and target your niche carefully. Serve the needs of a carefully selected niche well, and the sky is the limit for you and your business!