Dripping Faucets Eventually Fill Oceans

Have you ever found yourself so busy with the operations of your business that you didn't have time to work on your marketing? Or perhaps you conducted some successful marketing campaigns that brought in so much business, you had to turn people away. No need to market again for a while, right?

But businesses who fall into that line of thinking usually end up with dried up leads and customers after a while. Even that "rush" of business following a profitable marketing campaign will eventually subside. Then you need to market all over again, and it can frequently take time to build up the momentum again.

But if you spend a little time planning and executing your marketing strategies each day, you're far more likely to have a constant and steady influx of business. After all, if you get too busy, you can always hire additional staff, or at worst, turn some of them away (but never turn away your "A" list customers, those who spend the most money with you).

On the other hand, when you find yourself with idle time because of lack of customers, well, that's a problem.

If you are the chief moneymaker in your business, then it makes sense to focus the majority of your time whenever possible to making money, doesn't it? You want to delegate everything else that doesn't have to do with making money.

The legendary marketer and copywriter Gary Halbert calls this "Operation Money Suck," and here's an example of how he carries out this important concept:

Gary Halbert and master copywriter John Carlton were meeting in Gary's office regularly where they would discuss clients and the ways they would write for them and bring money into their firm. In fact, at the time, John made a percentage of Gary's profits, so the more Gary made, the more John made.

Well, John went there one day, and before they could sit down and close the door to his office, the secretaries came running in and cried "disaster!" The computer was down, the phones had been cut off, the landlord was banging on the door for some reason.

As John put it in a recent teleseminar with Michel Fortin:

"I closed up my briefcase, and I thought well, we’re not going to get anything done today. And Halbert, you know, bless his soul, stood up, pushed the secretaries gently out and closed the door, and sat back down and said let’s get to it. And I realized, that’s "Operation Money Suck." If you are the guy who brings in the money into your business, then that’s your most important job. That’s your second most important job, your third most important job and on down the line. If you’re the guy who brings in the dough, that’s what you’ve got to be doing. Every hour you spend fixing the copier or being on the phone talking to the post office about some postage problem, that’s an hour that robs you twice. That hour is gone and you haven’t spent an hour of bringing in money."

By the way, you can listen to the recording of this call and read the transcripts at Michel's site: http://www.boostmyresponse.com

Well, Gary (and John's) point is clear enough. You need to spend your time where your time is spent best. Can you imagine a world-renowned surgeon spending time answering the phones because of hospital policy instead of in the operating room and with patients? Doesn't that just sound ludicrous? So why should it be any different for you?

So no matter your situation, be sure to spend some time each day on your marketing efforts.

And I mention marketing, because that is often the most important aspect of your business (it goes without saying that fulfillment and customer satisfaction are important too, if you want to stay in business).

But these "drips from your faucet" don't just apply to marketing. Any of your goals should be tackled a piece at a time. Each day I review my goals (whatever they are at any given moment) and do at least one or two or more things to help advance me toward those goals. It's so much easier than waiting until the last minute, where you have this huge "monster" to tackle. Isn't it easier when it resolves itself over time with a minimal of effort each day?

In fact, I used to be a big procrastinator. Last week, while on the Tactic7 call, Perry Marshall mentioned something that reminded me of how I overcame most of that procrastination. Perry mentioned that he does things every day that pushes him out of his "comfort zone." And I sort of heard bells going off in my head after he said that, because that's exactly how it was for me.

Whenever I didn't feel like doing something I know I should be doing, I realized that in order to move ahead and reach my goals, I would frequently have to temporarily get out of my own comfort zone. As Nike says, "Just do it!" (I'll bet that's one slogan you do remember!)

Excellent advice, Perry!

So dripping faucets really do fill oceans, given enough time.

You just have to take small actions that keep the drip going.