subject: To Increase Clients, Focus On Time Management [print this page] To increase clients while keeping your business profitable, learn to connect with people but always set a time limit. I learned this from an insurance agent named W. Clement Stone. This man sold 122 policies in one day. I cant even imagine how you even visit with 122 people a day, but he sold 122 policies. In his first year he averaged 44 policies sold in a day. He started out in his career selling a lot less. He identified that he wasnt selling as much as he could be because he spent too much time with any one person. So he determined that to get more business, he would reduce the amount of time he spent connecting with each person and connect with more people. Thats simple math, right?
Have you have ever sat down with a person who is willing to take two hours of your time, and when you get through that two hours you think, Wow that was not a good use of my time? This is not how to increase clients efficiently. Put a time limit on connecting with the people that you want to connect with and youll get more business in less time.
Take a big picture approach to time management. What do you desire to achieve in your life? Focus your attention, time and efforts toward things that enable you to gain knowledge and education and become more focused as an expert in your field. What do you need to focus on to become better in your life? Do you need to focus on learning how to get referrals, get more business or on how to really make your business profitable? Write down one thing you know that if you were to focus on it that it would make you a greater expert in what you desire to achieve.
Now, think about the one thing you need to improve in your life that if you improved it, it would make a substantial return in your life. What W. Clement Stone realized is that if he wanted to get more business in a short amount of time, he had to perfect his presentations. Anything at all that he was going to present, he wanted it to be prepared and rehearsed to a science. He knew what he was going to say and if somebody else said something to him in the form of an objection he would be able to answer it without skipping a beat.
Do you need to work on your presentation? What about a script to get referrals? Determine what you need to improve and then go for it. Go all out. One of my favorite statements that a coach of mine used to say to me is, Go big or go home. When you focus and take action, spending your time on the things that allow you to be better at what you do, in a short amount of time youll increase clients and make your business profitable.
