Posted on August 20, 2019 by dragonspitapothecary
If you think an IPA of your small business is what you see below then that may be why you’re not seeing much ROI on your small business. Read on to help get that corrected so that after you have a strong IPA in your small business you can enjoy one in a glass at the end of the day.
How do you measure a day’s success? Did you crush your goals? Did you make a sale? The things we do that equate to us calling a day successful in our small business matter. These actions both small and large all generate results in the form of sales volume, new leads and staying open another day. For a small business, especially a new business, measuring each day’s success sometimes means measuring it by the hour or half day.
To have a chance at calling today in your small business a success you have to start with some strong and consistent Income Producing Activities (IPAs). It takes a lot of discipline to be in business for yourself, especially a small business that is based on a direct marketing company. Every detail, decision and result is on us. It’s super easy to get distracted on things like scrolling social media, getting lost in group discussions, organizing our supplies, taking inventory of what we have on hand and being ready. These activities however are not going to make us money. IPAs are the direct actions you can take to generate sales. This includes things like contacting a customer who hasn’t ordered in a while, scheduling a class to teach and of course helping a new customer get their first order in.
If you want to be in a small business you need to know what IPAs are necessary and vital for your business to stay open. You also need to know how to do those activities consistently and with full focus. Here are some lesser known IPAs to consider:
Social Media Posting
Social media can easily, way too easily become a mindless scrolling, liking and commenting time waster. It can also depending on how it’s done not actually be a IPA. If you have a social media strategy in your small business you need to be focused, stay on task and know exactly what you are doing, when you are doing it and why you are doing it when it comes to social media being considered an IPA.
When you use the Internet, social media or other online resource for your small business be specific on what you are doing, how long it takes and what your return on investment (ROI) in both terms of time and money are for that activity. For example, posting a Facebook at for $20 takes time to create and edit the ad and copy, determine your desired market reach and duration of the ad. This is a targeted IPA activity that if you get traffic to your page that converts to a sale is super fantastic as an IPA.
You need to rule social media and not let it dominate you.
Content
Planning, drafting and managing this blog is sometimes a big job. It takes time to plan themes, research topics and collect facts, draft the posts, edit and schedule everything so it can be produced and readable for you. I love this work and wish some days I had even more time to work on something that’s really churning in my mind for a post. However, for almost 2 years I have been able to post daily blog articles to you by sticking to a routine of using time blocking in my week to put together each month’s blog posts.
In your small business time blocking is critical. You have to stick to a schedule and use your time wisely to maximize the opportunity to get that activity completed and move on to the next thing that needs to be done. If you are still working a 9 to 5 job and running a direct marketing company you have to learn to do this very, very well. When I write my blog I know I have exactly one hour or less to put together a post when it’s ready to be drafted. That means all of my research is done, my outline of the topic is done and every detail I need is at my fingertips so I can sit down and pour out that post in one sitting. I would not be able to do that if I wasn’t organized and focused each time I set at my keyboard.
The same goes for classes you teach in person or online, meetings with prospects and customers, outreach messaging, and every piece of communication you generate. Get to the point things are scripted for easy use and organized so you can use your time to maximize output. Like social media organization, focus and mindset can make or break if content creation is an IPA for your business or not.
Prospecting
Making a list is not an IPA – even when that list is a names list of potential people to contact. What is an IPA is the actual phone call, text, meeting, and conversation that occurs by acting on that names list. That is a definite difference in terms of results.
Making contacts can be the hardest part of the business but without that steady stream of incoming new prospects you don’t have a business. Prospecting is not a fun activity because it makes us vulnerable, we stutter and we put it off because it can feel awkward. I always tell myself if it feels awkward then I’ve not done a good job preparing. It doesn’t mean it won’t feel uncomfortable or that I won’t be a little scared of being rejected but if I feel awkward and like I don’t know what I’m talking about any hope of that person opening their pocketbook to buy from me isn’t going to happen.
Use every opportunity you have in meeting new people to build up the confidence of introducing yourself, making a connection, shaking their hand and starting a conversation. Doing this over and over again makes it easier to talk to strangers and build up to sharing what you do for a living (your small business not your 9 to 5) and how you can help them! I know all my introverted friends just backed 5 steps away at the thought of talking to a stranger but trust me it’s not that bad. You have to put on your game face and go into those encounters with confidence even if you feel like running away.
Interested in more?
Not everyone who breaths is your customer or the person who needs to join your team. Learning how to define and apply meaningful IPAs against the description and vision of your ideal customer is how you get a strong idea of how to move your business forward. That means you have to get serious about being focused, more organized than you have ever been in your life and dedicated to learning to overcome things that feel awkward at first. Developing that long haul vision helps you take the actions you need to plan and put into place consistent solid IPAs. It’s all just paper and talk until you put it into an IPA.
If you have questions or need help please reach out! I’m happy to answer questions or provide information to help you decide if doTERRA is the right fit for you.
To start your own small business with doTERRA while enjoying the support of a loving and collaborative peer team then you need to get one of our incredible business packs! These packs have all you need to start your business and get it fast tracked to success! Click here to get started!
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