I believe in delegation; it’s critical for success and I have learned some lessons as a leader and business owner over the years! Here are some tips to think about when you delegate:
1-delegate to people that can create and think. Honestly, if you have to do all the thinking and creating, then you are pretty much doing the work! If you can hand off a project on a high level with clear expectations to someone that can take initiative, problem solve, and create and think for you- BAM!
2-hire people by the project, not the hour. I hire by the project. I always felt cheated when I hired by the hour. We always know we can do it faster, better, quicker, easier ourselves, right? That’s the whole thing about delegation. And if I thought to myself I could do it in 30 minutes and they charge me an hour‑and-a-half or two hours for it, it’s like “Dang!” There’s that feeling in the back of your head and yeah, it doesn’t feel good. People get better over time. They get faster at it. It takes so much time to do it but I’ve just learned that when I say to people, “This is the project. I’m willing to pay you this much a week or this much a month to do it. And whether it takes you 25 hours or whether it takes you five, I’m going to pay you the same.” And what I have found is that motivates people to get smart fast versus just do the work.
3-REPLACE the time you took doing that project with something new that will help increase revenue into your business.Is it a new program for customers to buy? Maybe you need to spend more time marketing? Whatever it is, don’t just sit and “watch” them doing it.
Most of my clients that are “stuck” bringing in more money to their business are not delegating. Is it time for you?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I think the hardest part with marketing is if you are your brand in your business and people are deciding whether or not they’re going to hire you, you need to be a part of your marketing. Your voice has to be there. And if you outsource that, you’re most likely going to find that it’s not your voice.
For example, I worked with a corporate client who did that. They priced out and found somebody that would write their blogs for $1500 a month and would post three blogs a week. What that “blogging company” was doing was going out and based on what my client sells, searched for other content that was like it and re purposed it. My client ended up frustrated because it really wasn’t them. It wasn’t their voice and I said, “Well, you’re not involved. And it’s not your voice.” Even great companies I work with make sure to develop a vision and values system that creates a common voice, that supports their brand. Even when I hire people, I look for people that energetically align with my brand, my voice.
Another example: I know an entrepreneur that’s involved in sales and I actually was watching her on Facebook and Twitter one day and I finally called her because we’ve known each other for years and I said, “You are not posting. You’ve outsourced your Facebook and your Twitter.” And she said, “How did you know that?” I said, “I know you. That’s not your voice. It’s not your voice.” She goes, “Oh my God, are you serious?” Imagine the disconnect, right? If somebody is watching your marketing and then wants to hire what they see, and what they hear, and what they feel they’re connecting to and suddenly, when they call to hire you, you are somehow different.
I really believe that marketing is a part that I have to be involved in because as a service provider, people are hiring me. There truly is power in your voice!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I find that the more power I give to what others think, the more I lose myself. When I am truly me in heart and spirit my tribe surrounds me. Supports me. Creates the womb that keeps me going.
Being in the social space as much as I am makes it easy to question myself. That’s why I must retreat. To find me. To keep me strong. To nurture what makes me who I am. To shed away the gunk that others energetically project into who they think I should be.
You deserve the same.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Online Reputation Management– a hot topic these days. If you aren’t a part of the conversation, then you can’t manage it- I get that. BUT Online Reputation Management is also about being able to FIND what people are saying about you when they don’t notify you. Easy for blog posts and website through Google Alerts. A piece of cake on Twitter with searches. But Facebook? It seems that if they don’t TAG or post to your page, you don’t know.
There is actually a way to know if someone talks about your business on facebook! Since not everyone will TAG or post to your fan page wall, it’s important to know if your business name is typed into a post on facebook so that you can manage the conversation! A community page will pull any content that uses your business name! What? How? Watch this video for details:
Create your community page by editing your profile and where you work. Make sure you use the name of your business that people use -this will create that page and up the searches. Check it once or twice a week. I love that I am able to be a part of conversations that people don’t think I see!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Do you take action? I have been blown away by the number of people I have seen that have invested good money on a class, webinar or seminar and did not attend, or fully take advantage of the investment. As I thought about it I realized that it probably happens in other areas of their lives too – gym memberships unused, books never read, technology and tools never fully utilized. Is it possible that these people are attracted to something, but not acting on what that thing is? Are they wanting a certain lifestyle and not doing the work it takes to make it happen?
I once did a video about anything worth having is worth working on. Nobody said it was easy. But so many seem to fall for “the quick fix” the “simple plan”. What they forget is that the fix and the plan require you work on them. The funny thing for me is these are often people that are claiming they are broke- but there goes another $197 on a webinar!
I can’t make you put in the work, actually no one can- but you.
I bet there is one thing you should probably go back and work on huh?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
