Boost Your Motivation with Small Victories

Take Your To-do List With You

But, what about when you’re on the go? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a presorted list of things that require your attention – but don’t require the full office environment? Whether waiting for your car to get new tires or standing in line at the BMV, there always seem to be moments when you could squeeze out a bit more productivity.

Insightly can help you achieve this goal of enhanced non-desk output. To get started, follow these steps:

1. Download the Insightly smartphone app here and open it.
2. Tap on the “Tasks” option from the app’s menu to view all of your pending to-dos. (If you’ve never created an Insightly task, there’s never a better moment than now!)
3. For additional filtering, consider setting up an Insightly “Project” called “Away” or “Brainstorm.”
4. Link your new project to tasks that could be completed outside the office. (Note: Tasks can be linked to more than one project.)
5. Now, any time you’re on the go, you have access to a list of to-dos that can easily become “to-done.”

Important Note: Obviously, distracted driving is never a good idea. Wait until you get to the BMV before using this feature.

Get More Involved with Blogging

Your marketing manager is always pestering you to get more involved in the company’s content production. Like anything else, you’re a busy person and have little room for new projects.

As has been well documented, blogging is a very effective way to generate traffic to your organization’s website. Search engines love it when you provide helpful, engaging information online. And, unlike paid advertising, a single article can generate leads for years after it has been published.

So, how can you get more involved with blogging – without draining too much of your time? Here are a few ideas:

• Look in your “sent” email box for customer exchanges that could be repurposed into articles.
• When talking to satisfied clients, ask if they would let your marketing team do a brief interview.
• Record voice notes while on the go and forward them to your marketing manager for transcription and further cultivation.
• If you use a support ticketing system, look for common questions and answers to reuse.
• Forward sales and support documentation to your marketing team to spin into lead-generating content.
• Ask your vendors or other industry partners if they would like to submit articles.

As you can see, in many cases, you won’t even have to do the writing yourself. Your staff is simply looking for help to get the ball rolling.

Take a more proactive role in your company’s content marketing today – and reap the benefits in the future!

Boost Your Motivation with Small Victories

We’ve all been there. It’s Tuesday, and you’re not feeling much more motivated than you did on Monday. Despite your best efforts, nothing on your to-do list seems to really stand out as particularly interesting.

What should you do?

On days like this, it can sometimes help to look for small victories. For example, let’s say you really need to get started on a big presentation. It’s due by the close of business, but you just can’t get moving on it. Rather than staring at a blank presentation deck for thirty minutes, put the project aside and find something “bite-sized” to do. Examples on your task list might include:

• Sending an invoice
• Answering a customer’s email
• Pulling a report from Insightly
• Following up with a colleague on a project’s status
• Reviewing the day’s new leads
• Finishing your expense report

By checking a few easy things off your list, you might get the momentum you need to tackle a much more complex project.

Automate Your Sales Teams Monthly Tasks

Effective sales reps do whatever it takes to make the deal happen. For this reason, many business owners give their sales teams significant latitude in defining their own work schedules.

There’s nothing wrong with providing a flexible work environment. However, you also have to ensure basic responsibilities are being met. As a business owner, how can you strike this balance?

Using recurring tasks can be a nonintrusive way to remind sales staff of their ongoing duties. Here are a few common examples you might enable for you sales staff:

Turn in Expense Reports – Sales reps do more traveling than most employees. As a result, your accounting department may exert considerable effort simply reminding sales staff to submit timely expense reports. Automate this process by assigning a monthly reminder for each rep.

Confirm Revenue Projections & Probability – Your forecast is only as good as your pipeline’s accuracy. Expected revenue is typically based on opportunity value and probability, so having your sales reps regularly confirm data integrity can be worthwhile.

Circle Back to Stale Clients – Deals go cold for a variety of reasons. Some are no longer interested, but others might just be playing hard to get. Set a task so that your team allocates adequate time to stale opportunities.

Do Outbound Cold Calling – If your organization does cold calling, it’s wise to prompt your reps to make time for it. The natural tendency is to focus on “hot leads” rather than sludge through a list of hang ups and rejections. A friendly reminder can ease this tension.