BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Time

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips, Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, today’s topic is the value of time.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:09] Yeah, it’s funny how people value their money more than they value their time, even though you can make more money, but you can’t make more time. I was talking to a friend of mine and they were so proud that they drove across town to save 10 cents a gallon on their gas. But at the same time, they’re telling me how they wasted half the day on social media, you know, because some guy was trolling something about something that they had no control over, but they were got kind of absorbed in this drama.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] And it was funny to me that this person’s hourly rate is a lot, and he didn’t take that into consideration. So he doesn’t take it into consideration when it comes to driving across town, doesn’t take it into consideration in terms of how much time he’s wasting on social media and something that isn’t moving the needle in his business.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] I think that it’s important to just become aware of whatever your hourly rate is and then just hold things accountable to that and go, is this worth this amount of money to be doing this activity? And if the activity can be done for less than the hourly rate, delegate it to someone else.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:24] And if you spend more time doing what you do best, you’re going to grow your business and you’re going to eliminate a lot of stress. So focus on the most important things and make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to your time, because if you don’t value your time, then no one else will.

BRX Pro Tip: 3 Areas to Work On Each Week

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I know there are all kinds of activity strategies, processes that we can and should be employing. But let’s boil it down, what are three activities that we should be working on every week?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:20] To me, the three big buckets that you should be always working on are, number one, increasing revenue. What are you doing this week that’s going to, you know, add more revenue to the bottom line? Number two, is there anything you could be doing to reduce costs? Is there anything out there that you can trim and prune? There’s always activities that aren’t paying off, so really audit the work that you’re doing and see if you can reduce costs anywhere.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] And thirdly, and probably most importantly, come up with ways that makes life better for your clients, your employees, your partners. If you can invest some time in making the life better for your clients, your employees, and your partners, then that should help you increase revenue. And if you do it well, that should help you reduce kind of extra costs.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] So, if you can move the needle in these three areas even just a little bit each week, you will be building a successful organization. These are the priorities that, I think, that leaders should be spending their time on. Putting more time in the calendar each week to focus on all of these areas would be optimal, at least one of these areas at the minimum. But try to focus in all three each week and you will move the needle, you will grow your business.

BRX Pro Tip: Are You Being Reactive or Proactive?

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, a question I know I often have to try to ask myself, am I being reactive or proactive?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Well, an easy way to tell if you’re being reactive or proactive is just kind of analyze each of your days. Like, how much of your day is spent reacting to events that are happening to you? Or are you kind of blocking time and taking time to take action proactively?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:30] Like, prospecting is an easy example of this. Prospecting doesn’t happen by itself. I guess, in our situation – and sometimes it is – because PR people are always sending us kind of guests for our show, so it’s easy to say, “Oh, I’m prospecting because these people are coming into my funnel and getting on my calendar.” But are they the right people? Are they turning into sales? Are they turning into prospects? Things like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] If you’re doing it with intentionality and you’re doing it kind of with the system, then you should be getting the right types of prospects. You should be asking people for sales. You should be interviewing people who are potentially new partners or new hires, people that are going to move the needle in your business. So, every day, you’ve got to make sure you’re spending some time proactively making something happen that’s going to move the needle in your business, because if you don’t, then the needle will not move in your business.

BRX Pro Tip: Beef Up Your Social Proof

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you this afternoon. Lee, I think one of the things that we can do that get some results fast is if we invest the time and energy to beef up our social proof.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:19] Right. In professional services, especially, having social proof is critical in the buying decision of your prospect. They’re checking you out. They want to know that whatever you’re selling is working for somebody. So, the more energy and more kind of proof you have to other people that what you do works and it helps people, the better.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:42] You can’t have too much social proof. You can’t have too many testimonials. You can’t have too many case studies and too many success stories. It’s impossible. The more you have, the better. So, because of that, it’s important to invest time every week, every month on getting more of these things. Find people that you’ve helped. Get them to, you know, write something about how you helped them, to record something about how you helped them, but something that proves to other people that what you do works.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:12] So, you cannot invest too much time, in my opinion, in this area, and it should be part of your weekly activities. Persuasive social proof lets your prospective client know what you can do, how you have successfully solved other people’s problems. And that, ultimately, lets them know that your service works and it’s a safe choice for them to make. Nobody wants to take any risk if they don’t have to. And this kind of alleviate some of their fear when it comes to a buying decision. So, more social proof, the better.

BRX Pro Tip: How to Move from Idea to Execution

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you this morning. Lee, let’s get kind of tactical for a moment. How do you move from idea to execution?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Yeah. This is for all those idea people out there, you know, the ones that have millions of great ideas, but they never seem to get any of those into the execution stage. The first thing to do if you’re that idea person is just start an idea folder. And this folder can be in real life, it could be digital, and this is a place where you can capture all these great ideas. This way, you don’t have to worry about forgetting them because that’s one of those things where everybody’s like, “Oh, I had that idea 10 years ago.” It’s like, “Okay, now you have a place to put all your great ideas and you can keep them in there.”

Lee Kantor: [00:00:49] Then, what I want you to do is once you have this idea folder, I want you to block time on your calendar because we’ve already established how important calendars are. And if this is really important to you to execute some of these great ideas, we’re going to put it on the calendar and we’re going to really make it a priority.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:05] So, every month, I want you to block time on your calendar to assess those ideas. And this is how you’re going to do that. You’re going to put every one of those ideas and they’re going to fall into one of the three categories. One, do this now. This thing is too great of an idea. I am going to do this now.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:24] Two, delete it. This is stupid idea. You know, I thought about it. This is not worth my time. I’m getting out of here.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:31] Three, you know what? This is a great idea, but I’m not the right person to execute this. I’m going to delegate this to somebody else.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:38] And if you have a fourth area that you’re not sure of, well then you’re going to just leave it in the folder till next month. We’re going to kick the can down the road when it comes to those.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:46] But if you take action on your ideas more systematically, you’re going to feel less stressed about them. You’re going to feel less stress about, “Oh, I’m missing an opportunity. Oh, oh, if I would have done this, then things would have been different.”

Lee Kantor: [00:01:58] You’ve got to get rid of all of that stress and that anxiety. And this is a simple system to get those kind of back burner ideas that you’ve had that you dreamed of, you wish you could do, into the front burner and then just try them. And that hey, maybe this is going to accelerate the growth of your business. Hey, maybe this is going to free up more time for you to do other things, or you’re going to see that some of those great ideas are great ideas and it’s going to really kind of change the trajectory of your business, or you’re going to feel a lot better because you’re like, “Oh, all those ideas, I’ve tried them. And, you know, look, I’m not even thinking about them anymore. Now it’s opening up my brain for lots more new ideas.”

Lee Kantor: [00:02:36] So, having a system to move those ideas from idea to execution is critical, and this little system will help you hopefully do that. And, it’ll help you get those ideas out of your head and into the real world and see if they are really great ideas.

 

BRX Pro Tip: Other People’s Problems are Your Opportunity

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And, we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, I don’t know, I think this may be the master key to the whole thing. If we can just recognize and remain aware that other people’s problems, they’re our opportunity.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:20] Yeah. The reframing of problems and frustrations is critical for any entrepreneur, because the more you hear about people struggling or frustrated about certain things, your brain should be kind of firing and saying, “Okay, if they’re really struggling in this area, is this something that’s just them, or is this something that other people are struggling with? And is there a way that I can kind of tweak my service and my offering in order to help them solve this problem?”

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] I mean, your job as an entrepreneur is to solve other people’s problems. Their problems are your opportunity. Their moments of struggle are your opportunity. When your prospect expresses frustration and is struggling with something, this is an opportunity for you to sell somebody something.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:04] So, helping other people get over these hurdles and overcome these struggles is exactly how service providers make sales. So, pay attention to your client’s and prospect’s problem, then try to help them solve them. That is just kind of the basics of being an entrepreneur, especially in professional services. That’s your job is have your ears open and listening for other people’s frustrations and struggles so you can help them solve those problems. You’re a problem solver. You’re not a salesperson. You’re a problem solver. And if you can solve their problem, the sales are going to come.