Consider these ideas to gain greater success:
- Define success for you lawn care business. You can’t tell if you’re focused on the right things if you don’t even know what you’re trying to accomplish. Think about what success means to you. How will you know when you’ve succeeded? Is it 500 customers or 2,000 customers? Is it 30% profit? Once you know the destination, the path becomes more defined.
- Determine the most important actions. Using your definition of success, what are the most important steps along the way? Make a list. Ignore whether or not the activity is enjoyable. That’s not what’s important. What activities are the most relevant to your desired result? Do you have a system set up that everyone in your business knows?
- Ask yourself, “What do I gain by doing this?” Before you undertake any action related to your goals, ask yourself, “What do I gain by doing this?” What is the outcome you can reasonably expect to attain by taking this course of action? Is that the best use of your time?
- Identify the things that aren’t adding value. Look at your current tendencies and habits. Which ones are a waste of your time? We all have things we do habitually that aren’t the most effective use of our time. Examine your daily routines and eliminate those actions that don’t support any of your goals.
- Overcome internal resistance. The things that matter the most are frequently the least comfortable things. You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you need to do something you really don’t want to do? Do you have a fear of failure? Check out this article for help with fear of failure. The ability to act in spite of that feeling is critical to being highly successful.
- Identify distractions. Distractions are often those things we like to do, but don’t move us toward success. Some are pure time wasters, like watching TV. Others are thinly disguised as productive, but you know in your heart they aren’t. Redirect your attention to more productive activities.
- Measure how much time you spend on the important tasks. You might be surprised how little time you actually spend on those tasks. If you can learn to divide your tasks in to 4 quadrants of important-urgent, important-non-urgent, not important-urgent, and not important and not-urgent this can help with time management. Watching tv would be a good example of not important and not urgent.
For example, one of the best ways to sell services is to call customers and talk to them about issues noted by tech that have been on the lawn. This will always bring in more money. Of course, many people find it so uncomfortable, they won’t do it. You have to prepare for rejection.
Even if you made 10 calls each day, that’s only about 10 minutes of your time. It seems like a lot of work, but it’s only 10 minutes. 10 calls would probably bring 7 sales, which could amount to a lot more money coming in each day.
How much time are you really spending on the “right” things in order to be successful?
How much time are you spending on the most important tasks to improve your life or reach your goals? Most of us spend a lot less than we think.
Be aware of how you’re spending your time each day. Examine each thing you do and ask yourself if that is the best use of your time. Separate your to-do list and you’ll quickly separate yourself from the pack.