Eat the Frog, and Other Ways to Execute On Your Business Plan

A common obstacle many of the clients at MBT face is time or the perception of time. “There are not enough hours in my day to do business development!” Or, “How can I use my business development time most efficiently so I get the biggest ROI (Return on Investment)?” Clients share their thoughts about how time is an obstacle in many different ways.

But is time an obstacle? Or is it the perception of time and the perception of the value of an activity that creates the obstacle?

When I work with clients, we discover their strengths and what ways are best to capitalize on those strengths. Clients need to feel authentic while furthering business relationships and developing business contacts. They tell me that.

As we sort through the need for authenticity and the value of the bus dev activities, we realize that some activities may not be their favorites, and those actions are necessary to develop business. So, they must be accomplished.

Mark Twain said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” My clients decide which bus dev activity they dislike the most, and plan to “eat the frog” first thing in the morning. Then, they can relax into the rest of their day and know they made some progress.

There are as many likes and dislikes of bus dev activities as there are different types of people. Here are some examples of the “frog” according to my clients:

• Asking a friend to talk about business.
• Attending a networking event.
• Talking to a client about a new service they may need.
• Asking for feedback.
• Writing an article or a presentation.
• Connecting with a new contact via LinkedIn.
• Giving a price quote.

In some instances, eating the frog may mean setting up a meeting rather than completing the full activity. For example, a feedback session can be requested and scheduled first thing in the morning, and occur at a later date. At least the asking was completed!

What about you? What is your “frog”? You can drill down to find out by following these steps.

1. Make two lists.
2. On the first list, write down the times you are the happiest when developing business relationships.
3. On the second list, write down when you are most uncomfortable developing those relationships.
4. Look at your goals (see The Beauty of the Blank Notebook post). Which activities are essential to achieving your goals?
5. Plan to execute on your plan in a way that creates balance for you.
6. Execute.

Every day, Eat the frog.  (For example: Ask for Feedback.) Then reward yourself. (For example: Have coffee with a contact you enjoy.)

For more information contact Mary Balistreri, The Mindful Business Coach at mary@mbtmorebusinesstodayllc.com