You are excited, it's a new business day! You glance at your business plan on the pin board in front of you. A shiver of excitement races up your spine as you think of your business potential. Just 8 hours a day on this plan will mean a better life for you and your family, all within 2 years. Then the phone rings?



It's a customer! They are enquiring about that widget they bought from you yesterday.

Will it do x and y?

So you explain that it will do x and y. And because you are focused on providing the ultimate customer service, you talk them through the steps on the phone. After all you need to go the extra mile, don't you?

You hang up and think "Another satisfied customer, but I wished they had read the owners manual before calling me!" You glance at your watch, then look at your diary and realize you are an hour behind schedule. Then there is a knock on the door?

Sound like your typical day? Full of unscheduled interruptions, and at the end of the day wondering where all the time has gone? You only managed to complete 10% of the stuff on your to-do list today?

So do you take yesterday's unfinished business and add it to today's business? Or just cross it off in your diary and try and catch up next week?

It's easy to get overwhelmed when this happens! The important stuff never gets done because you are constantly trying to deal with all the little stuff. We all know it's important to provide the best customer service, but taking on these interruptions in the belief that it will result in more referrals in the future, is a recipe for disaster.

Business is a numbers game. If your bottom line is not healthy, there will be a greater temptation to go and do something that has a healthier bottom line. You will lose the drive, the passion, it will become too hard.

If your daily activities are not constantly growing your new enquiries, improving your sales conversion rate, growing your transaction size and increasing the customer buying frequency, you will have an unhealthy bottom line, lose interest and give up!

As harsh as it sounds, it's reality!

And it all comes down to the enforcement of your sensible time management. We all know there will always be interruptions and your time management should allow for those, within reason.

So how do you avoid the biggest killer of your business profits?

1) Plan your week before it starts. Block out your focused hours for marketing, research, administration, business planning, etc. But also allow limited time, to deal with interruptions and urgent matters, although these should be kept to an absolute minimum. Your business must run like a well oiled machine with no unexpected breakdowns.

2) Tell everyone around you, (yes, even your customers) when you are available and when you are not available. Remember, scarcity is a powerful marketing tool. Make yourself scarce.

3) Keep a record of all the interruptions and make it your goal to completely eliminate them by improving owner manuals, having an online manual with a frequently asked question area, changing systems or forms. You will notice a common thread with your interruptions and eventually you will be able to reduce them to a bare minimum.

4) Always plan any meetings for the end of the day. Meetings have a horrible habit of taking longer than they should. By scheduling them for the end of the day they will become focused and to the point, as everyone is keen to go home.

5) Remove the "I'm always available" sign. In this world of mobile phones and technology, customers believe that business owners should always be available to take their call or answer their email. If you decide to take every call or answer every email the moment it arrives, your business will suffer. Use voicemail and answer emails in a focused hour once per day.

Remember scarcity? You are not available immediately because you are busy. You are busy because you provide a quality product or service and are building a better business, which will benefit the customers and you. Scarcity works!