Making the best of your time

One of the things I get asked a great deal is : how can i make the best use of my time when building my business?.

Now that is a question that is a very difficult one to answer, as there are no definitively right or wrong answers. However if your business involves building relationships with other business owners who you are considering dealing with, then I would like to share something I was taught quite some time ago.

If you are indeed looking to build and then consolidate relationships with others, then there are at least 5 stages of the day, where you can be active, where you might not necessarily have considered being available.

Breakfast

Mid morning

Lunchtime

Mid afternoon

Dinner time

I was lucky enough to have been mentored by someone many years ago who introduced this idea to me. At the time I wanted the three main mealtimes to myself or my family. Now let me say that there is nothing wrong to take this time and spending with your family, or other "me time" activities.

BUT if you are also looking to develop your business then why not plan your week around having at least ( as a minimum) one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner with a potential referral partner or even a current one. It has been proven that these meetings are very successful in building the relationship your are looking to build and a referral will generally quickly follow.

One mortgage broker I have known for the past 25 years starts his day very early with a morning breakfast meeting 6 days a week. No wonder he is very successful and has a huge following in his areas of influence!.

Think of it this way, just about everyone stops to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, so why not use that time wisely and build your relationships, it just might take your business to the levels you are dreaming of. The mid morning coffee break and the mid afternoon break can be just as profitable.

If this concept is new to you then set up a basic minimum of meeting one person over at least one of these meal breaks per week. So thats 3 people per week! Plan to do this over the next 6 months.

You will find that the relaxed atmosphere over a meal is always greatly conducive to sharing, sharing thoughts, ideas, plans, hopes and dreams.This can be a great opportunity to just compare notes and discuss whats been happening in and out of the business realm, while at the same time talking about some of the great things you've been doing for your clients.

So start planning for this RIGHT NOW, make it a habit, no excuses. Doing this will build the foundations for your relationships to strengthen and for your business to grow.