Use This Simple Model To Focus On High-Value Activities

This article is part of the?BFLG?series, where I publish performance learnings to 4,651 elite SaaS pros based on taking a nontraditional and holistic approach to strategic sales.?Subscribe here?and?follow me?to read upcoming newsletters.

?? Today’s level up ??

In this edition, you’ll learn how to apply a simple framework as a part of your strategic sales system so you can more easily focus on high value activities.

The mission:

→ Read this in <5 minutes right now

→ Understand the DEADOOPO framework immediately

→ Download the free guide to start applying this in your system tomorrow

Let’s go...

Are you really in sales?

Here’s a confession…

I never really thought of myself as a salesperson, even though for over 15 years my job description was a person who worked in sales.

Instead, I thought of myself simply as a high-achiever who happened to be in sales (and what an amazing industry it was to apply myself so I could level up my life).

Towards the end of my corporate sales career, after I got myself into an environment to work on winning deals with the world’s largest brands, I really got drawn to systems thinking and design thinking.

This new way of thinking and operating, coupled with being in the right environment, helped me to accumulate the highest portion of my wealth in just four years (75% of my total professional income came from the past four years alone).

Applying systems beats hustle and repeating the same things over and over

Back in 2007, Tim Ferris gave a speech at SXSW (before he was famous), where he spoke to thousands from the tech industry and poked holes in the pervasive hustle culture that was being touted at the time (and sadly still is). He outlined his DEAL formula, which is Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation, that makes up his bestselling book The Four-Hour Workweek.

I used this formula as a foundation, and then fleshed it out a bit further into a framework I call DEADOOPO.

After you’ve defined your personal theme (a North Star vision for yourself), use this framework.

It works like this:

What is it?

This is a freeing mental shift to go from “I have to” to “I get to.”

Once you have everything you need to do categorized, you systematically remove or assign the “have tos” and focus on the “get tos,” which further fuels the energy and excitement flywheel, providing strong momentum for yourself on the highest value activities every day.

There are 4 layers to this process: Clarify, Assign, Act, and Improve.

These are the constant motions a high-performance knowledge worker systemizes each day and then reviews and updates each week, month, and quarter.

01 Clarify

DEFINE IT

The critical pieces to define:

→ What are all the things that have to be done?

• Identify what gives you energy
• Identify what drains your energy

→ When does it need to be done?

02 Assign

ELIMINATE IT

Can you eliminate it?

→ If yes, then hit delete and forget about it

AUTOMATE IT

Can you automate it?

→ Is this repeatable?

→ What tool can you use to automate it so you don’t have to do the same thing twice? This may take additional effort and resources, so if you don’t have automation in place today, don’t just sweep it under the rug - create a project and schedule it on your calendar. The best way to do this is as follows:

• Find similar tasks that can be served by a single tool
• Research (Find the right tool)
• Implement (Learn how to use it)
• Systemize (Make it work for you)

Besides trusted tools like Zapier, I’m personally keeping my eye on a new one called Magical.

DELEGATE IT

Not appropriate for a bot? Delegate it to someone you trust who has the capacity or needs the experience to work on that type of task.

For senior SaaS sellers, this could mean inviting a senior SDR to help with progressing a deal, even in the later stages.

I did this on an account a couple years back. I invited one of our top SDRs to stay involved with the account and help open more doors strategically and set key appointments. This is normally something that would fall on my shoulders, but it was a win/win situation. He wanted experience so he could get promoted to an AE position, and I needed the help while I was working other Diamond Accounts. I was even happy to share a portion of the commissions.

OUTSOURCE IT

If you don’t want to do it and can’t eliminate it or delegate it, then can you outsource it?

→ Is there a specialist better suited to handle this?

• Research
• Hire
• Educate
• Systemize

03 Act

OBLIGATED TO IT

Anything that you have to do that doesn’t meet the filter above and doesn’t align to your personal theme, then it becomes a part of your obligation to do list (i.e. prepare taxes, respond to a key client email, organize your closet, etc.).

→ Apply the 2 minute rule- If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it right now. This frees up your TEA (Time, Energy, & Attention) on the more high-leverage stuff and clears out your inbox quickly, boosting dopamine and energy.

→ Add it to your calendar during low energy dip times if there is not a fixed time associated with it.

→ Pair it with a “level up” activity (i.e. clear out the garage while listening to that podcast episode you’ve been putting off). This will enhance the activity ensuring a higher likelihood of completing it and enjoying it.

→ Use the Pomodoro Technique on longer tasks. This will help you to focus and tap into flow state, enhancing your mood and improving the quality of your work.

→ Take 4 deep breaths, and then calm your mind and ask yourself “How can I view this action with more purpose?” With more of the mundane tasks taken off of your plate above in layer 2, you now will have a little more TEA capacity, and you may just surprise yourself that what was once a slog becomes enjoyable, and you unlock better outcomes than had you mindlessly sped through it in a frantic and reactive work mode.

PRIORITIZE IT

Anything left over at this point now needs to be prioritized (these should only be the things that need your time, drive up your energy, and requires your full attention to get you one big step closer to your North Star vision):

→ Stack rank these remaining tasks and schedule them during your peak energy state times.

→ For recurring tasks on a key project (i.e. an account plan), systemize it into your Daily Start Routine and do that as your MIT (Most Important Task) before giving your TEA away to others.

→ Use the Pomodoro Technique on longer tasks to get the benefits mentioned above. If you’re in the zone and feeling it with no other scheduled obligations on the calendar, double down and keep going! This is your natural “GPS” saying your TEA is full and it’s ready to be consumed on the right things. This is the type of work you want to be doing as often and as long as possible every day.

• Bonus: Gamify it by rewarding yourself with a win streak (i.e. 21 days in a row of completing an MIT) or completing it before a certain time (i.e. before your first meeting in the morning). Use Thrive Space to track your progress.

04 Improve

OPTIMIZE IT

Once you find the key things that move you closer to success and satisfaction on your terms quickly and often, then you can figure out ways to optimize it. How can you get 1% better at it? This applies to anything (professional and personal), especially the big things you need to repeat to be top of your craft in work and fully fulfilled in life - writing, nutrition, working out, email campaigns, sales strategies, etc.

As your life and priorities change, your system should evolve seamlessly with it.

TL;DR

• 01 Clarify: Define everything you need to do
• 02 Assign: Eliminate, Automate, Delegate, or Outsource the stuff you “have to do”
• 03 Act: Obligated to the leftovers and Prioritize the high-value “get to dos”

04 Improve: Optimize the repeatable things that make you #1 in your craft

• Download the complete guide for help and tools

See you next time!

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