How do you prioritise your business activity? It can be overwhelming focusing on marketing your products, growing your network and developing your team. We know that each part of the development process is important, but surely some should take priority. This is where the traffic light system comes into play.
It’s a pretty simple structure relating to income producing activity. Red activities are the little things you need to do, but don’t generate any income on their own. Yellow activities set you up for making money, but are just one step away. Green activities directly ask for a sale and convert into solid income.
Red
What activities can we consider to be red? These are the ones that we need to do to support the growth of our business, but that are far from making any money. This could be something such as writing a blog post. Sure, they provide information and help to position you in the market, but they don’t generate any income on their own. They act as a building block in the money making process.
Yellow
Now we’re getting slightly closer. Yellow activities are the next step up in the process. Think growing your network and generating leads. To build a business, you need people to help. This is also the point where you begin to add value to your network. Offering free content can help to establish you as an expert and showcase your knowledge. Don’t give too much away. Free is the enemy of success.
Green
This is where we start to make money. Green activities are conversion ones; the ones where we ask for the sale. These include active marketing and calls to action. We can begin to create sales funnels and social media ads. By this point you already have a tribe and are ready to provide them with what they need. Asking for a sale doesn’t mean spewing your business all over your connections. You need to show them exactly what you can do for them and tell them how.
When starting out in your business, your focus is likely to be on red and yellow activities. As you begin to grow, this should shift to yellow and green. Of course, the red activity will always continue but, as they don’t generate any income, they should be low on your priority list. The real challenge is putting each activity into the correct category.
Think about how each of your regular activities benefit you, and which ones are income producing. Your green activities should be high priority and the main focus for your day. What do you do to generate sales in your business?