Now this weeks question comes from Peter who writes:
“I work as an independent recruiter and my cash flow is really low at the moment which means that I have an urgent need for immediate results. So I’m spending my time working on jobs that are not in my niche area because I need to get the results quickly, but I’m finding I’m spending loads of time on these one off jobs that I’m not building my business and I’m finding the work really unproductive. How can I stop this so that I can create more time and get better results?”
Don’t Do Any More Business Development Until You READ THIS First!
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Well Peter, I think you’ll agree that the problem here is not a time management problem or a client problem, but a psychological one – so I want to share with you a few things on the subject of getting results quickly AND building the right type of business.
Firstly this problem happens in with many people, so you are not alone.
The need to get results quickly, creates a certain level of desperation which is the least likely behavior for you to get the results you want because it drives other un-useful behaviours like grabbing at anything and everything, procrastination.
The problem with this approach is that it is not going to get you the results that you want. It will get you a set of results – which may give you a sense of security that you are working jobs – however the reality here is that it’s a false sense of security – because you are more than likely to be working jobs that you are never going to fill, or that are so much harder to fill that they will waste your valuable time. Or you start to cut corners to get quick results which means that you miss asking the important questions in the recruitment process that means the candidate doesn’t take the job or you have to reduce your fees and are not paid for your service.
So firstly – Know that you are in control of how you chose to react to this situation – and you can chose a way to react that is far more useful and resourceful for yourself.
Also remember that the bigger the breakdown the bigger the break through and that there are many different options for you – first step is to get clear on what to start doing and what to stop doing.
One way to do this is to get really clear about what you specifically want to happen and where you need to focus your effort and attention.
A really powerful and simple exercise I to do with myself and others who are experiencing this is an exercise called the Results Switch and this is how to do it:
1st – Get a blank piece of paper and find a quiet space where you will not be interrupted.
Then brain dump everything that is on your mind that is worrying you, stressing you out, not working or a challenge for you – keep writing until everything is out of your head and onto paper. Leave about 5 lines free in between each item.
Then the 2nd step – go back up to the first item and say to yourself – I know this is what I don’t want, what do I want to happen instead?
Write down what you want to happen instead. Making sure it is positively stated and specific.
i.e. if you are working on jobs you find really difficult to fill, you would write – working on 2 or 3 jobs that I know I can fill quickly and easily.
Work your way through all the items on your list – asking what do I want to happen instead?
When you have gone through all the items go back to the top and ask yourself – what’s the 1st step I need to take in order to achieve this simply and easily?
Go through each item – adding in your 1st steps.
Then look through the list and ask yourself – from all these items – which is the one that’s the most important? Which one will have the biggest impact on my results when I take action to do it?
Highlight this item and take action – no matter how big or small – it could be to call a client to say that you have some more questions about the job or a call or email a client to let them know that you are not able to work on their job any more, or that you are going to say no to anything that is not in your niche moving forward.
When you have brain dumped everything, notice how you are feeling on a scale of 1 – 10 – 10 being unhappy about what’s happening and 1 being calm, focused and resourceful. Where are you now on this scale? Is there a shift from where you were 5 to 10 mins ago?
Don’t Do Any More Business Development Until You READ THIS First!
Free Client Converter Tool and Tips… How To Get Your Consultants Converting More Sales Without Doing Any More Cold Calling…
Then the 2nd step – go back up to the first item and say to yourself – I know this is what I don’t want, what do I want to happen instead?
Write down what you want to happen instead. Making sure it is positively stated and specific.
i.e. if you are working on jobs you find really difficult to fill, you would write – working on 2 or 3 jobs that I know I can fill quickly and easily.
Work your way through all the items on your list – asking what do I want to happen instead?
When you have gone through all the items go back to the top and ask yourself – what’s the 1st step I need to take in order to achieve this simply and easily?
Go through each item – adding in your 1st steps.
Then look through the list and ask yourself – from all these items – which is the one that’s the most important? Which one will have the biggest impact on my results when I take action to do it?
Highlight this item and take action – no matter how big or small – it could be to call a client to say that you have some more questions about the job or a call or email a client to let them know that you are not able to work on their job any more, or that you are going to say no to anything that is not in your niche moving forward.
When you have brain dumped everything, notice how you are feeling on a scale of 1 – 10 – 10 being unhappy about what’s happening and 1 being calm, focused and resourceful. Where are you now on this scale? Is there a shift from where you were 5 to 10 mins ago?
The 2nd way to getting results quickly is to take yourself back to a time when everything was really working and flowing easily for you – when you were being really successful, getting results that you were really happy with. When you were really motivated and happy:
Notice what specifically were you doing that was causing that success? How were you behaving, where were you focusing your time? How were you setting up your day, what were you focusing on? What did you say no to? What did you say yes to? Who were you being? What was your purpose, why were you so committed? How were you getting great jobs on? How were you finding great candidates and leads? What were the basics that you were following that were giving you great results.
Write down your insights on a piece of paper how you were creating this success – this is your success strategy.
When you have written this down – look at the list and ask yourself – what have I stopped doing that if I were to start doing again would give me results quickly?
OK – next step – what actions and 1st steps from this exercise? What are you going to do differently moving forwards?
My third Tip is to Stop doing anything that does not serve you or move you towards your goal. The way I do this is to ask myself:
If I had a gun to your head and had to stop doing 4/5 of different time-consuming or time wasting activities, what would I remove? – i.e. emails, paperwork, meetings, services etc.
Which jobs and candidates would you stop working with immediately?
Make a note of these and just commit to stop doing these. You are in control of your mind and therefore your results and remember – it’s takes less than a second to make a choice to change and you are the one that controls that choice.
There you have it some tips on how to get results quickly and create more time so that you can focus on the activity that will bring you in the results you want.
I hope you found this article useful.
If you want to learn how to set up your business, so that it stops under-performance once and for all, then join my free webinar: The 5 Secrets Our Clients Use to Build 7 & 8 Figure Recruitment Businesses
‘Til next time,
I look forward to seeing you next time,
