Depending on complexity of her qualifying questions, she might be able to do this at networking event itself or on initial phone call she makes to follow-up. So, instead of purpose of phone call being to set up a meeting, purpose now becomes to qualify whether or not this "lead" is a "qualified prospect."

In evaluating Laura's prospecting process, there are several points at which she could potentially save time by:

* networking with corporate decision-makers, not entry-level managers or small business owners * qualifying leads on phone before she sets up meetings * allowing prospect to educate her about their company by asking them questions * ensuring that decision-maker is in initial meeting * streamlining and automating her proposal process to include only what is required at this stage

After overhauling her prospecting system, Laura has freed up 12-15 hours/week to focus on improving other elements of her sales process, marketing plan, skill development, etc. And, once sales start coming through, she'll have more time to allocate to billable work which will earn her more money while working fewer hours.

So, ask yourself – are you throwing good time after bad? Have you ever actually written out your prospecting process? Do you know what steps you go through once you meet someone who might be a prospect?

If not, take 15 minutes right now to write down exactly how you process your prospects. Start by writing down all of ways in which you meet prospects, including ones that come to you as well as ones you seek out (i.e. networking meetings, trade shows, web site, calling your office, cold calls, current clients).

Now, follow each of these entry points through step-by-step to chart exactly what process you take a prospect through. For example, if you get a lead through your web site, prospect might receive information from you automatically via email before you've ever spoken to them. But, when you meet a prospect in-person, you might not give them anything tangible. You might just verbally describe your business or services.

After you have all versions of your process written down, review them one by one to identify any areas in which you are investing too much time, chasing unqualified leads, not providing information that would convince prospect to buy, etc.

Once you've identified these areas of opportunity, brainstorm about how you can re-vamp your prospecting processes to use your time more efficiently. The less time you waste on unqualified, underfunded, disinterested leads, more time you'll have to invest in qualified, paying clients.

To learn more about making more sales, download “10 Ways To Lose Great Sales Opportunities" at:

http://www.askthebizcoach.com/freebies.htm

Please don’t take years to learn this one. It’s a truth. If you figure out what your monster wants to eat, and you feed it to him on a regular basis, he will give you key to kingdom!

Are you ready to find out what you’ve been feeding your monster (i.e. “what you’re putting into your business)?

Don’t hate me when I ask you to track your time. ‘How boring’ you might say. Doesn’t she understand that taking time to track my time just takes more time (you can read that line again if you need to!)

Yes, it can be boring and it does take a little bit of time. However, if you invest tiny little bits of time throughout day (adding up to only 10 minutes/day probably), you can discover keys to propelling your business forward.

Start today by tracking how you spend your time (track every 15 minute segment) for next 5-7 days. Include all time you spend working, including evenings and weekends.

After week is over, look back over completed worksheets and tell me what you see. Look for things like:

* breakdown number of hours you are spending on: - marketing - providing your services - office work (invoicing, paying bills) - email - other functions

* add up number of hours it takes you to do certain standard functions that are part of your business - attending a meeting (driving to/from + meeting) - writing a proposal - adding a new client to your practice - doing your accounting work

Too much time spent on office work could tell you that you need to outsource some of your administrative work.

Too much time spent on email might tell you that you need to stop reading so many ezines (except mine!), only read/answer personal email during off hours, or learn how to use sorting function of your email program so most important emails are highlighted.

Too much time spent on marketing efforts that are not yielding new customers could tell you that it’s time to quit that networking club or stop using direct mail, so you’ll have more time to invest in types of marketing that are working well for your business (where have your current customers come from? Do more of that!)

Too much time spent attending prospect meetings might tell you that you need to reduce geographic area you are targeting in order to decrease time it takes to go to/from prospect and client meetings.

Too much time spent writing a proposal might tell you that you need to automate your process more so that you only have to input a few items of data to create each new proposal, contract, or spreadsheet.

There is so much to learn by tracking your time. Yes, it might be boring, but it’s an investment of 10 minutes a day for a week that might just buy you freedom and financial success you’ve been seeking.

Happy Time Tracking!