in another industry. Her name is Ann Sieg. She runs

a very prosperous company that teaches marketing and

lead generation to network marketers. Aaaaugggh!

Not that!, Yeah, I know many people are MLM-phobic.  But

here is the deal.  I have made it a point to study

successful people and techniques from many different
industries.  I have found that most of the strategies

and techniques work across a variety of platforms.

So use the shopping cart method here.  Use what you

find helpful and leave the rest on the shelf.  So here

ya go, article by Ann Sieg.

No matter what stage you're at in your business,
when you're trying to breakthrough to the next
level, it's essential that you not only spend your
time efficiently, but also that you only spend it
on HIGH-VALUE activities.

This concept that I want to share with you is one
of the most important I've ever learned for
achieving massive productivity and making
quantum leaps forward in your business (in much
less time than it takes most people), and, like me,
you may just find yourself using this as "the
ultimate measuring stick" for nearly every decision
you make about how to spend your time.

It's SO important in fact, that Warren Buffet - the
world's richest and most successful investor - has
said that he considers this one factor above ALL
others when deciding how to invest his money.

Any guess as to what it is?

Strength of the company?

Price of the stock?

High profit margins?

ROI (Return On Investment)?

Nope.

According to Warren Buffet, none of these, not even
ROI, is the most important thing to consider when
making an investment. 

What is?

----------------
OPPORTUNITY COST
----------------

What does that mean and how does it apply to us?

Well, opportunity cost means: What else could you
be doing with that money?

What other, possibly more important, opportunities
are being missed (the cost) because your resources
are tied up with another investment? 

This same concept of opportunity cost applies to
time and energy because whenever you spend your
time on something, you're making an investment.

And if there's one thing you'll find that all highly
successful marketers or business owners have in
common, it's that...

-----------------------------------
THEY ALL VALUE THEIR TIME MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE.
-----------------------------------

When most people think of "assets," things like
real estate, precious metals, bonds and stock
portfolios come to mind. Time is usually left
completely out of the picture.

But the truth is, time is more valuable than all of
these and smart business owners are more careful
and selective about how they spend this asset than
anything else! 

Why?

Because it's the ONE thing you can't get any more
of. 

Unlike money and other "physical" assets which
can literally be had in any quantity once you learn
HOW to invest your time and WHAT to invest it in. 

Now the reason this idea of "opportunity cost" is so
significant is because when you choose to do
something, by default, that means you choose NOT
to do something else. 

And if the stuff that you choose to do falls under
the category of low value activities, you've got a
serious problem. 

Not only is your time being spent on things that do
little or nothing to advance your business, but it
also means you have that much LESS time to spend
on the things that do.

This is what keeps people in the rat race. 

Have you ever had a day where you literally did
2,001 things and yet when you looked back on
it, you had absolutely no idea what you got
done?

This is called being busy without being productive
and its a result of not knowing what the core
money-making activities of your business are. 

If this hits a nerve with you, don't worry...

---------------------------
I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE
(I totally relate to this...I am the poster

child for Adults with ADD-Tim)
---------------------------

I'm probably more guilty of this than anyone!

I think I'm more prone to getting distracted and
taken off course by little projects and detours than
anyone I know and it's something I constantly
struggle with.

Certain family members and close friends have
even referred to this natural "handicap" of mine as
"squirrel in the road syndrome."

Very flattering. 

However, it just goes to show that if I can succeed
in spite of it, so can you. 

Here's a great tip for you I learned that virtually
guarantees every single day you have is highly
productive:

Always take care of the high value activities FIRST
THING every day - or as close to first thing as you
can get - no matter what. 

That way, regardless of what else you do after that,
it's already been a good day.

If you don't take care of the most important things
right off the bat... life will get in the way. 

Guaranteed. 

The world will conspire to throw a wrench in your
spokes and keep you from getting ahead. 

The dishwasher will break down... the dog will get
sick... a friend you haven't seen in five years will
be in town... the post office is going to close in
thirty minutes... and before you know it, the day
is gone. 

Due to the inherent craziness of life, it's inevitable
that some things aren't going to get done. 

It's your job to make sure that when you do run out
of time in the day, the core money-making activities
are not on the list of things that got pushed off until
tomorrow.

Okay, so what ARE the high value activities you
should be focused on?

Here's how I've broken things down for my business:

Zero/Negative Value Activities
------------------------------
     Worry

     Figuring out excuses/"reasons" why something
     won't work

     Idle chatter 

     Surfing the internet

     Checking email (did you know they've done
     studies and have found that the impulsive,
     never-ending cycle of checking emails/
     messages/etc is an addiction similar to doing
     cocaine? It's true)

     Instant messaging

Low Value Activities
--------------------
     Prospecting

     Cold-calling

     Attending "same old" company trainings and
     meetings that are little more than social events 

     Team call, after team call, after team call...
     (these kind of meetings can be high value, but
     can also very easily be overdone and give you a
     false sense of progress)

     Errands for business 

     Repetitive/Administrative work

High Value Activities
---------------------
     Positioning yourself so that people seek you out

     Setting up sales and marketing systems that
     automate the grunt work for you and weed out
     all but the best prospects

     Setting up automated follow up systems that
     build relationships with prospects and customers

     Developing relationships with mentors and
     people you can learn from

     Studying copywriting and direct response
     marketing 

You'll notice I have prospecting under low value
activities. Why? 

The reason is because prospecting is one of - if not
THE most un-leveraged methods for acquiring new
customers/business builders there is.

When your entire marketing process is dependent on
you physically approaching someone or calling
them on the phone, your results are strictly limited
to the amount of hours you can put in - just like
working a job.  

If you talked to people non-stop (assuming you
don't run out of people to talk to) and you're
REALLY lucky, you might be able to book one
appointment a day, which is roughly 30 a month.

However, if you take weekends and holidays
off, you're probably looking at a number closer
to 20. This comes out to about 240 a year. 

Maybe.

And all these appointments are is showing your
opportunity/product to someone who reluctantly
agreed to meet with you. 

These aren't even people who raised their hand
and asked for information themselves. 

However...

When you combine copywriting with direct
response marketing, you can attract thousands of
qualified prospects through virtually any type of
media...

Internet

T.V.

Radio

Mail

Newspapers

Magazines

E-mail

...in the same amount of time it takes to physically
approach one UNqualified one! 

And perhaps best of all, these other methods for
getting your message across to someone don't
require you to personally be there in order for them
to continue to work for you.

Imagine getting more prospecting done while you
sleep than you previously could all year doing it
one at a time!

It's easy to see why some people make $60,000/mo
in network marketing... and some people make
$60/mo.

Learning how to do this type of marketing ("selling
long distance") is, without a doubt, the highest use
of your time. 

But please don't take my word for it...

-------------------------------------------

In Dan Kennedy's 'No B.S. Time Management'
book he says" 

"If you're looking for the answer that turns your
time into the most money and wealth possible, then
turn your attention to marketing.

Get free of as many other parts of your business as
you can, get passionately interested in and good at
marketing, and invest your time there... 

Marketing is the highest paid profession and MOST
VALUABLE PART of a business. The person who
can create systems for acquiring customers, clients,
or patients effectively and profitably is the "money
person." He is the equivalent of a "high impact" or
"franchise" player in sports."

------------------------------------------

This is awesome information from Ann.  For the past

couple of years I have been on that path.I personally

 followed this advice to a T. Most of us spend the

 bulk of our time and money on learning the new

technique or mastering a new brush or whatever.

 Thats fun!!!  Marketing is a drag...boring.  True

for some but, if you want to separate yourself from

 the masses, do something totally different.  Study

 and apply marketing techniques.  Believe me there

 is a thrill in seeing leads of people coming to your

 site that want to buy your work.  it truly is almost

 as much fun as producing a new image.
I developed myself and am becaming master at
marketing and salesmanship by studying a plethora
of real-world, marketing and copywriting geniuses
(both past and present). I literally "dove in" and
completely immersed myself in the wisdom each
one offered.

And let me tell you...

---------------------------------
IT WAS THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER
MADE!
---------------------------------
 There will be a ton of great information coming

 to this site specific to marketing art. If  there

 is something specific you want to see just email

 me or leave a comment.  Chances are I have

researched it already and have some content ready

 to put up.  If not I can dive in and do some research.

Glad to have you along for the ride!