After spending more than 20 years researching successful people, I’ve
come to define a successful person as someone who achieves a balanced life —
a life consisting of wealth, health, happiness and peace of mind. And just
as most people who want to remain seated wouldn’t choose to sit on a chair
missing its fourth leg, you shouldn't focus so much on wealth that you
sacrifice relationships or even your own health. In fact, the one thing I’ve
learned from people who achieve long-term success in their business and
balance in their lives is the importance of a solid foundation, and this
begins with developing a plan and a clear vision.
Steps to pouring the foundation for your Million Dollar Marketing System:
Step 1: Decide
The first step is to decide what you want. When are you at your best?
What motivates and inspires you? Take time to clearly see your future. Once
you are clear on your ideal future, then create both a visualization board
and a visualization book — a collage of pictures that motivate and inspire
you. Each morning when you rise and each evening when you retire, review
your book and be sure to prominently display your board so you can see it
during the day.
Step 2: Write out your mission
The next step is to write out your mission statement. It should be clear,
easy to understand and you should have it memorized. For example,
MillionDollarMarketingPractices.com's mission statement is: "We are a
consulting and coaching firm that provides solutions and strategies to help
advisors grow their business and increase their income while creating a
wonderful life."
Sun Microsystems’ mission is "To solve complex networking computing
problems for government enterprises and service providers."
The key is to clearly and concisely identify your desired outcome.
Step 3: Write affirmative goals
The next step is to write out goals in every area of your life, including
your career, finances, family, relationships, health, spirituality and
community. The most effective goals are positive and written in the
present-tense.
Examples: I earn $500,000 per year working with 100 non-traditional
affluent women. I weigh 125 pounds, work out for 30 minutes four times per
week and eat lean protein, fresh vegetables and complex carbohydrates.
Step
4: Create HVFDAs for each goal
A successful life is one balanced between your affirmative goals and
actions. I recommend that you identify two actions, which I refer to as
high-value fixed daily activities (HVFDAs), for each goal. These are actions
you must do consistently — on a daily basis — to achieve your goals.
For example, sample HVFDAs for the first affirmative goal above could
include: I complete one community feeder workshop each week. I prospect and
make calls each day from 10:00 to 2:00. Putting it all together
It's important that your goals, affirmations, HVFDAs and objectives
resonate with and motivate you. If you have a tendency to procrastinate,
find it hard to remember or have difficulty finding time to set goals, I
encourage you to create a daily checklist.
Once you have created a foundation, determined what you want, written out
your goals and HFVDAs, you are ready to choose a niche market. Top producers
who also have a balanced life understand the power of identifying and
serving a niche market. Creating a target market is critical to becoming a
rainmaker, because it allows you to streamline your business, become a
specialist and increase your value to prospects and clients. Once you have
created a solid foundation the next step is to choose a niche market.
Annette Bau, CFP™ practitioner, is Founder of
MillionaireSeries.com and the author of How to Grow Your Business Working
with Affluent Women and The 7 Principles of Becoming a Millionaire for Life.
She can be reached at
Questions@MillionaireSeries.com.
To receive information go to
www.MillionDollarMarketingPractices.com or learn more about the
Million Dollar Marketing System.com, go to
www.MillionDollarMarketingSystem.com.
