It’s Always Tomorrow

Let me just say this: If you’re perfect, you can stop reading now.

If not, if you’re human like me, so carry on.

Just kidding!

Why?

Because even if you are perfect, you are surrounded by plenty of others—myself included—who aren’t.

Maybe they are in your family. Maybe they are among your friends. Maybe they are some of your team members.

How about prospects? Certainly some of them fit the bill.

As humans, we sometimes have a tendency to put off until tomorrow things that should be done right now, today.

Like our tax returns. We are getting close to April 15!

Or the dentist appointment.

Or picking up the phone to cold call.

Whatever it is, we sometimes need a prod or a push to get things done.

Here are some tips to help you—and your prospects—stop procrastinating.

•    Create an Artificial Deadline

I like deadlines. Deadlines create urgency. In our minds, and in our prospects’ minds.

If the tax-return deadline is April 15, give yourself until March 30 to finish it. Put it on your calendar. Post a note where you’ll see it often: like on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror.

In your business, tell prospects there is a deadline to reply.

This works even better when you offer a limited time incentive. Which brings me to the next tip.

•    Give an Incentive

Offer something extra to your prospects if they respond in a certain period of time.

A discount. A guide. A special report. A free vacation (free vacation coupons are about $30 through a promotional company—they work because most people don’t use it).

Whatever it is. As long as it gets people to act.
By the way, this work on us, too.

Reward yourself whenever you finish something you are having trouble starting.

Did you make 15 cold calls? Go ahead, take a break. Eat that cookie (not too many). Play the computer game (but not too long).
 
Make the reward proportionate to the task.

Cleaning the attic is worth more than taking out the garbage.

•    Give an Example of Why Time Matters
The longer you wait to do something, the harder it gets to do it. Some opportunities may even vanish altogether.

Here’s an extreme example: Let’s say you have high blood pressure. It’s can go unnoticed until there are some serious consequences. Like heart attack. Stroke. Even death.

So 10 years go by, and suddenly you are a ticking time bomb.

But wait! It can all be prevented by changing your diet, exercising, even taking one little pill a day. You just have to start now.
 
When it comes to business opportunities, you can put an actual price tag on procrastination.

Think about geometric growth: Double a penny every day for 30 days and end up with over $5 million dollars.

But what if you procrastinate about starting with that first penny?

A few years ago, someone in Minnesota missed the deadline to cash in on a lottery ticket worth $200,000.

And that’s not all. According to USA Today, more than a half billion—yes, that’s billion—worth of lottery ticket went unclaimed in 2006 alone.

Including a $1.5 million ticket in Minnesota. A $7.5 million ticket in Oregon.

And in 2003, a $30 million dollar jackpot in Florida went unclaimed.

To me, network marketing is like one of those expired lottery tickets or the penny: It’s a small thing—a slip of paper, one measly cent—but if you act in time, it can pay off big.

But every day you delay reduces the payoff. You might even miss it altogether!

So use these examples when procrastination rears its ugly head. Use them with your prospects and with yourself!

•    Break it Down

Maybe the thing you are trying to achieve is just too large.

It’s too much to swallow in just 1 bite.

So break it down into smaller steps.

Spend time teaching your prospects to take little steps. Get them to do 1 thing at a time that moves them closer to the end result.

As in: Here, try the product.

Next, let me tell you about a distributorship.

Then, here’s the paperwork to examine. When you’re ready, sign it.

Or even—you can have some more time to pay.

•    It’s Always Today

There is no tomorrow.

At least, not a guaranteed one.

All you have is what you have today.

Any time I find myself putting something off until tomorrow, I stop. I remind myself that today is tomorrow.

Yes, today is yesterday’s tomorrow. But it’s also the only tomorrow we know we’ll have. Use it wisely!