5 Ways to Do More with LESS

Leverage should be a primary objective for any business owner. The ability accomplish more with fewer resources is a necessary skill to move your business the next level.

In terms of marketing, there are a number of ways to leverage your efforts. Keep in mind that the currencies of marketing are time, money and energy. So here are five ways you can spend less but accomplish more with your marketing:

1) Delegate: a good business owner will tell you that her human resources are perhaps the most valuable asset to the business. Find good people that can do the things you loathe to do or don't do very well. Researchers, virtual assistants, blog writers or even marketing project managers are very common ways to accomplish more marketing with less resources. Note: delegation takes both ego management and human resource management but if done well it can free up both time and energy.

2) Automate: not all marketing is good on autopilot, but automation of some marketing efforts can be very effective. Autoresponders through Aweber or other services can automatically send emails to people that fill out information on a website. Simple direct mail campaigns can be set up to send out on dates you specify. SendOutCards is one such service that has excellent do-it-yourself functions.

3) Share: there is much to be leveraged via sharing. Find a business that serves the same niche you serve. See if you can partner with that business. Get more contacts by sharing your list. Get more exposures by piggybacking on each other’s marketing initiatives. Build credibility and add to one another’s sales funnels through genuine reciprocation.

4) Use technology: I am no techie, but there are tons of tools available to help marketers do more with less. The mobile space is really blowing up in terms of applications and services that small businesses can use. A simple web-enabled cell phone can let you market on the go. Update your social media, check email, track your campaigns, monitor your security cameras and more while you wait in the doctor’s office or otherwise have some spare minutes.

5) Focus: many of us get bogged down in to-do lists. Marketing efforts are no exception. To avoid getting bogged down by all the marketing you wish to accomplish, pick one or two significant tasks per day. By streamlining your focus to one or two tasks per day, you will actually get more done with less. You will concentrate on performing one or two tasks well instead of offering a half-hearted effort on many tasks.

Nobody said leverage is easy. It takes work. The above are just some of the ways you can achieve leverage. Like anything, it will take some time to develop the right people and the right systems.

But if you can’t leverage your marketing efforts, it will be very difficult to move your business to the next level.