The Pareto Principle in business is all about a few small changes that can have a huge impact on your business. We’ll show you how to apply this idea to your business strategy.
There’s a good chance you’ve heard of the Pareto Principle, but if you haven’t, it’s time to learn about it.
AKA the 80/20 rule, it’s the idea that 80% of results come from 20% of actions.
It’s a concept, not a hard-and-fast mathematical law- but did you know that the Pareto Principle, or “80/20 Rule”, is an incredible tool for growing your business?
Using this concept, entrepreneurs can identify their major contributors to success and set priorities that seriously move the needle.
This month we are primarily focusing on time management, so keep reading for examples of how the Pareto Principle helps you use your time most effectively.
Don’t worry, though; this is a core concept here at WanderWeb, so you’ll be hearing about it again, especially when it comes to improving your website conversion rate.
So how does the Pareto Principle apply to time management?
This rule says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results. For example:
- 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales.
- 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits.
- 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do.
So it reasons to stand that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth as much or more than the other eight things put together.
Action step: Stop and consider which things matter most, primarily the tasks that will help you reach your goals.
Here’s how you use it in two simple (but not easy) steps:
Step 1: Rethink your to-do-list and prioritize, so your efforts are most likely to help you meet your goals.
What are the 20 percent of your activities that will help you achieve your most important objective?
Your to-do list likely consists of items that may not be the most important things you should be doing. Consider whether the effort necessary is worth doing and tweak your plan so it reflects your priorities.
Step 2: Eliminate or reprioritize low-value items
Low-value work is often confused with productivity and is hurting your bottom line!
Examples of low-value work:
- Checking your email frequently
- Scheduling meetings
- Meetings that could have been an email (shudder)
What changes are you going to make today?
Did you know: Applying the 80-20 Rule to your website increases conversion rates by 20%?
What are the 20% of things that will get results, such as:
- more subscribers,
- Increased opt-ins
- more customers?
Then get rid of the rest of the 80%, so your 20% has room to shine.
Here’s how you do it:
- Figure out what’s your main goal and/or call-to-action for your website (the 20%).
- Round up the rest of the things and elements on your site that don’t pertain to your main goal/call-to-action (the 80%).
- Remove all the unnecessary stuff- be ruthless (easier said than done, but it’s super important).
- Tweak your site’s design so that the remaining 20% are prominent and emphasized (use line breaks, italics, bold, headlines, etc.- there’s a lot more to this, such as eye mapping science, but this will get you much closer to success).
- Drop the mic.
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