Breaking the Pareto Principle | Travel Research Online

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Breaking the Pareto Principle

You have heard of the Pareto Principle, but you probably call it something else. 80% of all of your business comes from 20% of your marketing efforts. Roughly 20% of your time management is highly efficient and from that activity comes 80% of your productivity. 80% of the money made by travel professionals is made by 20% of the travel professionals. You probably know the Pareto Principle as the 80/20 Rule. It seems like everyone has encountered bully Pareto somewhere and is convinced of the immutable nature of its power. 

Is it possible to break the Pareto Principle? On a societal or industry-wide level, probably not, it is what it is. On an individual level, however, it more than possible to break through the 80% ceiling and move into the top 20% of your peers.  Because, in reality, the Pareto Principle speaks to averages, and you didn’t become a travel professional to be average.

Let’s do some engineering. Every industry has its top 20%. You can earn your place there by working consistently and smartly.

 

  • Focus on the marketing that has historically paid off for you. Do what you do best in your local community and then resolve to add a new technique that has a high probability of return.
  • The time you are spending in other, less productive marketing efforts? Re-invest it in the types of marketing that demonstrates a return.
  • Drop the clients who don’t add to your business and who are constantly eating at your time with hopeless research requests. Re-invest the time you recover into your productive clients and your marketing techniques.
  • Stop with the busywork that basically adds very little to your day – the surfing, the non-productive email reading, the shuffling of papers. During the most productive parts of your day, work your best game and leave everything else behind. Reinvest the time you recover with the people around you. Make sure to remember that you are one of the people around you.

It’s one thing to work hard. Some of the hardest working people I have ever known have very difficult lives and don’t enjoy themselves very much. Instead, take a few moments to set your priorities and resolve to work smart for the balance of this year. So much has changed and there is a lot to do. Get the trends moving in your direction. Form relationships that work for you.

And if you can’t break the Pareto Principle, perhaps you can bend it just a little in your favor. That may be all you need to have a bit more fun this year.

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