Building Information Products: Get Control of Your Life with Your Sales Funnel Map

When trying to build an internet marketing company and produce learning content, it can feel like life slips by easily. You’re so busy that you can’t seem to take the time to breathe let alone spend time with the people you work for. Even vacations are carried out with a computer in the luggage.

But it does not have to be like that.

Most entrepreneurs have heard of strategic management. A branch of management focused on predicting the future and identifying necessary changes. Some even practice it. And everyone has heard of operational management, that branch that deals with the day-to-day of ongoing operations.

But between the two is project management: the set of management techniques and tools that make a strategy a reality.

The built-in sales funnel map contains a list of all the by-products we need to develop and their expiration dates. In project parlance, it is called a program architecture document or a program roadmap.

Because we are using a standardized system to develop each product (you are, right?), we can predict both the volume of work and when it will be needed.

However, of course, not everything you are going to do will be focused on creating new products. So you’re going to need to estimate what else you need to do. Even here, the sales funnel map will help. It will help you identify both your website requirements and the traffic generation techniques you are going to use. Therefore, it will give you some indication of your other time needs during the product launch time period.

Now all you have to do is list the work to be done. Start with the standard tasks, those tasks that you need to do every week (for example, traffic generation efforts). Then list non-product tasks (for example, website creation). Finally list the by-products you will need.

Finally, at the bottom of the list, create a header for total hours. Below this line, put the total number of hours you can work in a week multiplied by 0.75.

Once you have this list, you need to create a set of columns, one column for each week.

Now start with the standard tasks. How many hours do you expect to spend per week on this task? Put your estimate in the appropriate column. Normally all columns will have the same value, although it could be different if you have a reason.

Now do the same for the non-product tasks. When you have a specific delivery date, write that down too. Always try to deliver the week before the due date.

Now go through the product tasks. This will inevitably result in a series of weeks with time entered. Again, you want to show the end of the pattern in the week before the release date.

Finally, add up all the times for each week and enter the value on the total line.

Now you need to balance the workload. Whenever the value in the total line of a column exceeds the maximum (the value you noted below the total line) you have a problem.

You now have three options. You can move the offending products forward so you don’t have a problem. You can advance other products so you don’t have any problems. Or you can change the release date if possible. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Each may or may not be possible. When you’ve moved something, go back and check the balance and schedule again.

The result of this should be a release (and working) schedule that you can live with.

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