How Top Professionals Allocate Their Time

Top performers don’t work longer hours — they work in the right activities.

Research and experience consistently show that high performers spend around 70% of their available time focused on the Four Money-Making Activities:

The Four Money-Making Activities (The Growth Zone)

1. Winning New Business
Prospecting, first meetings, qualification, proposals.

2. Developing Existing Clients
Rounding out accounts, cross-selling, identifying new needs, increasing share of wallet.

3. Retaining Key Clients
Proactive continuation, renewal discipline, protecting key relationships and revenue.

4. Managing Key Relationships
Clients, referral partners, centres of influence — staying visible and relevant.

Where Time Is Commonly Lost

Average professionals typically spend less than 30% of their time in these activities. The remainder is absorbed by:

Administration and internal meetings

Email and reactive problem-solving

Late renewals and avoidable rework

Tasks that could — and should — be delegated

Being busy is not the same as being productive

The Question That Matters

How much of your available time is truly invested in the Four Money-Making Activities?

SELF-SCORING EXERCISE: Your Time Reality Check

Instructions:
Think about a typical working week. Allocate 100 points across the areas below to reflect where your time actually goes — not where you’d like it to go.

Step 1: Allocate Your Time (Total = 100)

Activity

% of Time

Winning new business

___ %

Developing existing clients

___ %

Retaining key clients

___ %

Managing key / referral relationships

___ %

Subtotal: Four Money-Making Activities

___ %

Administration / internal work

___ %

Reactive issues & firefighting

___ %

TOTAL

100%

Step 2: Score Yourself

70%+ on the Four Money-Making Activities
Top-performer territory

50–69%
Strong intent, inconsistent execution

Below 50%
Growth is happening by accident, not design

Step 3: One Simple Improvement Question

What is one task I could delegate, delay, or eliminate this month to reclaim 5–10% of my time for money-making activity?

Write it down. Schedule it. Act on it.

Growth doesn’t come from doing more — it comes from doing more of the right things consistently.