Call it the 80/20 rule if you like, but I love Pareto Principle as it has been the cornerstone of my thinking for years. It was named after Vilfredo Pareto way back in 1896 when he showed that around 80% of landownership in Italy at the type was attributed to 20% of people. Wikipedia tells me that management consultant Joseph Juran applied it to the world of business. 

Don’t get caught up in the exact maths of it, and think of it at its principle, which is that roughly 80% of the outcome is a result of 20% of the effort. Some examples you’ve no doubt seen are:

• 80% of sales are coming from 20% of sales reps
• 80% of revenue comes from 20% of clients
• 80% of the time I wear my black tees that account for 20% of my wardrobe 
• The bottom 80% (in attractiveness) of guys on tinder are fighting over the bottom 20% of girls; meaning that the "top" 80% of girls are fighting over the top 20% of guys!!! Seriously, read it here.

Well, that last one is more like 80/5, but you no doubt have the same. Even with all your clothes, you probably stick to a few core things right? No… just me. Ok… anyway...

I’ve seen it time and time again, people are incredibly busy and doing everything, but still not getting “it” done. I’ve also seen people do bugger all but still are able to get top results. 

What these guys are doing is the few vital things that will get the result, where the others are caught up in the trivial many. You’ve all heard the term “work smarter, not harder” yeah? This is what they were talking about. Nailing the few items that get the best result rather than doing the fluff around the edges.

Putting the maths hat back on, it’s essentially saying that by doing the 80%, or trivial many, we are only ever going to get a minimal result: 20%. 

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How can you use the Pareto Principle

For me, it was recognising I was only wearing black-tees, so I stopped buying others. Pretty simple really. 

In the example of 80% of Revenue from 20% of clients, the first thing I’d look at here is whether you could increase your prices on the other 80% of clients. This will do one of 2 things: increase revenue, or decrease the number of customers. It might sound contrary, but if you worked 1 day a week, you would still get paid for 4!

With the extra 4 days up your sleeve, you’re able to spend more time and effort getting better clients that gave you greater rewards.

Sounds brutal, but letting customers go from Stage3 has been some of the best decisions I’ve made. You’re already thinking of a couple you want to let go now aren’t you? 

It’s also a great way to prioritise your to do list. It is always tempting to do the many “easy” things as it makes us feel like we are accomplishing something, but all it’s really doing is putting off some of the “harder” things that have the best outcome. I put harder into quotes, as it’s never really that hard.

Why does this apply to entiio?

Another way I look at the Pareto Principle is in the complexity of things. By doing the basics (20%) brilliantly, we are able to get 80% of the result.

It’s a principle I used when training for triathlons. You don’t really need an expert coach to tell you that you need to swim, ride and run. There are plenty of resources available to aspiring athletes that will get them some decent performances. For those looking at getting on the podium, getting a coach to help them make up the other 80% of complexity, they can get an extra 20% in performance and go all 100%!! 

I have seen clients come into my growth agency, Stage3, and they have been spending their time and efforts on overly complicated, multi-staged funnels with 4 different marketing platforms which is taking them a huge amount of time to set-up and manage, only to be making some pretty basic errors and pouring money down the drain. 

I’m not saying that having a complex web of marketing funnels doesn’t work, but it’s usually best to be deployed once the basics have been mastered.

This. This is why entiio exists. To give people the tools and knowledge to execute some brilliantly basic stuff; spend less time doing it; but get a significant result.

Then, once you’re 80% there, you can afford to get an expert in (like top triathletes do when they get a coach) who have the experience, skill set and resources to get you to the 100%!

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Wrap up on the Pareto Principle 

While the exact maths isn’t always perfect, the theory that getting bogged down in “busy work”, overly complicated executions, or even getting side-tracked with the new and fancy, can derail your business success.

By focusing on the vital few items that will have the biggest impact on the results, you will not only free up time to spend elsewhere (beach anyone?), but your business will be much better off for it.