When someone makes the excuse that they are “too busy” or “didn’t have the time” to get something done, it really means that they didn’t put any or enough importance on the task.
Think about it: you always will find the time to do something on which you’ve placed value. For example, it could be writing a report for a client meeting, attending your child’s soccer game or scrolling through your Facebook feed.
Use this formula:
“I didn’t think X was important as doing Y.”
X = the task you skipped (e.g. returning a phone call, posting on social media, writing a blog, etc.)
Y = the task you actually did in place of X
Sometimes, this formula may reveal that you didn’t correctly prioritize your tasks.
In the world of sales and business development, this formula comes into play frequently. It only takes a minute for your prospect to reply to your email, but they don’t because they didn’t find it important enough. That means your job is to convince them otherwise.