I've taken to asking myself 3 simple questions at the end of every week that are having a very positive effect on my marketing.

I'm like most people in that I tend to do what I'm comfortable with rather than what's best for me – unless I'm pushed.

And these 3 questions have proven to be a great way of giving myself the little push I need each week to make sure I refocus onto my most important marketing tasks.

They really are very simple:

1. What did you do this week to generate more leads?

If you're in a small-number/high-value business that might be asking for referrals. In a business like mine, it might be something like making a guest appearance on a podcast or publishing an article.

2. What did you do this week to nurture relationships with your best contacts?

Maybe that's a phone call or sending a short note to your best contacts. In my business, it's more likely to be an email newsletter or sharing content with my contacts on Linkedin.

3. What did you do this week to convert some of your nurtured relationships into paying clients?

That may be offering to chat with someone on the phone, making a formal proposal, or for me: running a live webinar or making an offer in a short video.

Simple questions, right?

But the first time I was prompted to ask a variation of them by a friend, I really didn't have good answers.

Most of what I'd been doing had been useful stuff – but much of it tangential to the most important tasks in marketing: generating leads, nurturing relationships, converting into paying clients.

And when I was hitting one of the “big 3” it was almost always focused on the area I'm most comfortable with: nurturing relationships.

Vitally important to be sure. But unless you're generating leads on a regular basis you'll be nurturing a shrinking set of relationships.

And unless you're converting those relationships into paying clients somehow, you'll have a shrinking bank account too.

This week try asking yourself these simple questions – especially the ones that relate to the areas you're the least comfortable with.

You may be surprised at your answers and at how much it gets you to refocus for the upcoming week.