Best Sellers and using the 80/20 Rule (2024)

Best Sellers and using the 80/20 Rule (1)

This chapter is an excerpt from the in-depth e-book, Creative Freelance Marketing for Photographers.

There is a term called Pareto’s Principle, or the 80/20 rule, which refers to situations where 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

This is a very important idea to understand when growing your photography business. 80% of your overall sales could come from 20% of your clients or products. 80% of your print sales could come from 20% of your images. 80% of your income could come from 20% of your marketing.

This rule, in some form, is going to be prevalent throughout your career.

Because of this, it is important to learn what those 20%’s are. No matter how hard I try, a relatively small percentage of my images make up a large percentage of my sales. A few photographs get shown much more often than any of the other images.

A few original pieces or a single well-done project can be the driving force in your career, particularly early on. Having these will make your first impressions that much stronger, so figure out how to create a few of these remarkable works.

Spend a lot of time on a few pieces, or do a full project with the most potential, and then use that work as the backbone of your marketing. A single strong project can take your career a long way.

The same principle applies to the marketing avenues that you choose. It is different for each business, but a significant amount of your marketing gains will probably come from a few sources.

It is your job to figure out what those successful sources are and to focus your time on them.

There are some who made their careers off of Facebook and even off of the early rush of Google+ because they found something that worked, and they kept pushing it. There are some who made their careers off of single projects that were shown all over the internet.

When you see something is working well, do not be passive; instead, run with it and push it as far as you can. Those successes do not come along that frequently, so you need to take advantage of the ones that do.

For further education, download Creative Freelance Marketing for Photographers.

Best Sellers and using the 80/20 Rule (2024)

FAQs

What is the best explanation of the 80-20 rule? ›

The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. In other words, a small percentage of causes have an outsized effect. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact.

What is an example of the 80-20 rule in sales? ›

Here are some examples you may have already experienced in your business:
  • 80% of your sales volume is generated by 20% of your customers.
  • 80% of your revenues are generated by 20% of your products.
  • 80% of your complaints come from 20% of your customers.
  • 80% of your quality control issues involve 20% of your products.
Jun 4, 2021

What is the most productive way to apply the 80/20 rule? ›

In business, a goal of the 80-20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority. For instance, once managers identify factors that are critical to their company's success, they should give those factors the most focus.

What is the 80-20 rule of sales how to find your best customers? ›

Use the 80/20 Rule to Drive Customer Loyalty

Those are the ones that likely generate 80% of your revenue. Once you've identified the top 20% of your high-value customers, explore how you can allocate 80% of your effort and resources to activate those customers to spend more effectively.

What is the 80-20 rule real examples? ›

80% of crimes are committed by 20% of criminals. 80% of sales are from 20% of clients. 80% of project value is achieved with the first 20% of effort. 80% of your knowledge is used 20% of the time.

What's the most productive way to apply the 80/20 principle to critical thinking? ›

What's the most productive way to apply the 80/20 principle to critical thinking? Focus on the 20% of efforts that impact 80% of the results. Defining a clear problem statement can help you avoid this common pitfall.

What is the 80 20 principle in selling? ›

The potency of 80/20 is that 20 percent of a group is responsible for 80 percent of the sales. So, if you can retain customers or make them more than one-timers, the chances of revenue earned is more. For example, 20 percent of repeat customers are responsible for 80 percent revenues.

How do you apply 80-20 rule in business? ›

Applying the 80/20 rule helps you focus on vital areas of your business where you should be spending the most time. For example, if we apply it to sales: 20% of customers are responsible for 80% of sales. Therefore, your efforts should be focused on the 20% of customers giving you the highest sales.

What is the 80-20 rule in merchandise? ›

The 80/20 rule states that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts, customers or another unit of measurement. When applied to inventory, the rule suggests that companies earn roughly 80% of their profits from 20% of their products.

What is powerful prioritization with the 80-20 rule? ›

One way to do that is to use the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle. This rule states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes, or in other words, 20% of your tasks generate 80% of your value.

How do you use the 80-20 rule to make decisions? ›

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If you want to make a real difference in your business, you need to spend the most amount of time focusing on the 20% of things that will give you 80% of your results—and less time worrying about everything else.

What is the best chart to show 80-20 rule? ›

The Pareto Chart is a very powerful tool for showing the relative importance of problems.

What is the 80-20 sales strategy? ›

The Pareto Principle in business refers to the way 80 percent of a given business's profit typically comes from a mere 20 percent of its clientele. Business owners who subscribe to the 80/20 rule know the best way to maximize results is to focus the most marketing effort on that top 20 percent.

What is an example of the 80-20 rule in marketing? ›

The 80/20 principle (aka the Pareto Principle) states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In other words, a smaller effort can result in a greater output. For example, in marketing, it could be that: 20% of a client's marketing channels generate 80% of the traffic.

What is the 80-20 customer pyramid? ›

The Pareto Principle, or 80-20 rule, is commonly recognized in business as a reason to take care of your most profitable, loyal customers. It indicates that generally speaking, roughly 80 percent of a company's profits are driven by the top 20 percent of its customer base.

Which statement best describes the 80-20 rule? ›

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes.

What does the 80 20 principle mean in real terms? ›

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input. The principle doesn't stipulate that all situations will demonstrate that precise ratio – it refers to a typical distribution.

What is the 80/20 rule diet example? ›

If you're aiming for 80 percent of your diet to come from fresh and unprocessed whole foods, why not treat yourself with up to 20 percent of your favorite treats? For someone targeting 1500 calories a day that means you'd use about 1200 calories for healthy, nutritious meals and 300 calories for your treat.

What is the 80-20 rule in leadership? ›

Juran's observation of the “vital few and trivial many,” the principle that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes, became known as Pareto's Principle or the 80–20 Rule.

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