As an entrepreneur or small business owner, are you guilty of creating goals like: “Increase Sales”, “Get More Customers”, “Write a Marketing Plan”, “Develop Our Branding”, etcetera, etcetera?
You’re not alone. That’s the way most people misconceive that they are setting goals … when in fact they are laying a foundation for failure instead.
Use the simple concept of S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goal Setting to not only help with your business, but in your personal life as well.
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. stands for:
Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Timely. Evaluate. Refine.
1. Specific: Your goals need to be well-defined and laser-focused. Instead of -“Increase Sales”, you would use -“Increase sales by 10% each month for 6 months beginning in 6 weeks through print advertising, new sales packets and monthly incentives for the sales staff.” This step also includes “Snippets” because you need to break down specific larger goals into smaller snippets of tasks so you have the satisfaction of “checking-off” these smaller tasks on your journey to the grandest goals.
2. Measurable: You need a scoreboard/scorekeeper so you can keep yourself on track and measure the movement towards accomplishing your goals. Using our example from step #1 for increasing sales by 10%, you need to have your current sales, then notate your desired sales marked out 30 days beginning in 6 weeks. Then start recording and posting your daily numbers onto your sales scoreboard.
3. Attainable: You must be realistic in your goal setting. It’s okay to aim high, but don’t aim so high it’s impossible to achieve or you’ll get frustrated and quit. From our example in step #1, you can look back at your sales for the same period the previous year to help set your new goals, plus 10% each consecutive month. This step also includes “Assess” because you need to assess your current situation before you can attain your desired goals.
4. Relevant: Seeing that the U.S. is currently in “The Great Recession”, you need to make sure your goals are relevant to the current business climate and achievable under such conditions. You need to be keenly aware of the realities of your current market and your industry’s standing in that market.
5. Timely: You must always have a concrete time-frame for accomplishing your goals. Always have a Start Date and an End Date … then measure and track every day in between. “Each month for 6 months beginning in 6 weeks”- is a great way of making sure that your goals are tied to specific time-lines and traceable.
6. Evaluate: Create set intervals to look back at your measured goals and evaluate if you’re still on track to accomplishing them by your End Date.
7. Refine: If you’re ahead of your goals, then Hooray! Maybe you should increase your goals? If you’re behind in your goals, then what can you do to get back on track? It’s okay to adjust your goals if necessary. The important point is that you’re doing them through the SMART process, evaluating your progress, and refining your journey as reality dictates. This step also includes “Reminders” because you need to continually remind yourself of where you are along your journey, where you want to be, and when you want to be there.
Follow these 7 Steps for all your goal setting and become a SMARTER Super-Star!
Recommended Resources for S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals:
- stickK – Change Starts Now
- 30 Boxes | Online Calendar
- Toodledo –Online To-Do List —> My Personal Favorite!
This is all so true!
When we are Specific, our goals are more Attainable. At least that is what I have found to be true.
I make a practice of re-evaluating each week every Saturday morning, then tweak, refine and cross off my list.
It's powerful to see the real time results when you use a method like "SMARTER" .
Thanks for sharing,
Betty Z
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