I DON’T know about you and your industry, but one of our busiest times of the year for enquiries is the beginning of a new one. It’s a popular time of year for business owners, directors and CEOs to take stock, review how the business has been performing and identify areas where there is room for improvement. Probably because we actually have time to reflect, which tends to be missing from our usual busy routines.
Goals are great, they give you direction and purpose. As an old-school sales person I need something to aim for.
I DON’T know about you and your industry, but one of our busiest times of the year for enquiries is the beginning of a new one. It’s a popular time of year for business owners, directors and CEOs to take stock, review how the business has been performing and identify areas where there is room for improvement. Probably because we actually have time to reflect, which tends to be missing from our usual busy routines.
Goals are great, they give you direction and purpose. As an old-school sales person I need something to aim for. However, the best goals in the world are completely useless if you don’t detail the steps of how you are going to achieve them. So in this month’s column I thought it would be great timing to share with you a few tips to help you get started with your goal setting:
What is your goal? Where do you want to get to? Sounds silly but without a clear idea of what you want to achieve, how can you possibly get there?
You’ve Gotta Have a Plan Stan. Simply just wanting to achieve something, is often not enough to make it happen. Even the simplest of goals require planning. It doesn’t have to be a multi-faceted diagram with endless possibilities, simple is best. The simplest way we have found to plan out goal success: grab a sheet of paper, write your goal at the top of the page and your current situation at the bottom of the page. Now fill in the steps in between with each step you will need to take to reach the top. As you progress through each stage you may find yourself adding other steps that you need to complete – life does like to throw challenges our way.
Give Yourself Realistic Timescales. Add timescales to your plan, open ended goals without timescales have no sense of urgency, no impetus. Napoleon Hill said it best: A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Make Sure You Have The Right Tools. The best carpenter in the world cannot build a table without the right tools. Resources, make sure you have all you need. Whether that’s ensuring you have the right people and skill sets, physical tools like a CRM, adequate budget, encouragement from those around you etc. Make the list and make sure you have everything you need to succeed.
Visualise – See The Goal, Be The Goal. Have a visual reminder of what you are trying to achieve. In the hurly burly of everyday life we can all to easily forget what we are working towards.
Motivation. It comes in many forms, what motivates you? The success of achieving each step? Am I the only one that gets immense satisfaction from crossing something off a list? Money? Holiday?
Something as simple as a family dinner out? Plan your rewards too! These will help to keep you motivated when it gets tough and it will, otherwise you would have already achieved this target, wouldn’t you?
Don’t get discouraged, don’t give up, don’t allow yourself excuses. Be realistic, don’t put yourself and those around you under too much pressure, don’t beat yourself up. In other words, put up, shut up and get on with it!
Celebrate each Win. Each small achievement towards your goal needs the proverbial pat on the back. If you have a team supporting you, then they too need to be celebrating the wins. Allow everyone to share in your highs as well as the lows.
Before setting your goal ask yourself this: What’s the worst that can happen? You try really hard and don’t reach your goal? Then look how far you did get. One thing I can guarantee you: If you do not try – you will not succeed. Just like dogs, goal setting is for life – not just for Christmas/New Year!