As an entrepreneur, you are Go Getter for sure. You are a certainly a goal setter too. In order to strike out on your own, you have to be. But did you know there is actually a SMART way to set goals?
Now when we talk SMART goals, we’re not just referring to goals that aren’t dumb! We mean SMART as in how to set goals that will move you forward in your business.
S = Specific
Let’s say your goal b is to make more money this year than you made last year. You have to be specific about how much more, because a $10 increase in gross revenue is more, but probably not what you had in mind. In fact, what you have in your mind is critical. Your brain will work consciously and subconsciously to make sure you achieve your goal.
Let’s say you want to do an extra $20,000 in sales this year. Or maybe you want to increase your income by 10%. Or, even better, you could decide on a specific amount you want to earn. And for added effectiveness, make it an odd number, say $97,521.13. The more specific you are the better.
M = Measurable
If your goal is specific, it’s easy to measure your success. But let’s say you want to provide better customer service. Find a way to track whether or not your customers are happier than they were before. You could create a survey to get feedback or you could set up a rating system, so your customers can tell you how many stars or points you earned from them.
A = Attainable
Although shooting for the moon is commendable, it’s not always the best way to get real results in business. For example, if you have added two new accounts to your roster each of the last six months, then setting a goal to get five new accounts next month may be setting yourself up for failure rather than success. Make it a stretch, but not such a stretch that it’s practically impossible.
R = Risky
While you want to make sure it’s possible to get what you’ve set your sights on, you don’t want to go too far the other way and make your goals so easy that it’s no big deal when you do get it. If you typically make 100 sales in a month, setting a goal to get 105 sales in a month may be unambitious. You want a goal that makes you a little nervous, one you’re really going to have to work at achieving.
There is clearly a balance between the Attainable part and the Risky part. If it’s too easy, you won’t feel any sense of accomplishment when you get it, you’ll just feel sort of ho-hum about it. When you strike the right balance, going after your goal will be exciting.
T = Timeframe
Giving yourself a deadline for your goal is an important part of a SMART goal for two reasons. First, without a definite end-point, there is no urgency. You may want something, but if you don’t have a time table built in, you’re likely to lack focus.
Secondly, when you use a specific timeframe, you have a point in time where you can assess your progress. You can look at all the SMART components and see how you did. From there you can set another goal.
What if you don’t reach your goal? You can use the SMART technique to determine where things went wrong. Maybe you weren’t specific enough, so you can’t truly measure your success. Maybe you need better tools for measuring whether or not you hit the mark. Was the goal too pie-in-the-sky? If so, adjust your expectations. Was it way too easy? Make it a bigger risk next time, so you can savor the victory. And finally, maybe you just needed a little more time, or maybe it wasn’t the right time for that particular goal.
Try this technique the next time you have something big you want to tackle. Set a SMART goal and go get it!
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