We all know goal setting in business is hugely important, but many businesses fall short of what they want to achieve. This can be due to a variety of reasons and factors both external (economic crises) and internal.
You can’t control everything but those factors you have an influence over can be make or break for many businesses.
Goal setting in business should be a well thought out process. No pulling ideal outcomes from thin air or wishing on a star.
Therefore, many experts will tell you to begin with reflection and review.
Reflect and review
Look back over the last year of business and identify:
- What worked? This should encompass marketing, customer journey, sales etc and take into consideration what positive feedback you received from customers and leads.
- What went well? What campaigns or activities did you undertake that went well but didn’t quite meet expectations?
- What made you and your team feel good? What positive workplace shifts did you have that meant your team were happier and therefore more productive and committed?
- What did you achieve? What milestones did you hit? What were your actual figures? What did you celebrate?
- What didn’t work? Where did you implement something that clearly didn’t measure up to what you perhaps thought it would?
- What were your common FAQs? This will show you where you need to be clearer with your marketing message.
- What did your customers complain about? This will give a clear indication of where improvements need to be made.
This list is by no means exhaustive but having a mixture of questions geared towards your business (as a whole) including employee satisfaction will give you a well-rounded overview of where you should be concentrating your attention.
Setting low, mid, and high-end goals
Setting realistic and achievable goals is great for morale and obviously means you’re likelier to accomplish them, but it’s a good idea to take a tiered approach.
Not only does this ramp up the feel-good factor when you’re celebrating a win, it also means you’re likelier to exceed your expectations as a team.
So, when you’re setting your goals, factor in a low-end, mid-range, and high-end target.
Reverse-engineering
Another way to approach your goals is to reverse engineer what it is you’re wanting to achieve. Start from the end and work your way backwards. Start by identifying the major milestones, then break these milestones down into smaller goals and from there break these down further into actionable tasks and activities.
These tasks and activities then become your intentions.
Couple your goals with intentions
One of the main reasons businesses don’t hit their goals is because they aren’t realistic on a day-to-day basis, and they don’t have set intentions in place. Goal setting and goal getting are 2 very different things.
Setting your intentions is a great way to get results and to see what’s realistic for you and your team. An intention is a bite-sized goal that you’re committed to each day week, or month.
SMART goals incorporate intentions, so this is a great place to start. If you’re unfamiliar, SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
For example: if your goal is to lose 30lbs in 9 months, your intention could be to workout 3 times a week and eat healthily 80% of the time. You see the intention is a far more tangible task that will help you achieve your goal in the long-term.
So, when setting your intentions, bear in mind which activities move you closer to your goal when done regularly and which are the simplest yet most impactful to incorporate into your routine.
Remember SMART.
Look at the positives
It’s easy to identify what isn’t working and only natural to want to improve it but adjusting your perspective could be the key to better results.
It’s way more effort to try to build up what’s not working when instead you could give all your energy to building upon what is working for you. This approach means that you’re already clued in on how to yield results from the activity and then you simply do more of it.
Jarvis CRM can help you achieve your goals in many ways including: automating tasks, advance planning, and managing your project timeline.
Contact us to find out more:
Phone: +1 877-501-8038
Email: info@jarviscrm.com