When it comes to business, succeeding is a common objective. But, what it really boils down to is not if you’ll succeed, but rather the path that’s needed to get there. Developing S.M.A.R.T goals is a surefire way to help you determine if you’re headed in the right direction towards success.

Key Points

• How you set your goals drastically effects the outcome
• A goal without a plan is only a wish
• The S.M.A.R.T goals criteria helps to eliminate unrealistic goals

Living a Life of Freedom

As a company, we spent countless hours establishing our mission statement. “Our mission is to empower our clients to close more deals and retain more business.”

While our mission sounds great from the outside, we quickly realized that this isn’t all what we are aspiring to do. In fact, our mission is a materialistic result of what we’re really trying to accomplish. What we’re passionate about is inspiring our clients to be able to live a life of freedom.

This life of freedom comes in many forms. But it starts with us working 24/7 to produce products that help our clients close more deals and garner a commission check. A commission that they can in turn use to purchase a new car, send their kids to a good school, spend more time with their family—that is the life of freedom.

Sure, this goal seems ideal. But, how do we get there? How can we guarantee that our clients will be able to obtain this so-called elusive life of freedom? By ensuring that we set the proper goals to do such.

S.M.A.R.T Goals

Just last year, we set a goal that was unrealistic, and we suffered the consequences. Our morale was down and we started to cut corners to get there. Long story short, we didn’t get there. Not because we didn’t try, but because the goal was unrealistic.

Fast forward to this year, and we’re utilizing S.M.A.R.T goals. By running our goals through its criteria—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based—we’re now able to determine if reaching them is in the cards.

Specific

Your goals must be specific. They need to be simple and well-defined. This will provide you with the guidance and ability to logically and systemically build your game plan to reach said goal.

It’s important to keep in mind that your goals shouldn’t be set without reverse engineering them. For instance, if you have an annual revenue goal that you want to hit. Determine what the KPIs are that will drive that revenue. Next you would look at how many transactions you would need to meet that goal. And then work backwards to determine how many leads you need.

Measurable

There’s a huge difference between wanting to grow your business this year and wanting to bring in x amount of revenue. A goal needs to have a specific number attached to it. You need to be able to measure the results. Again, determine the KPIs, and know exactly from a measurable standpoint what you’re going to do to hit your goals.

Achievable

How do we determine what’s achievable? First, look at the market and competition, and measure what they’re doing. While dreaming of the impossible is great, you still need to have a well thought out way to get there. Again, start the reverse engineering process. There are 24 hours in the day, can you physically achieve what you want to?

Relevant

It’s neither relevant nor achievable for someone if they have to work on a goal that doesn’t pertain to their technical skillset or their why. Remembering to always bring it back to the why will help you determine if the goal is relevant.

Time-based

Be precise with your goal, and put a specific target date on it—e.g. by x or within x amount of time. You can’t reverse engineer without setting a deadline. Take annual goals and break it down quarterly. This allows you to see the reward, and gives you something to drive towards.

Action Items

Following the podcast, our goal is to provide you with as many actionable tips as possible. For this episode, they include…

• Make sure your yearly and quarterly goals are set.
• Follow the free S.M.A.R.T goal template.

As always, take action on these tips!