There’s a reason why setting New Year’s resolutions is considered a terrible way to accomplish your goals. Setting good goals takes a lot more effort than a simple throw-away wish when it comes time for a new year. Setting business goals should be even more impactful.
If you’re not sure what it takes to set good business goals, keep reading. We’re outlining the tried and true goal-setting method that will have you achieving your business goals in no time.
Why Setting Realistic Goals is Important
Setting realistic business goals is important because it sets the tone for your company. When you set goals that are too small, you’re risking not reaching your full potential. But when you set goals that are too big, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Setting realistic goals acts as a motivator. Many people and businesses have suffered countless ups and downs over the past year. Sometimes, a solid business goal is all it takes to get back on track.
Setting Business Goals
Setting a business goal isn’t much different from setting personal goals. It takes some time and care to set goals that will help motivate you and guide your business in the right direction. Here’s how to do it.
Set Goals You Can Measure
The first step in setting good business goals is to figure out what it is you want to accomplish exactly. Only select goals that are worth the effort and resources you will put into it.
How would you set up your goals if you were 100% sure that they would come to fruition? If this was your last opportunity to set a goal, what would it look like?
Also, set clear goals. Know where you want your business to go.
Make it measurable. There are many metrics you can measure business goals by. You could be tracking followers, the number of leads generated, interactions on social media, or total sales.
The options are endless. Just make sure that you have a way to track your goals so you can determine if they’re working. This will help you to adjust along the way.
Create a Support Team
Even if you’re a solo entrepreneur, you need a support team behind you. Going into business can be an isolating affair. And nothing will make you feel unmotivated about reaching your goals like not having someone there to back you up.
If you do have a team to work with in your business, trust them with the goal-setting process. Ask them what opportunities they see and how they think you can improve. You may be surprised what you can see when you look from a teammate’s perspective.
Make Specific Goals
Your business goals can’t be too vague. A goal like “I want to increase sales” isn’t going to cut it. It needs to be better defined.
“I want to see a $5k increase in sales by the end of our third quarter” is much better. Even better yet is when you take the time to clearly map out your road map for how you’re going to reach that goal.
Hold Yourself Accountable
Once you’ve set your goals for your business, you need to be the person holding yourself accountable. The team you created earlier can only help so much. Once the going starts to get tough, it’s all up to you.
Motivation is easy in the beginning. It starts to wane as soon as things get tough. Try to find ways to keep yourself motivated when your goals start to become difficult to achieve.
Make Your Goals Public
One of the best ways to ensure that you see a goal all the way to the finish line is to announce it to the public. When you broadcast your goal-setting for business development, you’re telling the whole world that you’re up to something big. That will put pressure on you to get it done.
The last thing anyone wants is for someone to approach them a year down the line and ask “hey, how did that sales goal for last year go?” only to have to tell them that you didn’t see it all the way through.
If you’re ready to go public with a goal, you’re truly ready to make it happen.
Set a Deadline
A part of setting definable, measurable goals is to set a concrete deadline. One way to make the process easier is to set mini-goals to act as pit stops on your roadmap to success.
Instead of saying that you want to see a $5k increase in sales by the end of your third quarter, you should break that down. How much do you have to earn per week to achieve that goal?
When you break it down, a $50 increase in sales per week feels a lot more manageable than a $5k increase in sales by the end of the quarter. Both goals get you there, but one motivates you a little at a time.
Visualize Your Success
Lastly, you have to visualize your success. If you don’t believe that you’re worthy of success, if you can’t really see yourself as someone with a successful business, there’s a good chance you won’t ever get there.
Spend a little time every day visualizing where you will be when you reach your business goals.
Reward Yourself for Your Wins
Now you know how to set goals for your business. Setting business goals isn’t easy, it takes a lot of forethought and calculation to create measurable, definable goals that will help get you to where you want to be. But once you take the steps to reach your goals, nothing is going to stop you.
For more information on how you can start and manage your own business through network marketing, contact us today!
