Setting Goals as a small business isn’t an option. It is a necessity, and in this article, we look at what you really need to consider when you are setting those goals, to ensure you have every chance of reaching them.
As we always teach our clients:
THE NUMBERS THAT ARE WATCHED ARE THE ONES THAT CHANGE”.
Why?
a) Because they have your attention
b) Your actions will be focused on those goals you have set
c) You will be consistently measuring them and checking in on progress.
So what should these small business goals actually look like, to ensure they are completely meaningful?
- FIRST OF ALL, THINK ABOUT YOUR BIG VISION
You need to choose your “North”, so you can consistently move in the right direction. This means knowing the answers to some of these pertinent questions:
- What is is that you want to achieve within your business in the short, medium and longer term?
- What type of business do you want to create in the longer-term – one that works with you, without you, part-time, full-time, passive income, continuity income, time-for-money?
- How much money would you like to make, from a turnover and profit perspective?
- Who is it that you want to serve with your products or services?
Once you have the answers to some of these questions, you can them think about setting the right goals.
2. SMART(S) SMALL BUSINESS GOALS
It’s the age-old acronym, but it works, so why fix it?
Oh, but wait – I have fixed it. I’m calling them SMARTS not SMART. There’s a well-needed extra ‘S’ on the end. Find out why.
This is what a well thought-through goal really looks like:
- Specific: Be laser-focused on what you are truing to achieve.
- Measurable: ensure that your goals can be measured consistently.
- Achievable: Ensure you have the energy, man-power, time, finances to allow those goals to become a reality.
- Relevant: The goals is helping you to achieve your overall vision, and not taking you off course.
- Time-bound: There is a date you are driving towards in order to achieve the goal
- Success-driven – there are micro-wins along the way that keep you powering forward and motivated.
Here’s an example of a Smart Goal:
To get 50 Small Business Owner leads in the B2B sector, by February, for our upcoming Product Launch.
Is it SMARTS?
Specific – Yup. Very – the numbers, who is being targeted.
Measurable – 50 is the measurable number
Achievable – Yes, this goals can be broken down into manageable lead generation chunks
Relevant – yes, it’s working towards an upcoming launch
Time-bound: February is the date
Success-Driven – yes, it can be broken down into micro-goals to ensure motivation and ongoing achievement
3. YOUR STRATEGIES
Once your goals are set, you are now able to look at the strategies you need to put in place to ensure you can achieve the goals:
- People Strategies: who needs to be involved?
- Marketing Strategies: what do you need to do to create your presence and pipeline?
- Sales Strategies: what do you need to do to convert customers?
Part of this strategy must be to measure! If you do not measure and adjust, your goals will be a lot harder to work towards.
In summary, if you do not have your goals defined, it’s like going on a long unknown journey – and how could you possible decide on a route to nowhere?
Once you know your strategy, you can get to work with your marketing plan. You can read more on that here.
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If you need help with setting your business goals, and the marketing strategies to help you achieve them, book in a 15 minutes free consultation with an All Star Expert today by clicking here.
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