5 smart goals every business needs

There are 5  SMART goals every business needs to be successful.
Once these smart goals are in place, every business has the power to to thrive confidently.
Building your trade or company relies as much on your specific skills as on business skills. Creating smart goals is a business skill.
But first, let’s back up for a moment.

What exactly are SMART Goals?

Specific. Name names, places, tasks explicitly. No vague statement allowed. Ask, “what do you mean by that?” for each statement until your statement is crystal clear.

Measurable. How do you know it is done? Pick a number to hit. However, it doesn’t always have to be a number. For example, it could be having a project accepted by a customer.

Attainable. No blue sky goals here. Be sure you can do them or figure out a way to get them done. Otherwise they are more a vision or dream than a goal.

Realistically high. Pick goals that are stretch goals just outside your comfort zone.

Time based. Set a deadline, a date you have a chance at hitting, then do it. Otherwise the goal without a date falls into the vision arena. Without deadlines and dates you may never accomplish the goals.

I also add in these four tips.

1. Get someone to hold you accountable for them.
2. Be sure they are aligned with your vision and values. Otherwise you’ll keep delaying, postponing, and not tackling them.
3. Set them to accomplish within 90-day time frames.
4. Create no more than 5 goals. With all the obstacles, issues, changes that happen even 3 can keep you plenty busy. Besides, a small number will help you focus.

The 5 SMART goals every business needs generate steady progress towards a business plan. These 5 smart goals drive the day in day out execution toward realizing the business plan.
Of course you do have a business plan, don’t you?

5 SMART goals every business needs

With these 5 smart goals in place and completed, confidence in your direction and execution becomes the norm.

Get an internal or extended team in place to complement weaknesses and blind spots. An internal team would include people who have different strengths than you. For example, if the decision maker is not very detailed oriented, then get a detailed oriented person in place. Be sure to understand what you are good at not good at, then fill in weak spots with those who are good at those tasks. For an extended team bring in the right people like an accountant, bookkeeper, financial planner, IT, marketing development, sales lead generation, office organization and management.

Have an awareness and lead generation marketing process in place working continually to feed the marketing funnel and sales funnel. Continually feed the marketing and sales funnel. Adjust campaigns for seasonal fluctuations and the sales cycle to produce a steady flow of new customers. Part of this process is to set smart goals for visits to website or storefront, leads to generate, for specific number of new customers per month.

Have skilled people in place who understand and can execute the key 7 steps in the sales process to drive business and progress. Since sales is key to success in any business develop this in-house and have sales collaborate weekly with marketing and product or service delivery people. Put sales in place and train them within first year with on-going refresher training each year.

Have regular (weekly, monthly) business and operational planning and accountability sessions to review and revise the business plan and the 90-day goal progress. Start this process within first two months after business plan is finalized.

Have continual learning in place for operational skills, business skills, leadership skills, managerial skills. Put the continual learning in place first month and repeat once a quarter to keep every one fresh.

Easy!
The key is to get good at building smart goals and that takes doing them until you find what works for you.

Sometimes it can be tricky to get the smart goals right

Getting the goals aligned with your vision and values, your ability to execute and ability to achieve them can be tricky at times.
Contact me today at 503-753-9971
or email at phil@PhilBride.com to talk about your situation.
Take 30 minutes and lets talk (don’t worry it’s free).
 
 
 
 

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