Goal setting is important for any business, but it is not enough. If you want to be successful and make your goals into reality.
Define Success
Before goals can be set, you have to define what success looks like for you. Your goals should all be focused around what you consider to be a success for your business.
Goals Must be Specific
Making “more sales” or “growing the business” is too vague. Your goals need to be specific if you’re going to meet them for the business. This can mean coming up with a series of small goals or creating an overarching goal that includes both a measurable target, a target date by which it needs to happen, and a list of steps taken in order to reach that goal.
Goals Must be Action Oriented
Any goal needs to include some kind of action steps. This will help make sure the goal can be met, and also give you some key points at which to measure success in the run up to achieving the goal. Want to make more sales? What actions are you going to take to make those sales happen? Within your goal, include things like increasing your newsletter subscribers, selling more products to current customers by sending discount coupons, and other specific actions.
Performance Measurement on Goal
Once the goal is identified and actions are distributed to those working towards the goal, measurements on the performance (the action) should take place. There should be check points set at certain periods of time where you can check on the status of the steps leading to achieving the goal.
Evaluation of Goal and Process
If the milestones aren’t being met, this can be a sign that you may need to reevaluate your goal, or change the way you’re going about meeting it. It’s important to reevaluate what’s working and what isn’t – after all, we can’t all predict the future and goals should be fluid. It may be that you’re meeting the action steps necessary, but they aren’t having the desired effect of increasing sales after all.
As you can see, having a goal is one thing, but breaking it down into something that will really alter your business for the better is another.
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LaKeisha Hankins
Passion Strategist
http://www.LaKeishaHankins.com
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P.S. Finally… I am making doing what I love, after years of struggling and making pennies, I am supplementing my household income and showing other aspiring entrepreneurs how to start an online business. Find out How —–http://lakeishahankins.com/ob-free-checklist/>>