It’s that time of year again, Goal Setting. For me, I really enjoy this time of year. Once the new year hits it’s a chance to start over (“Hey, 2020...don’t let the door hit you on the way out”). It’s a chance to look at things from a fresh perspective. A chance to start planning your year so that exactly what you want to have happen...happens. Sadly, despite most best efforts, the best laid plans remain just that come February, “plans”. What started as a lofty goal became simply words on a piece of paper or party proclamations that never materialized. And, just like gym memberships, we forget to go, don’t feel like participating or end up starting over again and again. Why is it so hard to make goals that “stick”? Why do our best intentions drift away over time as days, weeks and months go by? Why isn’t this year really going to be any different? Because most people don’t know and understand how to set up their goals in order to make sure they happen. Although this should take several hours to discuss, I’d like to give you a shortened version to help. Keep in mind that even if you have heard of this system before it is the little things that matter in each step, so pay attention. Here we go...
Your goals should be measured by using the S.M.A.R.T. system. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding and Timebound.
Specific – What is it that you want to accomplish specifically? Why do you want to accomplish that goal? What will it look like when you arrive? What will people around you say about you when you’ve achieved the goal? How will you feel about yourself? What new truths will come into play for you? This is partly a visualization exercise that will allow you to picture in your mind’s eye what this new success will look like. It will also help give you an idea of what you are actually shooting for and how to build the steps to getting there. Be as specific as possible and don’t use words like “try” or “like to”. Be as specific as possible and don’t be vague. Someone that says, “I’d like to be happier”. That isn’t specific enough. What does “happier” mean and how do you know when you have reached that goal?
Measurable – Our goals should be highly measurable. What can’t be measured, can’t be managed. Figure out the actual behaviors that will have to take place in order for you to make the goal happen. As example, if you want to earn an additional $25,000 per year in commissions, be very specific about how that will come in. Will that be a monthly increase of $2083.33/month or will you look for it in one big sale or four smaller sales? Without being specific you will lose focus on the goal. In other words, telling yourself that you would like to lose some weight isn’t specific enough. How many pounds per day? What action steps will you implement to get there? Take it down to the decimal so that the stats are more meaningful to you. Additionally, monitor your progress as you go so you can course correct quickly when off base so you can get back on track. More on this later.
Attainable – Is the goal you have selected attainable? Prove out the math if you can and possibly show it to others to do a sanity check on the number. Does the goal rely on others, which may make the goal unattainable? Is the goal within your capabilities? What are the barriers you may face while on the way to accomplishing the goals? Can those barriers be overcome? How?
As example, a client once told me that one of his goals was to make 15 calls to new potential customers per day. The problem (barrier) was that the people in his office interrupted him constantly, so he wasn't able to stay on the phone. Once he recognized this as a barrier to making the calls, he set up a system to overcome the interruptions. He announced that daily between 11-12:30 he was going to make calls to new potential customers, and he would like to not be interrupted during that time. This simple request worked, and he was free to make the calls with no further interruptions. He was on his way to his prospecting goal.
Rewarding – It’s a proven fact that we are more likely to behave a certain way or do tasks we would rather not do when there is a reward for doing the activity. Our basic human psychology has us migrate towards pleasure and avoid pain. Thus, if we set up a system that rewards us for good behavior, we become more likely to perform the unpleasant task. Look at experiments with a mouse in a maze. The mouse does not want to wander around a maze endlessly. However, put a reward in the maze, such as a small block of cheese and the mouse now has a goal: to get the cheese. He will overcome the boredom and challenge of wandering around in the maze if he has his eye on the prize...the cheese.
As a business example, some of my clients will purchase something small for themselves for having a good week or month of solid call activity. Others will have a piece of dessert that night or take a walk outside between activities as a reward for difficult prospecting activity. By activating the primitive side of our brain that seeks pleasure and avoids pain we can accomplish more simply by putting rewards in our path.
The reward can even be something larger, like a trip or an object that has meaning to us. I have clients that have dangled a trip to Europe in front of themselves or a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for accomplishing long term goals they set for themselves. They literally would book the hotel in advance or buy the motorcycle helmet as incentive towards their goals. If we can set up our goals with rewards as benchmarks along the way, our chances of achieving that goal increases.
Timebound – A deadline for goals are important as well. And not just a deadline with a “complete by” date. It is also important to create a start date. Otherwise, our best intentions can drift week by week or month by month until we finally lose progress. Don’t put off today what you know you should start immediately. Learn to set your goals and start that minute, today. Then, establish benchmark dates to test your progress. As example, if your goal is to increase sales by $100,000 this year then make sure you are averaging $8333.33 per month additional sales. You can check that monthly or quarterly. If you’re not on track, analyze the data, figure out what isn’t working and adjust the plan accordingly. If you are short, understand that in most cases it is due to lack of prospecting, which is a story for another day.
Finally, look at things like your daily habits and determine what to start, stop or continue doing in order to make your goals more achievable. It may be necessary, based on analyzing your SMART goals that you need to change a habit in order to get there. It could be waking up earlier or arriving earlier at work or getting more sleep or setting up a particular set of sales behaviors on a regular basis that will help you get there. Remember, salespeople fail when they are not disciplined, not consistent and when they get distracted.
Something that I discovered a long time ago with myself is that when I wrote something down that I needed to get done, it got done. If I didn’t put pen to paper sometimes it got done. There is something about writing things down that make things “stick”. It gets into our psyche differently. It triggers alarms in our head. It allows our subconscious to work on the task when we are occupied so the chances of us doing the task actually increases. So, put pen to paper, write down your goals now for 2021 and get back on track with where you want to go. Armed with these new steps, use these templates before the new year starts so you can hit the ground running. Right now is the perfect time to start planning out your success. Don’t wait. Take the steps, do the work and make 2021 what you want it to be.