SMART Goal Setting & New Year’s Resolutions

By: Cathie Ericson

Although many Americans make New Year’s resolutions — some of them business-related — it’s common for them to lose sight of their goals after just a short time. A study of 2,000 Americans from OnePoll found the average respondent kept up on their New Year’s resolution for just 36 days. Why the abysmal follow-through?

Part of it is because most resolutions aren’t specific enough, so it’s hard to know if you’re making progress. For example, an owner might vow to “increase sales.” But that’s too vague. How would you know when you’ve arrived? When is “enough” enough? 

1. Make your goals SMART

The answer is for business owners to make their goals SMART, a management method first introduced by Peter Drucker in his 1954 book, “The Practice of Management.” That is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
Here’s what that means:

• Specific: The goals must involve actual numbers — for example, increasing sales by 10% or gaining six new leads a week.

• Measurable: An old business saying is “What gets measured, gets managed,” which means we pay attention to whatever we’re tracking. Goals can’t be vague, such as “improve brand awareness.”

• Attainable: Sometimes, we stop pursuing our goals because they’re just too lofty. For example, you probably won’t leapfrog your biggest, most entrenched competitor in two months. You want goals that are challenging but possible, so you don’t feel discouraged.

• Relevant: Goals need to contribute to your business success directly. The list of what you can accomplish is endless, but you should focus on goals that are strategic, meaningful, and will advance your mission.

• Time-bound: This means there is a deadline. You either reached the finish line, or you didn’t. “Someday” is not a deadline.

  2. Turning a “Dumb” Goal into a SMART One

When we first think of a goal, it’s natural to think of the broad concept we want to achieve. For example, a salesperson may think, “I want to sell as much as possible.” However, because this goal lacks specifics, it’s the type of goal that often leads to failure after a short time. SMART goals have specific benchmarks or targets to aim for that you can measure your performance by.

Here’s an example of how you could take an ineffective goal and make it SMART:

Old Goal: “Make as much money as possible.”
New Goal: “Increase my client base by 5% over the next three months while retaining current clients.”

• Specific? Yes, there is a number attached.
• Measurable? Yes, you either do or don’t.
  
• Attainable? Yes, the goal isn’t so lofty as to be impossible.
  
• Relevant? Yes, increasing your client base can correlate to making more money.
  
• Time-bound? Yes, there is a deadline

 

3. Take It One Step Further

To make the goal even SMARTer, it could benefit from more specificity. One way to make goals count is to give them the attention they deserve.

You might choose to focus on increasing your client base through increased networking and then attach smaller SMART goals to that aim. For example:

• Make five sales calls each day.
• Set up three appointments with prospects or influencers each week.
  
• Attend one networking event or conference a month.
  
• Give one presentation each quarter.
  

At the end of the three months, you can analyze the goal of growing your client base and each of the mini-goals you made designed to get you there.

The book Start Your Own Business from Entrepreneur magazine states, “The most important rule of self-evaluation and goal-setting is honesty. Going into business with your eyes wide open about your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, and your ultimate goals let you confront the decisions you’ll face with greater confidence and a greater chance of success.”

That’s smart advice that can contribute to SMART goals.
  

About the Author 

Cathie Ericson is a freelance writer who specializes in small business, finance, and real estate.