SMART Goals For A New Year

Once again, we're at the top of the calendar and the entire year is ready to unfold before us. Traditionally, January is the time for making resolutions. Unfortunately, most are not entirely kept and some are not acted upon at all. I encourage you to think about the kind of year that will make you proud and resolve to bring as many successes as possible into your life. Furthermore, I recommend that you should be optimistic, realistic and proactive in that process.

Plant seeds for success as you develop SMART goals that will serve as your road map this year:



Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Timely

1. Be specific
Telling yourself that you want to "grow the business" or "make more money" is too vague. How much and what kind of "growth" or "money" will be meaningful and achievable for your business over the next 12 months? Are you looking to increase your number of quarterly billable hours, or trying to expand your client list? Might you be in search of perhaps fewer, but more lucrative, assignments? Would you like to add more prestigious clients to your roster? All of those factors have the potential to stimulate business growth and bring in more money.

Specify and quantify the type of growth that you seek for your business. Visualize your intentions as you express your goals this way:



I would like to increase my client list by 10%.

Increase gross sales by 20%

Add one Fortune 500 client to my roster

Increase prices for existing clients by 5% and new clients by 8%

Review quarterly Profit & Loss statements for the previous year to evaluate your top line (gross sales) and bottom line (net profit), and also review your client list, and consider what will be beneficial and attainable for the business. Which factors seem possible for you to impact? Determine which measurable criteria will be used as the barometer of success.

2. Take action
Cutting costs, creating operational efficiencies, clarifying your marketing message, stepping up your networking efforts, pursuing referrals, raising prices and revitalizing social media activities are among the strategies that you will evaluate, prioritize and perhaps enact, as you develop action plans and move forward toward your goals. For every goal that you set, create an action plan and time-table.

3. Shoot for the stars
Aim high and set ambitious goals but be reasonable. Setting unattainable goals is not helpful. It is unlikely that you will add 30 clients to your roster in a year but if your business is one with a long sales cycle, adding three new clients would be a real victory.

4. Review quarterly
Reality will impact your goals along the way, so it will make sense to periodically evaluate your progress to plan and make any necessary adjustments. Monitor your chosen measuring criteria and find out what is working and what may not produce the desired results. Are there any goals that have not shown progress at the three-month mark? Do you know why that is so?

Pay attention to your progress, or lack thereof, throughout the year, to keep yourself focused on achieving what you set out to do. Reward yourself when milestones are reached, to maintain your motivation and enthusiasm. Maybe there is a conference that you've wanted to attend previously but were unable to budget? Increased sales could fund that item on your wish list and what you learn there might benefit your business even more than you anticipated.

Start now and draft your business goals. Do all you can to make this year rewarding.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Kim L. Clark is an external strategy and marketing consultant who brings agile talent to the for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders with whom she works. Please visit http://polishedprofessionalsboston.com to learn how your organization can succeed when you work with Kim.


 By Kim L. Clark



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