 |
|
|
|
Services
Setting SMART Goals
By Peter Fasulo
The first part of being successful is knowing what your goals are. In
order to set proper goals you must use a tried and true system called SMART.
This plan was originally published in a book by Paul J. Meyer entitled
“Attitude Is Everything.” Throughout my years managing sales staffs in the
corporate world, I have redesigned these five steps of goal-setting so that it
now makes sure that all the goals that you set in your life, whether it be
losing weight, making money, or anything else for that matter, follow a
pattern that can help you achieve the desired goal that you have set.
SMART goals must consist of goals that are Specific, Measurable,
Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time Sensitive. Follow the principles below
when setting goals for both your sales life and your personal life, and you
will find that even those pesky New Year’s resolutions will be easier to keep.
Your corporation might have a goal for you of perhaps forty sales in a month.
That number seems huge! However, there are ways you can do the math and break
it down and say to yourself. Well, there are twenty working days in a month,
that’s only two sales in a day, and I have found that in order to make two
sales I need to go on six sales appointments. And, in order to make six
appointments, I need to make forty cold calls. So my goal every day is to make
forty cold calls. You will find that when you break your goals down in this
way it will lead to more success. Activity goals will lead to sales goals.
Proper Setting of SMART Goals Strategic - A specific goal has a much
greater chance of being accomplished if you set up a strategy to attain that
particular goal. To set a goal that you can reach you must put forth a proper
strategy.
*Who besides yourself will be directly involved in attaining this goal?
*What exactly do I want to accomplish at the end of this task?
*Where is the location that will best help me attain my desired goal?
*What is the game plan or strategy I will employ in order to achieve the
desired final result?
*What are the specific requirements and constraints of reaching the
actual desired final goal?
*What are the particular reasons, purposes and/or benefits of
accomplishing this particular goal?
In many cases people set a goal that includes a time-frame, a realistic
final result, and a measurable objective, but they fail to put a day-to-day or
at least a monthly strategy together to achieve the desired final outcome.
EXAMPLE ONE: A general goal would be, "Get in shape." But a specific
goal would say, "Lose 20 pounds by joining a health club and working out at
least four days a week."
EXAMPLE TWO: “I will go to Hawaii this year,” is not a specific goal. A
better goal would be “I will save enough money by October of this year to
schedule a trip to Hawaii.”
Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward
the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay
on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of
achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as...How much? How
many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
EXAMPLE ONE: “I will lose two pounds per week during the first eight
weeks, and 1 pound per week in the final four weeks, thus reaching my goal of
losing 20 pounds in a total of 12 weeks.”
EXAMPLE TWO: “I will put ten percent of my monthly commission check into
a separate account from the beginning of the year until October in order to
save enough money for my trip.”
Action- Oriented – This is a part of goal-setting that does not appear
in Paul J. Meyer’s original plan. Yet, too many people are relying on outside
sources to complete tasks, or on certain things beyond their control to happen
before they can achieve a certain set goal. The goals you set must require
you, and others if applicable, to take action. Setting goals that require
waiting on things outside of your actual control to take place are sure ways
to fail at the goals you have set for yourself.
EXAMPLE ONE: “The actions that need to take place are that I need to
restrict my food intake to 1200 calories per day, and to burn at least 300
calories per day by doing 40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise on the
treadmill each day.”
EXAMPLE TWO: “The actions that I need to take in order to save enough
money for my trip is to sell enough to make $4000 in commission monthly so
that I can put at least $400 per month in my Hawaii Fund account.”
Realistic - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you
begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the
attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin
seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the
achievement of your goals. You can attain most any goal you set when you plan
your steps strategically and establish a time frame that allows you to carry
out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach
eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink,
but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you
improve your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and
develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them. To be
realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both
willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the
only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that
every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier
to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some
of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because
they were planned out properly. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly
believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is
realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the
past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this
goal.
EXAMPLE ONE: “I will lose 20 pounds in twelve weeks.” If you are only
ten pounds overweight, this may not be a realistic goal. Or the other extreme
example being “I will lose 60 pounds in five weeks.” This is clearly not a
reasonable and attainable goal. Plus, it doesn’t seem to be a healthy way to
go about getting in shape.
EXAMPLE TWO: “I will put away ten percent of my monthly commission check
to save for my trip” is a reasonable goal. But, possibly saying “I will put 25
percent of my commission check away to save for the trip” may be unreasonable
in that you may not be able to pay your normal monthly bills.
Time- Sensitive - A goal cannot be properly achieved if you do not put a
specific time in which to achieve the final desired effect. Too many people
claim they will lose weight, write down their measurements at their weekly
weigh-ins, and religiously work out 4 or more days per week. Yet, where they
fail is that they do not set a particular time by which they will be at their
desired weight. All SMART goals must have a date at which the final desired
result will take place.
EXAMPLE ONE: “I will lose 20 pounds in 12 weeks- by my final weigh-in on
September 15th.”
EXAMPLE TWO: “I will save a total of $4000 by October 31st and then book
my trip.”
Once all five of these criteria are set in motion, you are truly ready
to tackle a SMART goal, not just a general want or resolution. Once you employ
this type of strategy to your goal-setting you will find that it will make
your targets and objectives easier to attain.
|