You’ve set your goals, making sure they are balanced, emotional, specific, measurable, accountable, realistic, and timely (BE SMART). You’ve even created a goal poster and recruited an accountability buddy. What do you do next to ensure success?
Know Your Numbers. Statistics vary by industry, company, and even representative (or employee if you work in a corporate setting). Direct Sellers will want to understand their event average ($), the number of bookings per event, and the number of recruit leads they must talk with in order to gain one new team member, among others. If your company’s system doesn’t provide these types of reports, begin tracking your important metrics manually. I know it’s painful, but without knowing your averages, how will you know what effort is required to reach your goals? How will you measure your progress? Tracking your metrics will allow you to observe trends, map out your plan, and understand your strengths and weaknesses. (If you are just beginning your journey or entering a new phase of your career, utilize company averages or ask your upline or supervisor for guidance; then track your success and adjust as necessary. If numbers make your eyes start to twitch, find a buddy who loves business analytics!)
Break Down Your Goals. An African proverb says, “You must eat an elephant one bite at a time.” It’s the same with goals. If your goal is “to reach the number of points necessary for my company’s incentive trip in 6 months”, determine the minimum number of points required per month. Increase the number of points slightly, or divide the total by less time to give yourself an “insurance policy”. If you overshoot your goal, it will be a bonus in your paycheck! As an example, a goal of “losing 10 pounds in 2 months” could be broken down as 5 pounds per month. Or, to ensure success, you could break it down as “losing 1.5 pounds per week”, which, if met, would mean you’ve lost 12 pounds rather than 10. Woot Woot!
Do Some Math. Now that you know your statistics, how much activity is necessary to achieve your monthly goal? How many new team members will you need to invite? How many parties will you need to hold? In order to hold that many parties, how many will you need to book? How many people will you need to contact each day to achieve this level of activity? (This may be another time to talk with your “Metrics Buddy”.) There may be multiple paths to success…utilize your strengths and develop your areas of opportunity. One caveat: you’ve heard the adage, “Plan your work, and work your plan”; make sure you don’t plan to work all the time. You need “downtime”, too. Work when you’ve planned to work, and play when you’ve planned to play so you don’t burn out.
Focus On The Effort and The Results Will Come! It’s easy to get discouraged when you have a long-term (or even mid-range) goal, and don’t receive immediate gratification. Some days (possibly several) you won’t make progress. As long as you are doing the daily activities necessary, the results will eventually happen. Just like it is recommended you do not step on a scale daily if you are trying to lose weight, do not worry about the outcomes daily, either.
Measure Your Progress and Adjust As Necessary. Depending on the duration of the goal, measure your progress quarterly, monthly, or possibly weekly (for very short-term goals). Are you seeing results over time? If not, were there days when you did not complete the tasks you determined were necessary? Occasionally, things come up. Don’t beat yourself up or dwell on missteps. Instead, recalculate the effort required in the time remaining. If you are putting forth the effort and still not seeing results, step up your effort and evaluate your reports for potential problem areas. Seek additional training or support whenever necessary.
Remember Your Goal. Keep your goal fresh in your mind with pictures (a goal poster, a photograph, a printed flyer, or even a screen shot of a website). Think of how you will feel when you achieve that goal. What will it mean to you and your family? This visualization will help you remain enthusiastic and passionate… Enthusiasm is contagious and very attractive!
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