|
|
| |
|
Goal Setting Information |
|
|
|
Business Goal Setting and Then Following Through
Your business can't go according to plan if you have no plan. What do you want to achieve this year? More new customers per week? Higher average order amounts? Better customer service ratings? No matter what it is you are shooting for, goal setting is one of the most important things that you will do in the New Year. I've got a few tips to help you get there. 1. Keep it Challenging but Realistic. Any goal that you set for your company should be challenging but don't over do it. For example, if you had an average order amount of $700 last year, you wouldn't want to set your goal for this year at $3000 per order. Unless you make drastic changes in how your company runs or what you are selling, that goal is just not realistic. You know best what you may be able to achieve in your particular industry, so be honest with yourself and set your goals accordingly. 2. Write All Your Goals Down. You may say to yourself on January 1, "I want to get 20 more new customers per week this year." A few months later you will be saying "Did I say I wanted 20 or 30?" Or more realistically, you have forgotten that you even made that goal. If you have all of your goals written down you will be able to not only go back and check them, you will also be able to go down the list every few months and check to see how many of them you have completed. 3. Assess Your Current Situation. To set goals you have to know where you are at right now. In 2003 I wanted to assess our customer service rating so we sent out a survey to all of our customers on which they could rate us in each department of our operation. That helped us establish our base. Now we send the survey to every customer after every order. This way we can keep track of how we are doing and if there is ever a hiccup we can fix it quickly. Don't assume anything. Always assess the current situation before setting a new goal. It's Only Going to Hurt A Little... Now, in financial goal setting for your business, one invariably comes to the question: "How do I decide on a budget when starting a marketing plan?" This is obviously the first question that you have to answer in order to get started on your new campaign. And in order to reach the income goals you have set for yourself. So how do you figure out what your budget should be? Here is an easy method to help you find a number that is going to work for you and your business. Some might say that it is a good rule of thumb, but I personally judge things on whether or not they work and get results. That's all. Moving on... Start with the amount of income that your company generated last month and multiply it by .14 (or 14%). That means that if you had $50,000 in Gross Income last month you should budget to spend $7000 on marketing in the next month. Wait... I know, it sounds painful but it is just like a shot at the doctor. It might hurt for a minute (or in this case a month) but down the road you are going to be glad that you went through it. Putting that much toward the right marketing will bump up your income the next month and start you on a cycle of steady growth. I know that some businesses run tighter than others and it is possible that you won't be comfortable with that amount in the beginning. Don't misunderstand me, any marketing is better than no marketing. Don't get discouraged if your budget is lower than 14%. But use 14% as the ideal to strive for because, for me as well as many other growing businesses, it has proven to give the best rate of growth possible. How do I know, you ask? My company has expanded 400% in the past 2 years. Now picture your business at 4 times its current size... There's that smile I was looking for! The growth of your business is based on three factors; quality products, great customer service and the proper amount of marketing. If you know you have the first two taken care and you still aren't experiencing healthy growth then you need to take a serious look at your marketing budget. So sharpen your pencils, start calculating and decide how rapidly you want your business to grow. Please take a moment this week to sit down and decide on your goals for the New Year. Even if it is past the New Year and even well into the year, set your goals for the rest of the year. Everything is easier when are working towards a goal. My goal is your success and I assume that is your goal as well. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she's sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at http://www.postcardmania.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
If Wishes Were Horses Then Beggars Would Ride! And if Bull frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their little rear-end when they landed. Don't make the mistake of thinking that rushing all over the place you are being your most productive self. Setting Goals - Things to Think About We hear a lot about the steps we should take to achieve our goals, however unless we take the first steps to realistically consider who and what we are right now - our capabilities and interests - and think logically about what we'd like to accomplish, our chances of achieving our "goal" are slim to none. Here are a few things to think about when you're trying to decide what you'd like to do. Who Needs a Rear-view Mirror? Successful Living by Mastering Our Past When driving, we need to check our rear-view mirror every few minutes to perceive dangers lurking behind - tailgaters, hecklers, over speeding cars, and drivers under the influence. Aside from anticipating threats, it helps us contemplate our next move, giving us enough time to be cautious before overtaking or stopping or . On Achievement If a comatose person were to earn an interest of 1 million USD annually on the sum paid to him as compensatory damages - would this be considered an achievement of his? To succeed to earn 1 million USD is universally judged to be an achievement. But to do so while comatose will almost as universally not be counted as one. Focus To have a goal is like having a road map. It shows you where to go, and where not to go. Making the Most of Your Year Do you find yourself amazed at how quickly the months pass? Do you find yourself in a small panic over all you know you have to do and how little you feel you are actually accomplishing? Join the crowd! We live in a busy world where our time, priorities and energy are constantly challenged. The reality is that there is simply not time for everything and we don't have enough energy to complete everything. Goal Setting: 5 Simple Steps One of the things that frustrated me while in school was that most of the psychology books specialized in complicating things. It's the same with many self-help books as well. eaziGOAL Review: Practical Goal Setting Tools for Everyone I love the internet. I mean, anything at all you want to learn or research or just get more information on is right at your fingertips. How To Score Your Own Goals With Sarah Do you know where your company is going? Do you have a vision of where you want to be?Often in an attempt to get company staff to have a shared view of where they're all going a vision and mission statement are prepared.Unless you're a large company it's a waste of time. Reaching for the Goal Can goals be easily reached? This question is in most of our minds. Some tend to think that goals are hard to achieve and that only very clever people can be true achievers!Remember the saying 'If there is a will, there is a way'? I bet many of you do. 5 Steps to Goal Setting Success Goal setting is the true secret to success in any area of life. But although setting a goal may seem simple, achieving it is usually another question altogether. The Great American Dream Challenge Pull Quote: "the secret to living a "dream come true" life is to believe in your dream simply because it matters to you."Making Your Dreams Come TrueYears ago, people came to America in pursuit of their dreams-work hard, stay focused and you can achieve the American Dream. Six Keys To Build Vision - Point Three Six keys to keys to build vision - point three3. Associate with those who live visionThe key starting point on our path to being an effective visionary, is networking with those who live vision. The Power of Goals - Gordon the Tank Engine Lately I have been studying mindset and goals, and wanted to share a Success story in our family.Our 3 year old Quinn is potty training, and has had a huge goal to get "Gordon the tank engine". 5 Good Ways to Make Steady Progress on Your Goals & Projects 1. Schedule a specific time and day to work on the goal - just as if it were an appointment. One Focus To Success Too many times we are distracted from our main goal and purpose by all of the different things out there that we want, or think we want. Instead of making choices, we seem to want it all, everything we come across. The Process of Developing Meaningful Goals DEVELOPING A GOAL-SETTING CHECKPOINT: The process of developing meaningful goals and objectives can be a challenging task for any manager. There is a method to make this process easier, however, and it involves following a few general guidelines. Six keys to keys build vision - point four 4. Start somewhere (put to use what you already have)"Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. Your Goals Clearly In Mind Keep Your Goals Fresh In Your Mind - Most of us have goals, the question is how many of us actually follow-up and work those goals.What I mean is going a step further then actually recording your goals, with that said the question is how do we effectively work our goals list. Achieve Anything, One Step At A Time No matter how ambitious your goal, you CAN achieve it. You do it by taking one little step at a time.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
