Goals, Planning and REALLY Planning

Every January I put my pencil to the pad and start thinking of what I want to achieve in the new year. I look back at what I wanted to achieve in the previous year. Did I make it happen? What was left over? What worked that I can do more of? What failed miserably and won’t be repeated?

I learn a lot about myself and my business when I do this. And it starts my brain thinking about how to achieve these things. My plans change. My goals need adjusting. But this start IS important.

A lot of business owners I work with fail to do this. Fail to plan for the year ahead and beyond. And often, it’s these very business owners who find themselves in a tight spot. Their vision is missing. How can you expect to run a successful business without vision. Here’s an idea; next time you go out for a drive, blindfold yourself first. Then go ahead and put the car in drive (or first for you manual folks) and see how far into the future you are able to make it. Obviously, not very far. This may be a bit of a tired analogy for some, but the truth is, this is EXACTLY what many business owners are doing every day. And it doesn’t have to be that way.

By just writing down what you expect, hope and want to achieve, you will be surprised at how much of it you actually achieve.

So what’s on my list for the year? Well, I’m thinking of starting a new blog. A more personal blog where I discuss things that I like in general. Some business, some sports, some nerdy/techy stuff, some current events; a little bit of everything. And to make it happen, I’ve written it down. Therefore sealing my fate.

A word of caution though. Writing it down is a GREAT start. But it’s just a start. Start with a list of goals, then break them down into smaller, more accomplishable goals. This way you can actually get closer to your larger goal every day, with the completion of a smaller, more manageable goal.

Feeling disgruntled? Frustrated? Stuck in the mud? If you start to feel as though you aren’t making any forward progress, revisit the list. Rethink your goals. Re-examine what it is you REALLY WANT to accomplish. The adjust your goals accordingly.

Still not working? How about an inspirational read? There are a bunch of good ones out there. Here are a couple I know are good, practical and worth reading multiple times (especially when you are in one of these moods where you are just fed up!)

Gary Vaynerchuk, of wine TV fame, has a book out that is easy to read and motivational as hell. You can get Crush It here (link redirects to Amazon.com) (and no, I am not a paid endorser or anything). He’s managed to land a 10 book deal as well as land millions of viewers and fans on his wineTV blog site. This guy is smart.

Napoleon Hill wrote the quintessential entrepreneur’s motivational book with Think and Grow Rich. If you haven’t already read this book, you can get it here. (again, no affiliation with Napoleon Hill’s estate or anything). If you have read it, do yourself a favor and read it again. This book does an excellent job of reminding you why you became a business owner in the first place.

Looking Beyond the Sale

I try to deliver real value to everyone reading my blog. There are many sources of great information out there, and I want to share those with you too. So before I start this one, let me recommend that you check out the people over at www.copyblogger.com. There doing some great stuff over there and delivering some AWESOME content.

Ok, now, let’s get right to it.

One of the problems I see almost every day with our Dynamic Web Solutions clients is business short-sightedness. I went to the optometrist this week and I must say, without my contacts or glasses, I’m blind as a bat. I can’t read a book more than 7 inches from my face. Yeah, I know, it’s pretty sad. But what it reminds me of, is the way business owners often look at their business.

They get so caught up in the day to day activities, and so caught up on making the sale that they become extremely short-sighted. Just as I can only see objects that are really close to my face without my contacts, these business owners stop seeing the big picture because they are so focused on the immediate future. They are focused on the goal of the sale, because the sale is what generates revenue to do the other things that they hope to do later.

Here’s what happens though, by trying so hard to get the sale, you may very well lose the sale. People eager to sell often oversell, or seem desperate to sell. This does not resonate well with potential buyers. It’s also an almost instant rapport killer.

Take a step back, look beyond the immediate.

Remember that to be successful, you have to keep you long term goals in mind. Build rapport and trust early with all of your clients and keep feeding that. The old, worn out cliche, “people buy from people they trust” is still applicable. Continue creating attainable long term goals and tackle projects that have long term payoffs (these normally pay way bigger dividends anyway). Take time to write down what you want beyond the sale. Define it. Literally write down what you want to happen. Is your goal to have this client or customer refer 10 others? Could you share contacts with this person that could stimulate future business.

What are your goals beyond this one sale? How will you generate 20 more sales like this one in a specific amount of time? Define your plan, and if you’re saying, “yeah, yeah, I already did THAT…” then take out that list, dust it off, and look at it again. Where are you on actually getting it done? Maybe your existing plan needs a little tweaking.

The key is to focus on a combination of long term goals and short time goals so that you are always moving forward. Plans will change and will need reevaluating, but you can continue moving ahead as long as you are able to see the forest, and the trees.

-Brian