As I write this, it's almost the new year, and if there's one thing I've learned to dread, it's the annual list of "resolutions" that are so often ignored about 3 weeks into the year. I stopped making resolutions a while back, and decided to create an annual strategy to achieve the things I wanted to accomplish in my life.
Did you hear me say "goals" in there? Most of us have gotten immune to the word goal. My husband even claims that "plan" is a four-letter word and refuses to do much in the way of planning. Thus, I've had to resort to semantics so that we can "create a strategy" (plan) for the things we want to accomplish (goals).
Some people are so turned off by the word, that I hesitated to use it here. That said, we need to decide what we want to accomplish - what our goals are - before we can finalize our strategy.
Would you like to reach more clients this year? Perhaps you'd prefer to really focus on generating more income from your existing customer base? Maybe you'd like more shows on your calendar - or maybe higer show sales averages?
You can't get what you want, until you know what you want. I think there's a song in there somewhere.
Take some time to really think about the three or four major goals you'd like to hit in your business this year. Take them and spend 3-4 months working on each one. It might be hard to prioritize them, but if you know you want to do an event at the end of the year to reach a new group of customers, make that your focus for that quarter.
This is how strategy is created in a real business. Even though your companies only tell you what's coming up for the next couple of months, they're already working on the holiday catalog for NEXT year! They've got a strategy, a business plan, and they have a direction to help them achieve their goals.
Does this mean we won't 'course correct' along the way? Heavens no. We need to look at our strategy and our plan periodically throughout the year to make sure we're on track - or to determine new goals. Sometimes, I find that the goals I laid out for a year are all met before the end of July. Sometimes, not. Funny thing about writing down our "goals" is that they become easier to accomplish.
It doesn't matter what they are - or how "SMART" they are. They need to be YOUR goals.
So what are your goals for the new year?
© 2009 Lisa Robbin Young.
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Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com
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