goal1I was talking to a buddy in my mastermind group the other day about goal setting.

We were talking about the annual and monthly sales goals for my business (Remodel Your Marketing.)

He said something that hit me upside the head:

After years of setting money goals – he stopped doing it.

The reason being he can’t control those goals. He can’t force people to say yes and buy.

It took him a while to realize what a roller coaster money goals continually put him on.

What he does now is set goals for things he can control.

Mainly those things are his actions. He sets goals for running the processes he’s created:

  • Processes for generating leads
  • Processes for delivering a great client experience
  • Processes for making money

I’m still thinking about this advice and applying it, but here’s my takeaway so far:

Yes, it’s important to have an overall sales goal. We need some type of target to shoot for.

But, a lot of times I consider my day or month to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on if someone purchased something from me. That puts me on quite a roller coaster.

Instead, my focus (and goal setting) needs to be on things I can control:

  • Did I help out a strategic (referral) partner today?
  • Did I send out a helpful email to build know, like and trust?
  • Did I make a follow-up call to a prospect?
  • Did I eat my frog?
  • Did I mail out two thank you cards?
  • Etc.

I can control all of those things. And I know that if I do them day after day and month after month – I’ll achieve my money goals as a result.

It’s much easier to focus your goals on the things that you can control vs. the things you can’t control.

Food for thought.

If you need help with getting your processes/systems in place for generating leads and making money – this is a good place to start.