Are your 2015 Business Goals SMART?

Now that you're back from market inspired by all kinds of new products and ideas, be careful not to get bogged down before setting aside time to turn those ideas into SMART goals! What are SMART Goals? Well, listen up because they can lead you to great results for a stellar 2015! 

Specific

Set clear and specific goals.  Define exactly what you want your business to achieve with no ambiguities.

Meet Sally:  Sally really wants to grow sales this year, but knows just setting a revenue goal is unrealistic. She knows she needs to set some specific tasks - knowing that when her specific tasks get accomplished, she will see those results in the form of more sales. She also knows her goals should be:

Measurable

Sally can't measure happiness or how much her customers like something, but she can measure by quantity, attendance and sales! Benchmarks will show your progress and let you know when your goal is achieved.

Achievable

Sally likes realistic and attainable goals and she tries to have a good idea of the steps her business needs to take to achieve them. Don't set yourself up for failure with ridiculous and far fetched ideas. Like Sally, if you're honest with yourself, you'll understand and know what is doable as well as beneficial to your business.

Results

Celebrate successful results :) Pat yourself on the back and recognize all those who helped get you there. When you celebrate with everyone involved, they'll be ready to help you with your next SMART goal.

Timely

Time frames are a must. Set a specific deadline for when your goal should be achieved. Period. Whether it's three days, a year or 10 years. Your chance of succeeding doubles when you have a specific goal.

By taking the time NOW to define your goals using the above SMART guidelines you will be so much further ahead (and less frustrated) as the year progresses. Taking ACTION today will help you achieve better results TOMORROW.

Here are some sample SMART Goals that you can tweak to fit your business model and customer profile.

• Introduce one new lamp theme collection at the beginning of each quarter.
• Send one email per week that features three products every Tuesday.
• Interchange two to four displays in your store on the first Monday of every month.
• Host two events in 2015 - one charity related event in April, and a holiday one in November.
• Hold monthly product training sessions for sales staff.
• Offer a $100 sales bonus to the highest sales person in your store. 

 
If you need any help developing or implementing your SMART Goals, AHS Lighting & Home Decor recommends AGS Marketing for Action, Growth & Success.