Medium and short term goal setting

In yesterday’s extract from Selling for Dummies we looked at Long term goals, in todays post we are looking at medium and short term goals

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

part of the puzzle

Goals are part of the puzzle

When you finish setting your long-term goals, cut them in half and set medium-range goals for about ten years down the road. Compare your 10-year goals to your 20-year goals, and then determine what you must do to make those goals a reality. Then, divide your 10-year goals into 5-year goals. Your medium-range goals will be your largest and perhaps fuzziest area, the goals you’ll probably have to adjust the most frequently.
These goals are the stepping stones and signposts. All sorts of variables will apply, but as ‘all roads lead to Rome’, don’t worry so much about the route, just have several markers along the way to make sure you are still heading in roughly the right direction.

Short-term goals

Surprise, surprise: Your short-term goals demand most of your attention. For best results with short-term goals, never set them for any longer than 90 days. Short-term goals for anything longer than 90 days aren’t immediate enough to create a sense of urgency.

Immediately after you set short-term goals, you need to start taking steps to reach them. That way, they take root as real, not-to-be-denied entities in your mind -not tomorrow, not next week, but as soon as you make them. Your 90-day goals should then be broken down into 60-day goals, 30-day goals, and eventually, the steps you can put in your planner to take today to achieve them.

For example, if one of your short-term goals is to buy a new BMW, then go down and order one that you can pick up in 90 days. That action will light a fire under you, don’t you think? Ordering that car now will get you sweating about making enough money to cover the payments and will certainly make it a reality!

If you feel too pressured to take that kind of action, then learn a little more about how you are driven. Some people can take big audacious steps and use them to spur themselves forward; others are frightened by big immediate things and this fear holds them back so taking smaller steps is more appropriate for them. but when you understand YOU take a step that slightly pushes you out of your comfort zone without frightening you rigid!. Knowing how you motivate yourself can be a massive contributor to your future achievements.

Balancing your goals with the help of your family

The work /life balance is currently a hot issue, and rightly so. Setting personal as well as career goals is important in order to keep your life well balanced. If all your goals are related to business, you’ll have trouble taking time out for family and friends because you’ll always be pushing toward the next career goal.
Although we encourage you to pursue your business goals with fervour, we also encourage you not to pursue them at the expense of family, friends, or time out for yourself. If you do, you risk becoming so single-minded that you eliminate the human qualities you need in order to succeed in sales. Nobody wants to do business with someone who’s too busy to understand and care about her needs. Indeed this behaviour is often correctly interpreted as selfishness and indifference by a client or prospective purchaser. Hence, balancing career goals with personal goals gives you a life both in and after business.

As a way to make sure that your goals are well balanced, let your family help you set them. If you do, they’ll more likely understand when, say, you have to spend a late night working or invest in a two-day training seminar. Your family will be more willing to share in your sacrifices if you let them share in the celebration of achieving your goals as well.

Another benefit of involving the entire family is that they hold you accountable for your part of the goal and will do what it takes to motivate you. Have you ever thought that sleeping an extra few hours is just what you needed, only to have your partner encourage you to get up and get busy earning your share of that holiday that you both set as a mutual short-term goal? You knew you should get up, but your immediate desire for sleep clouded your judgement. How do you think you’d feel, and what message would you send to your partner, by showing them that sleeping is more important to you than working to achieve shared goals?

Remember that your family and friends are your true support system. Indeed life without them, even when you achieve all of the material trappings that your success attains, is empty, sad, and lonely. You need a family to help you perform at a higher level, so share your goals, your successes, and even your failures with them. When you make a sale, schedule a big appointment, or give a poor presentation, give someone you care about a call and share the moment. They will know that you are thinking of them and that they are important to you (that you are not consumed with just your success or failure) and you’ll feel a whole lot better for doing so.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *