What are you doing to achieve your goals? Closing in on the 4th quarter of 2011, it’s a good time to take the pulse of your business. Is your pipeline full? Do you have a product or program rollout that’s on schedule? Are your expenses in line with where you wanted your profit margin to be by now? Are you on track to achieve your goals? Will you be on track by year end for 100% goal achievement?
Having the plan and tactics in place to ramp up business in the fourth quarter is always good for business. But, too often, I see businesses ramp up the wrong activities during the 4th quarter of the year. In an effort to achieve your goals, don’t confuse busy-ness with productivity. Here are a few examples to show you the distinction:
Busy-ness disguised as work would include:
- attending lots of networking events to collect business cards you can add to your campaigns
- attending conferences in your field to learn trends, skills, solutions that don’t serve your business or your clients now
- creating a new product without the supporting marketing campaign
- building a new product or program without testing market interest or demand
- scheduling more meetings to keep tighter control of what people are working on
- cruising social media sites to watch what friends are doing
Productivity that can deliver timely results would include:
- selectively attending only those networking events where you meet ideal prospects you can follow-up with immediately
- attending 1 or 2 key conferences to stay current so you can increase your value in the marketplace now
- taking the time to build out the marketing campaign to match the new product offering – to give it the credibility, visibility and opportunity it deserves
- put responsibility for outcomes on the people doing the work so they are free to get things done, resolve problems and make decisions independent of you, freeing up everyone’s time from endless meetings
- assign one person to build a conscious social media campaign to promote your business, your products and your new marketing campaign
- remembering that you, the entrepreneur, can’t wear all these hats
Staying busy working harder longer hours does not automatically result in goal achievement that produces massive yearend results. It’s the application of effort, focused on the right tasks by the right people that will accelerate the accomplishments that will deliver on your goals. Before you get busy doing more in the next 90 days, decide if that task/project will ensure you achieve your goals. How will it help your business provide your ultimate goal achievement – the lifestyle of your dreams?
Kerri Salls, MBA is a mentor consultant to business leaders, who learn to lay a strong foundation of planning, systematizing, and leveraging their business to catapult their business to the next level and achieve the lifestyle of their dreams. Learn more athttp://goalachievementexpert.com or signup for her free video series beginning athttp://goalachievementminute.com/plan.