As you likely know by now, I thought it would be worthwhile to share three ideas with you about your 2016 goals that you’ve likely not heard before. Three ideas that are directed at sales professionals. Today is Idea #3 (and a half – I offer a short piece of advice at the end that could be considered an idea, sort of) …
How many times have you fallen so far behind on your goals by Valentine’s Day that you gave up? Don’t answer, just think about it. Maybe you didn’t give up, but you were discouraged. Moving into 2007, a co-worker of mine gave me a crazy idea. He said: “we should just cut all of our goals in half and we’ll have a more useful list”. He was talking about the growth goals brought down from the C-level at our corporate office. So … I did this. I cut every goal I had, personal and professional, in half. Guess what, it worked. Actually, it didn’t work perfectly because I reached them all by October or November, but I stayed engaged all year because I was ahead of the game. Which brings me to Ideas #3…
Whatever goals you have written down for 2016, cut them by 20%. Why 20%? Cutting them by half is too intense. However, all of you probably have room to cut your goals by 20% - your big eyes on December 30th have at least a 20% buffer in them.
One last note… even if you’re inaccurate and set unrealistic goals, continue pursuing them regardless of how far behind you are. Who cares if you don’t reach you goals … it’s not a failed year. Goals are just tools to living a better life. If you pursue these goals all year, your life will improve regardless of how close or far you come from reaching them.
