Goal setting is almost always tied to the start of a new year. It’s a measurable point in time and it makes good sense to set new objectives and targets. When setting these objectives, there are 3 things you need to do.
1. Establish a Baseline
Know where you are now so you can determine what you need to do to get to where you want to be at the end of 2015. Start with historical performance and ask yourself these types of questions…
- How much revenue did you make in 2014?
- What business segment contributed to your earnings (product sales, affiliate commissions, services, other)?
- How much did your customer base grow?
- How many new leads did you add to your email list?
- What were your conversions on sales?
Understanding these numbers allows you to set the right targets and put a plan in place to get from where you are now to where you want to be in the future.
2. Benchmark the Competition
Bettering your past performance is great, but bettering your competition will position you as the leader in your niche. But how exactly do you get insight into what your competition is doing so you can do it better?
One such tool is an application called Social Sleuth (click here to learn more), which allows you to spy on your competitor ads and see the complete funnel for that ad. Such insights allow you to reverse engineer successful marketing campaigns and actually apply a proven method to generating more sales.
3. Measure Your Success
What gets measured gets achieved and What doesn’t get measured goes unnoticed. Make sure you carve out a few hours at the end of each month to collect and plot your data against your plan. Then ask yourself these types of questions…
- Did I make more money than I spent? (simple question, but in order to answer it, it forces you to measure your revenue and your costs!)
- What worked? What didn’t, and why?
- What do I need to change in order to improve my results next month?
- Was it just an anomaly or something that needs attention?
- Do I see a trend in the numbers?
You are in business to make money and you treat it like a real business. Understanding and applying these 3 concepts will allow you to make better decisions and take the right actions to achieve the results you need to grow a sustainable online business.