As we round the corner on the last quarter of the year, today I’m wondering…have you gotten clear on your revenue target (or impact target, or marketing target) for next year yet? What about breaking it down into your target for each month?
(One way to go about getting clear on your annual and monthly revenue targets is a scientific approach I talked about on my blog recently – you can find that exercise here.)
It’s important to start with a clear vision, or forecast (so if you haven’t yet, spend some time with that target-setting exercise or pull out your goals for next year).
Forecasting is a powerful tool because, when you see your goal on paper, broken out into quarterly, monthly, weekly targets, you start to believe that you can reach it (and with some help, you will).
Forecasting is a way of being clear about where you’re going and how you will get there. And the best way to reach your goal is to reverse-engineer your monthly target (your annual goal divided up into 12 parts), so you’ll need to create a plan that can be tracked throughout the year.
When you have a plan, not only will you know where you’re going for the year, but for the quarter, for the month, for the week – perhaps even for each day. I know this might seem like something outside of your comfort zone, but I’d like to offer you a way to approach this that will make it easy for you. You will involve your team as well.
Reverse-engineer your goal:
To reach your target, you’ll start by brainstorming how you’ll make this a reality and create a clear and specific reverse-engineered plan that can be tracked.
This is where you can pull in your team. Putting this list together with them – as opposed to you alone in your office, working in a vacuum – will create buy-in and excitement from each team member, especially if there’s an end-of-year reward for them once you reach it, such as a team vacation or extra paid time off for the whole company.
Start with these two main questions:
1. Where could this increase in revenues come from?
- More clients and customers?
- Launch a new product or program?
- Raise rates significantly?
- A combination of these things?
2. If this is our goal for the coming year, then how specifically will we predictably reach it within the timeframe that we’ve given ourselves?
- For us to increase revenue by say 40% in the coming year, what needs to be in place that is not currently in place?
- Is there a certain project that needs to be implemented?
- Do we need a new team member to help implement?
- What actions or benchmarks need to be put in place (not necessarily financial ones)?
- What needs to be implemented that isn’t currently in place for us to reach that revenue goal?
These are questions that are definitely thought-provoking and may not come naturally to you; they’ll require time and focus. It could be easy to say, “Oh, this is too hard.”
But the few minutes you spend on these questions and in talking with each other will pay dividends going forward.
I know this from experience in my own business and from working with thousands of women business owners. What has helped me is to approach this with the mindset of “I am excited to do this because the increase in my business, in my downtime and in my revenues comes from thinking in this way.”
If you still aren’t sure how to set attainable revenue targets on your own, or you know you could be aiming much higher but doubt if you can be accountable to your goals, we’re here to help. Our program exists to help you scale your business, with greater ease. Let’s stretch your vision and get you the support you need, so you can scale your business and get your freedom back.
Book a free exploratory session with one of my heart-centered strategy coaches so we can help you map out a plan, answer your questions and see if we might be a good fit for you to scale your business, without sacrificing your personal life.
The call is completely free, and without obligation. This simple conversation is a chance for us to get to know you better, hear more about your business and your needs; it could be the one that changes everything.Let’s chat before the year ends so we can get you started in 2022 on the right foot. Just fill out the boxes below and let’s book that call:
Comments 1
Many thanks! Loved the calendar and the idea of the stand!