When I was in the MBA program at San Francisco State I was first exposed to SMART goals. At the same time, I was working as a hotel assistant manager at the Palace Hotel which was in the process of being taken over by Starwood Hotels. I found it fascinating that Starwood had the managers using the same goal setting system. It was a real-world application to what I was learning in school.
SMART stands for:
Specific – vague goals don't cut it
Measurable – you need to be able to measure your results
Accountable – you can’t set goals where you aren’t directly accountable for the results
Realistic – there’s no sense in setting goals you can’t realistically achieve
Time Bound – finally, goals can’t be open ended. It’s important to set a window of time and stick to it
SMART goals can be used in everything we do. It doesn’t have to be just business. You can use them for health, fitness, education, career advancement, you name it and it’s my belief that using SMART goals are the best way to move forward in life.
I often find it humorous when people talk about real estate goals that don’t abide by the SMART principles. I’ve heard newer agents tell me goals like, “I want do $20 million in sales this year.” Or, “I want to sell 20 houses this year.” These goals are specific, measurable, time bound, and the agents can be held accountable for them, but are those goals realistic for 99% of new agents? I don’t think so. The most important thing to consider is, how the heck are is a new agent going to do meet those goals? SMART goals give you a map that will guide you to your future accomplishments.
Far more useful goals for agents (or anyone for that matter) are task driven, such as sending out a specific number of postcards each month, sending out a specific number of personal notes each week, or making however many phone calls each day. Full disclosure, none of those are in my own goals for the year, but I do know a very successful agent who aims to make 30 calls a day. The key is you need to enjoy what you are doing, otherwise it won't be sustainable.
I recently asked a friend who is not in real estate what her goals were for the coming year. She didn’t want to tell me and thought doing so would curse it. At the risk of cursing it, I will say that I will try to put out my blog almost every Friday in the upcoming year. When I skip a Friday I’ll still do a posting letting people know I’m taking the week off from writing, possibly by publishing a ‘best of’ blog, which I should have done last week when I didn't post anything prior to Christmas. From August on I had a tough time regularly writing my blogs because my mom (and I) got COVID, and she eventually passed away in mid-September. Breaking my ribs didn’t help matters, and I recently had surgery on one of the tendons in my right hand. 2022 was a brutal year.
With my own set of SMART goals in place I feel confident that I can make 2023 a great year!