3/19/2025-Roll your Q1 goals into Q2

Goal setting is not designed to be a negative experience; no goal gods are watching and wanting you to miss your goals.

Goal setting is part science, part art.

The science part involves using a protocol like S.M.A.R.T. to guide your work and help you measure progress. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.)

And art means being adaptable when needed. (Like when you’re at 25% achievement for growing the ACME account this quarter, and March 31 is 12 days away.)

Learn how to set goals and work them…just like you’ve learned all the other skills you use daily.

Revise your Q2 account and skill goals based on your Q1 progress.

If you didn’t hit your goal of doubling the ACME account in Q1, set a revised, winnable goal for the account in Q2. (But still push yourself.)

If your Q1 skill goal was to improve your negotiating but you didn’t get enough opportunities, stick with the goal and extend the measurement period through Q2.

Goals are the backbone of anything you want in your sales career.

Since you’ve been thinking about account and skill goals for the upcoming quarter, you’ll need to utilize a strong protocol to guide you.

While some are fans of the OKR system – Objectives, Key Activities, and Results – the S.M.A.R.T. criterion is easy to set up and a bit more guiding.

As a refresher, S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Of course, time is the easiest because you’ll set goals each quarter, so your deadline is built in.

Goal setting is not designed to be a negative experience; no goal gods are watching and wanting you to miss your goals. So, while goals are designed to get you to stretch, push, and sweat a little in the process, they’re designed to be attainable.

As you’ve heard here before, the S.M.A.R.T. goal protocol is helpful because it’s simple and powerful at the same time.

Watch this summary of S.M.A.R.T. to get a refresher on how to set and monitor your goals.

Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.