As a business owner or CMO, you have a clear vision of where you want your business to go. You make goals, set benchmarks, use technology to monitor progress, and help manage your team through the process. Sometimes it’s smooth sailing from there, but other times it seems like your team can’t hit the mark. We give you three questions to ask yourself before sitting down with your sales or marketing teams to discuss goal progress.
Does the team know and understand my vision?
Goals are generally generated based on last year’s numbers. The objective is to improve upon those numbers and gradually increase revenue. And sometimes it’s necessary to drastically increase the target revenue with the aim of growing the business to a new level. But if you don’t explain the reasoning behind drastic goals, your team might feel overworked and under-appreciated. Understanding the reasons behind the goals can help team members identity their own goals that align with the company’s.
Does the team know I’m here to help?
While it might not always be possible to provide all the resources a team needs to accomplish its goals, it never hurts to hear what sort of training and additional resources the people on the ground think are necessary. Giving teammates the opportunity to improve their knowledge base and sharpen their skills will give them a better sense that the company sees them as a valuable asset.
Encourage newness and out-of-the-box thinking. It could be scary to get out of routine, but when given the push to try new ways of doing things without the pressure of constant success, people can succeed in ways they didn’t know they could.
Help them know that they can come to you and ask for help in achieving their goals. Once they realize you’re willing to help them achieve their goals and provide a means by which they can succeed, people will be motivated to do their best.
What haven’t I thought of?
While it’s a difficult question to answer by yourself, it’s not impossible. Put yourself in your team’s shoes, armed with their knowledge and skills. What questions might they have? What other situations are they facing that weren’t taken into account when developing goals? When posing this question to your team, you’ll be able to see the problem from their point of view and consider their thoughts in the next round of goals.
By posing these questions not only to yourself, but also to your team, you’ll be able to facilitate feedback on how to improve your company’s goals. Opening up honest lines of communication will help improve productivity now and in the future.
What questions can we help you answer? Take a look at our free SMART Goals Template to get started on setting goals and helping your team get on track to meet them. Download it now!
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