What are some good professional SMART goals?
To help you learn to set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound (S.M.A.R.T), we asked experienced professionals, CEOs and business leaders this question for their best examples and insights. There are several examples of SMART goals that you could draw from to help you get to set goals that yield the best results for your work and business.
Here are 14 examples of S.M.A.R.T goals these leaders offered for work:
- Market the Right Product at the Right Time
- Target an Optimal Number of Employees for the Workforce
- Set a Realistic Goal for the Team to Achieve
- Create an IT Department for the Company in 6 Months
- Create a System for Remote Sales Networking in 7 Days
- Reduce Call Center Wait Times by 5%.
- Increase New Customer Reviews by 30% Per Year
- Finish Writing Required Reports by the End of the Week
- Increase Traffic on the Company Website within 3 Months
- Upskill Employees With Management Skills for Improvement in 6 Months
- Get AIPMM Product Manager Certification Within 6 Months
- Optimize Cold Calls to Boost Sales by 15% in a Year
- Any Assigned Task That an Employee Puts in the Effort to Achieve on Time
- Increase Sales by 10% in the Next Quarter
Market the Right Product at the Right Time
SMART Marketing goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Timely. Of all these, I feel the most important goal is how timely your product or service is. If you are not marketing the right product at the right time, you might as well save your energy and marketing budget. For instance, if you tried to market an affordable car during the pandemic, the odds are people wouldn’t be interested no matter how affordable your car was since during lockdown people stayed home and didn’t need a car. Marketing the right product at the right time will contribute to making you a success in sales.
Janice Wald, Blogger, Mostly Blogging
Target an Optimal Number of Employees for the Workforce
The correct number of employees in your workforce impacts the overall success of your organization more than you think. From influencing work schedules and team morale on the floor to impacting costs and spending in the books, it’s essential to understand how crucial your workforce numbers are to your company’s health.
Here’s a SMART goal list to help:
S: The specific goal of working on recruitment is to keep your organization optimally staffed.
M: Measuring employee strength against changing productivity demands.
A: Understanding recruitment challenges and planning achievable yardsticks.
R: Keeping the plan realistic and relevant by making continual and timely changes to it.
T: Working out a time-based hiring plan that is easily trackable.
Riley Beam, Managing Attorney, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.
Set a Realistic Goal for the Team to Achieve
One of the best ways to use S.M.A.R.T. goals at work is to set them for your entire team. By creating a team goal, you can make sure that everyone is working toward the same vision, and it helps to improve communication and collaboration. It’s also a great way to motivate your employees, and it can help improve morale and productivity. For example, if one of your company’s S.M.A.R.T. goals is to increase revenue by 10 percent, you can make that goal a team goal and encourage everyone to work together to achieve it. If you do so, you can create a sense of camaraderie and improve morale, which will lead to a more productive and happier workplace.
Matthew Ramirez, Founder, Paraphrase Tool
Create an IT Department for the Company in 6 Months
For all businesses an IT department is quite important and instead of taking the services of IT companies, we are intended to create an IT department in our company to fulfill all our computer needs.
Specific
Our company is specifically working on creating an IT department that requires hiring the IT staff and arranging space for them in the office.
Measurable
This goal will be measured after the existence of the IT department in our company.
Achievable
We set 6 months’ time for this goal to be achieved – it is achievable in this time frame.
Relevant
It will help our company to save energy, time and cost.
Time-bound
The time frame for this goal is 6 months.
Gerrid Smith, Chief Marketing Officer, Joy Organics
Create a System for Remote Sales Networking in 7 Days
This was one of the painful but real parts of various companies at the beginning Of 2020 the time of the pandemic. This SMART goal example was faced by a lot of business organizations and individuals during the stressful time of the pandemic.
Specific
Every team member is directed to connect and remain operational in remote sales.
Measurable
The task is complete. The networking system is working efficiently and our team members are capable enough to do their job.
Achievable
If we need, we can shift from other tasks to only one specific task and will pull all our resources to achieve it.
Relevant
Remote work is a good option when we don’t have any other choice in COVID.
Time-bound
The time frame is only seven-day maximum.
Edward Mellett, Co-Founder, Wikijob
Reduce Call Center Wait Times by 5%
SMART Goal: Reducing call center wait times by five percent by hiring seven new employees in the next month.
S: The rate of the goal is specific.
M: Five percent is measurable.
A: Hiring new staff is an action toward the goal.
R: Adding team members serves the goal.
T: The time frame is measurable.
Jeff Goodwin, Senior Director, Performance, Orgain
Increase New Customer Reviews by 30% Per Year
In the present time, many companies are successful because of their brand awareness in the audience. And it is one of the essential goals of brand cultivation for the whole year. One SMART goal example for this is the number of reviews by new customers should increase by 30% on a yearly basis.
Specific: Customer Review needs to increase by almost 30%.
Measurable
With the help of monthly reporting, we can measure our progress and can decide whether we reached our goal or not.
Achievable
We see a 20% increase in customer reviews. So it is not difficult to achieve 30% also.
Relevant
An increase in Customer reviews is directly similar to an increase in sales.
Time-bound
It is based on year over year.
Kenny Kline, President & Financial Lead, BarBend
Finish Writing Required Reports by the End of the Week
A goal should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. meeting these criteria. For example, “I will finish writing my reports by the end of this week” is a SMART goal. It is specific (which report? By when?), measurable (“this week”), attainable and relevant to your job, and has a time limit (“by the end of”). Other examples of SMART goals could be increasing sales by 10% in the next month or decreasing customer complaints by 3%. Whatever the goal is, make sure it hits each of the five key points above. Doing so will increase the chances of achieving that goal. good luck!
Jim Campbell, Founder, Epic Caribbean Vacations
Increase Traffic on the Company Website within 3 Months
Digital traffic on websites, Instagram, and Facebook means a lot to the business. Through traffic the sales of a business increase. Our goal is to increase the traffic in 3 months.
Specific
Our company will specifically work on achieving the traffic that will play a significant role in maximizing our sales.
Measurable
Our company can easily measure this goal by comparing the traffic on the website before starting the goal and after the completion of this goal.
Achievable
With effective social media marketing strategies, this goal is easily achievable within 3 months.
Relevant
Increased traffic means increased sales and that will result in generating high revenue.
Time-bound
The time frame for this goal is about 3 months.
Max Whiteside, SEO & Content Lead, Breaking Muscle
Upskill Employees With Management Skills for Improvement in 6 Months
Management skills are key to a successful business. Good management can handle all the ups and downs of a business effectively and that increases the importance of business in a marketplace. At workplaces, the SMART strategy can be used in order to develop strong management skills in employees.
Specific
Our company will specifically work on developing and enhancing management skills in employees in order to handle the ups and downs efficiently.
Measurable
Companies will easily measure the progress regarding management skills.
Achievable
The achievement of this task will be notable because we will add bonuses to the salaries of those employees who will learn excellent management skills.
Relevant
The company must check the relevancy for surety and this will be done by comparing the previous and recent management systems.
Time Bound
Within a specific time frame the company should monitor the progress and the time frame for this goal is six months.
Andrew Priobrazhenskyi, CEO and Director, Discount Reactor
Get AIPMM Product Manager Certification Within 6 Months
Specific: I want to earn the AIPMM product manager certification.
Measurable: I will finish the 18 lesson modules within 6 months.
Achievable: I will finish 3 module lessons every month.
Relevant: AIPMM product manager certification will equip me with core skills to become an effective product manager.
Time-Bound: I will start learning on January 31st and do the AIPMM exam on July 30th.
yongming Song, CEO, Live Poll for Slides
Optimize Cold Calls to Boost Sales by 15% in a Year
Cold calls are the most effective way of reaching sales goals. This method is used by most businesses to boost sales and generate maximum revenue.
Specific
Our company is intended to increase our cold calls up to 15% this year.
Measurable
The comparison of calls made last year and this year is quite practical and easy.
Achievable
Our company is intended to offer bonuses to the staff to convince them to increase cold calls.
Relevant
The cold calls can help to boost our sales in case the conversion rate remains constant.
Time-bound
The time frame for achieving these goals is one year.
Kyle Basett, Chief Operating Officer, Altitude Control
Any Assigned Task That an Employee Puts in the Effort to Achieve on Time
The “A” in SMART – “Achievable,” particularly resonates with me. People following this strategy must ensure they set their own achievable goals. Goals set by someone else, such as a vague “Get more clients!” is not doable sometimes without new skills and training. Saying to myself instead “I can learn more about networking through talking with peers” is much more specific and achievable. I break down that A into something I can take charge of harnessing my power of self. Achievable goals in SMART are particularly helpful when you take control of them and not someone else.
Temoer Terry, Partner, The Mommy Care Kit
Increase Sales by 10% in the Next Quarter
A SMART goal at work would be to increase sales by 10% in the next quarter. This is a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goal that will challenge the sales team and help the company achieve its overall objectives. It is also important to note that this goal is realistic and achievable, which are two key components of a SMART goal.
Martin Seeley, CEO, Mattress Next Day
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