Where are you going?

By Stacy Karacostas

“The road to success is paved with clear intentions.”

All right, I know. I’m taking a few liberties with a well-known (and not nearly so positive) phrase. But I just couldn’t resist…

Besides which, it’s true.

In order to reach your goals, you first have to have some. And they have to be crystal clear.

I’m not talking about deciding “I want to work less and make more money”, or “I need more clients”. You’ve got to be specific.

Because if you don’t know where you are going, who knows where you might end up.

Sounds logical enough, right? Yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people don’t follow this simple rule when they’re trying to start or grow a business.

I see it all the time…Clients come to me because they want more clients and/or sales. But when I ask them to tell me where they see their business in one, two or five years, they either don’t know or only have a vague idea.

But if they can tell me they want to two new customers per week within six-months, and they want to double they’re gross revenues in a year, then we have a goal to work towards.

And if they know that eventually they want to become known as an expert in their field…Or work only three days a week…Or get into public speaking. Well, now we have even more specific goals.

Once I know exactly where they want to go, I can develop marketing initiatives that act like a roadmap to get them from point A (where they are now) to point B (where they see their business in the future).

How do you put the power of clear intentions to work for you?

Try following this example: Let’s say you want to make more money.

Ask yourself…How many clients do I need, and how often? Who is my ideal client and why? Where could I find them and what would they want to buy? How much do I need to sell to meet my financial goals?

Then take it one step further…

Imagine what your business would be like once you reach your goal. Would you have more employees or an office manager? Would you develop new products or services? Would you have a bigger office or more time off? What would you do with the extra cash?

Whatever the end result would be, try to imagine every possible detail. Go with it, day dream.

Good so far? Terrific!

Now that you have the details nailed down and can see the end result in your mind, you’re half-way there.

So here comes the most important, part…

Write down what you want.

And don’t just nod your head and say you will (which is what far too many—generally unsuccessful—people do). Grab a pen and a piece of paper right now!

Don’t worry; you don’t have to include all the details here as long as they are in your head. Just write a simple, one-line statement like, “I want to develop a steady stream of 30 sales per week through referrals, a newsletter and my Website so that I can make $3000 per week.”

That’s it. Easy as pie.

Just doing this simple exercise is often enough to make things start to happen. Because now make all your business, sales and marketing decisions with your goal firmly in your mind. In other words, whenever you have to make a decision, ask yourself, “Does this take me one step closer to my goal, or one step further away?”

Of course, if you really want to harness the power of clear intentions and jump-start your business growth, you need to do a bit more work. So next week I’ll show you how to turn your intentions into actions that get results!

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