Setting Goals to
Maximize Your Success
Copyright © 2012-2015. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Follow the S.M.A.R.T.E.R.
Concept
S
M
A
R
T
E
R
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Specific
Measureable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time-Related
Examine
Re-Evaluate
S = Specific
You need to target something specific that you
want to improve.
“I will have 20 closings this year” is much
stronger than “I will close as many deals as I
can.”
“I will earn $4,000 per month selling real estate”
is better than “I will be full-time in real estate.”
M = Measureable
There has to be a way to quantify your achievements so
that you can measure your progress.
If a goal is very big, it is often a wise idea to break it down
into several smaller goals. It is hard to see progress in
doing a mountain of laundry. But you can break it down
into the smaller jobs of gathering the clothes, separating
them, washing them, drying them, folding them, and
putting them away.
The smaller tasks are easier on your mind to comprehend
achieving them. Little successes help build excitement and
momentum for bigger successes down the road. It also
helps you feel like you are actually making some progress.
A = Action-Oriented
Any goal must require action on your behalf in
order to continue moving forward. You can do
things each day or each week to help you achieve
the end result.
If you are wanting to lose 10 pounds, you might
have a goal to exercise for 1 hour per day 3 times
per week. Then you have to make it a point to do
the task consistently until it is complete.
A = Action-Oriented
Put your goals in writing. Writing solidifies them
and makes them harder to change when the
going gets tough.
Review your goals regularly. I put them on the
back of my desk above my computer which
forces me to look at them several times each
day. They are always on my mind.
Less planning and more doing.
R = Realistic
Goals need to be attainable.
If you have never climbed a mountain before, you are not
going to make it to the top of Mount Everest next month.
If you have never listed or purchased more than 3 properties
in a year, then having a goal of 30 in a year is probably
unrealistic.
Make your goal just slightly out of reach but not out of sight.
Get out of your comfort zone.
T = Time-Related
Goals need to have clear deadlines to get accomplished.
Otherwise they are just pipe-dreams.
Annual or multi-year goals, are often easier to
accomplish by developing a strategic plan where you
work on certain things each month or each quarter in
order to progress towards the ultimate longer-term
goal.
These strategic plans can be broken down even further
into weekly or daily to-do lists that you can check off.
E = Examine
Every so often you need to check on your progress and see how
you are doing.
Did you achieve your goal or not?
If not, how far off are you from obtaining your goal?
Are you making progress?
Goals are in concrete. (They don’t change.) Plans are in sand.
(They change to achieve the goal.)
R = Re-Evaluate
Periodically you have to decide if something you are
doing is or is not working. If it is working, then you
work to perfect it and make it work even better. If it
is not working, then you work to modify it or even
scrap it altogether.
If you need help, reach out to someone who is
further down the road to success than you are. The
best way to learn is from someone else’s
experience. Find out what they did to ultimately
achieve success.