Today we’ll share five tips for setting
smart ecommerce goals in 2019.Every day, we talk to ecommerce entrepreneurs
about how they became successful.The one thing they all have in common?They set smart goals.And Smart isn’t just an adjective.It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic, and Time-Bound.In this video we’ll explain those terms
so you can set your own smart goals.And at the end, we’ll give you some homework
so you can check your work.Ready to get to work?Let’s start setting some goals.Hey all, it’s Jessica from Oberlo.Today we’re talking about how to set smart
goals.No matter what your ecommerce goals in 2019,
one thing is for sure: You will have to keeplearning to stay competitive.We’re here to to make that easy for you.Hit subscribe and be the first to see new
videos every week about entrepreneurship,ecommerce, and dropshipping.Now, if you want to be a successful ecommerce
entrepreneur in 2019, you have to do morethan work hard and hope for the best.You have to set smart goals.Research backs this up.One Harvard Business School study asked MBA
graduates if they had written down their goals.Only 3% said yes.But ten years after graduating, the 3% who
said yes earned ten times as much as the other97% combined.But if you want to tap into the power of goal-setting,
you have to set smart goals.That means your goals need to be specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.These criteria are essential ingredients for
success, so let’s take a closer look ateach of them.First, your goals need to be specific.Vague or generalized goals don’t provide
enough direction.Remember, you need goals to show you the way
forward when you get lost or discouraged.For example, this is a poorly written goal:“I will make a lot of sales”To make your goals specific, incorporate an
action plan outlining how you will achievethe goal.A good way to do this is to fill in these
blanks:“I will (goal) by (action).”Now we have a template we can use to set goals.Let’s write one together.We can start by editing our original goal
to be more specific.A specific goal might be:“I will make a lot of sales by mastering
Facebook ads.”Or“I will make a lot of sales by using Instagram
influencers.”Now we have a clearer idea of what direction
we’re heading.But we can make this goal even smarter in
the next step.The next step in creating smart goals is to
make them measurable.You need objective criteria in place so you
can assess whether you’re achieving yourgoals or not.One way to make goals measurable is by making
them quantifiable.Tie goals to an increase or decrease in a
certain number.This method of creating measurable goals is
well-suited to ecommerce because there areplenty of numbers to choose from.For example, you can set goals around number
of sales, number of customers, or total revenue.To make your goals measurable, think of your
goals and ask yourself these questions:Let’s return to the goal we’re writing
together and make it measurable.Right now, the goal is:“I will make a lot of sales by mastering
Facebook ads.”To make this goal measurable, let’s ask
ourselves the second question from the listwe just mentioned: How many?In other words, how many sales do we want
to make by mastering Facebook ads?To answer that question, let’s rewrite a
measurable goal that looks like this:“I will make 10 sales by mastering Facebook
ads.”Now, you’re probably wondering why we choose
the number 10.Why not dream big and make that 100 or even
1 million sales?We’ll answer that question in the next step.Goals are supposed to be motivating, not discouraging.It’s great to set big, hairy, audacious
goals.But ask yourself: Do you really believe you
can achieve that goal?If the answer is yes, you’re in good shape.If the answer is no, here’s how to adjust
your attitude.Most people believe they are only capable
of something they have already done.But this belief is short-sighted.What you really need to ask yourself is whether
you have the right tools and skills to achieveyour goals.Take an honest assessment of your capabilities.For example, if you want to run a marathon,
and you’re capable of jogging for five minutes,you have the basic skill you need to slowly
train for a marathon.But if you want to win to be an Olympic diver
and you can’t swim, you need to build somebasic skills first.Luckily, that in itself can be a new, and
very achievable, goal.Let’s revisit our example goal:“I will make 10 sales by mastering Facebook
ads.”This goal is achievable for a Facebook user
who has made none, or very few, sales on Facebook.Someone in that position has a basic familiarity
with the platform, and simply needs to builda new skill–mastering Facebook ads–to succeed.But wait…how do we know we’ll succeed
by mastering Facebook ads?That’s the question to ask in this next
step.Because good goals need to be realistic.Achievable and realistic sound similar, but
there’s a difference.Whether a goal is achievable or not depends
on what you are capable of.Whether a goal is realistic or not depends
on factors outside of your control, but thatyou can understand with some research.An unrealistic goal might be:“I will make 10 sales by getting Kim Kardashian
to promote my product on Instagram.”Now, you technically have the skills and capabilities
to make this happen.You can send Kim a direct message on Instagram
and ask if she’ll pretty please promoteour product.And, if Kim agrees, you’ll definitely get
10 sales.But the odds of Kim agreeing are very, very
low.That’s why this goal is unrealistic.However, a goal of making 10 sales by mastering
Facebook ads is realistic.It’s possible for an ecommerce beginner
to learn to create a Facebook ad, drive qualifiedtraffic to her store, and get sales.New dropshippers often do make sales with
Facebook ads.Our goal is getting smarter and smarter.But we have to add one more finishing touch.We have to make our goal time-bound.This simply means we have to put a deadline
on our goal.Our goal is to make 10 sales by mastering
Facebook ads.But do we want to make 10 sales in a week,
or a year?Those are two very different goals.Remember to balance your deadline with the
requirement that your goals be achievableand realistic.It’s not realistic for a new entrepreneur
to make 10 sales with Facebook ads in 1 hour.However, it is realistic to make 10 sales
with Facebook ads in one month.It’s also realistic to make 10 sales with
Facebook ads in one year.But if you give your goal a generous deadline,
you lose some motivation.Goals need to inspire you to keep going when
times get tough–and in ecommerce, times willget tough.So before you finish writing your goal, ask
yourself: Will I be proud of myself if I accomplishthis?If the answer is yes, then you’re right
on the mark.Alright!Now you know how to write smart goals.You know that goals should be specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic, and time-bound.Let’s put this theory into practice.Write your ecommerce goals in the comments.I’ll review them and tell you if they’re
S-M-A-R-T smart.If they could use improvement, I’ll nudge
you in the right direction.Once you’re ready to achieve your ecommerce
goals, watch one of these videos!They’re particularly helpful for new entrepreneurs.Until we see each other again, learn often,
market better, and sell more.
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