It is so common for Virtual Assistants to avoid or not focus on goal setting in their business – and then wonder why they are struggling.

It's probably true for many types of businesses, but I think it's true for VAs because we are naturally the behind the scenes people – often shy or introverted, focused more on just operating a little business instead of trying to attain success.

Goal setting is often equated with success and that's why many of the VAs I talk to have shied away from it.

But in order to move yourself in the direction of the success that you want from your business – no matter what level – you need to set goals.

And of course, you need to develop a system that works for you to attain those goals.

The first thing I do when I'm working with a VA who has trouble setting goals is to slow things right down. I teach short term goals. Don't ask me what my 10 year plan is. I hardly know what to make for dinner tonight.

But ask me what I want to accomplish in the next 30 days and I can definitely tell you that.

So that's where we begin.

Let's go.

Ask yourself one question – what do you want? Then get more specific.

I want more clients … how many? …when do you need to get them? …what do you want to do for them? …how much will you charge them? …where can you find them?

Examples: 3 new clients by July 30th … OR … 3 new social media clients from LinkedIn by July 30th

The next step is to set up the actions you need to take daily to reach that goal. It's possible, trust me!

1. Focus on your goal – everything you do should move you in the direction of the goal you want to reach.
2. Write out your daily action steps (2 to 10)
3. Take action.
4. Monitor your progress and alter your course if something isn't working.

For instance, for our goal of looking for 3 new clients on Linked In in 30 days:

1. Reach out to 2 people daily – in groups or directly
2. Post one piece of content daily on that channel that shows your expertise in social media
3. Seek out posts from people that you are connecting with and like, comment and share them – look for genuine connections
4. Track connections in a simple spreadsheet – in one month you will make 60 connections, tracking is essential
5. Invite 5 people each week to have a conversation with you
6. Track your sales conversations too – if you are not converting at least 5/10, seek help with your technique.

Let's do the math – 2 connections a day, 1 post per day, help a few people a day – 60 people that will see your posts and also will notice your activity on theirs.

Invite 5 of them to sales conversations each week (as the need arises) – that's 20 in a month.

Convert even 2/10 of them – that's 4 clients.

When you first start out you will not get all 5 to agree to conversations. What you are doing is getting better at networking and conversations with people.

But the point is that everything you are doing in your daily actions is leading you to connecting with people, getting better at having online conversations with them, getting better at inviting them to speak with you, and getting better at signing them from your conversations.

That's all goal setting is – setting a reasonable goal that you really want to reach, setting up a strategy (that's usually brand new to you, so needs tweaking and practice), and taking daily actions to reach it.

It works.

When you are looking at something every single day you won't forget about it. It doesn't take a long time. It becomes a habit, a routine, a process, a system that can work fo ryou every single day.

So let's recap:

• Set your goal
• Write it down
• Choose who you will connect with and where
• Focus on one place to network
• Keep track of everything
• Know your numbers and work to reach them
• Be consistent – do it every day
• Stop spinning your wheels

If you have not done well with goal setting in the past, try working only with short term goals until you perfect a process that works for you

Need Some Help?

If I can help you learn how to set better goals, reach out to me at [email protected]. I've helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I'd love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!

That's all I've got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.