For goal-setters and goal-getters, the new year is an exciting time: a blank slate, a fresh start, and a time to approach your grind with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Forget resolutions. We have strategies and tactics! These are real-deal, tried and true approaches from experts that will help you take that thing you’d like to achieve and make it HAPPEN.
The On Your Grind experts are back this week with tips that have worked for them with their clients and in their careers. From marketing and PR to personal branding, they’re a dream team, and they’re letting you in on all of their secrets.
Here are 3 things they want you do as you dream about achieving big things in 2017.
1. Got a goal? Great! Now take a closer look.
Marketing expert Hilary Murdock says it’s not that her clients’ goals aren’t good, worthy and achievable… but just that they’re about three goals ahead of themselves. She encourages them to take a closer look.
“Most clients have a sales-related goal as their ultimate goal (sell more! get more downloads! get more people to join!),” Hilary says, “and are unclear about the goals that should be made and attained to ultimately lead to that bigger goal. Sure, I can get 2,000 people to go to your website and at least 20% of those people will ‘click to call,’ but if no one is answering the phone, that wasn’t the correct goal at that time.”
As you enter into the new year, write down that big goal, but don’t stop there. Write down the steps you need to get there. This brings us back to the “SMART” system that Life Coach Lauren Schram introduced us to in August.
“SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound,” Lauren said. “SMART goals help take dreams and chunk them down into bite-sized portions so they are actually attainable.”
Using the SMART system, take your goal and ask these questions:
- What are you looking to do? (Specific)
- How will you quantify it? (Measurable)
- Is it something you are able to do? (Achievable)
- Is it something that is in alignment with your values? (Relevant)
- When will you do it? (Time-Bound)
2. Don’t overlook the simple stuff.
To improve your career or take a project to the next level in 2017, personal branding expert Leonard Kim asks that you not overlook the most basic tools you have: a headshot and a bio.
“The simplest things you can do is take a great high quality headshot of you smiling and write a compelling bio about yourself that showcases your personality,” Leonard says. “That is the lowest hanging fruit you will find, but so many people don’t do it. It’s kind of ridiculous how few people go out there and take a picture of themselves smiling with a professional photographer. It’s even more ridiculous how little people showcase their personality in their bios. I’ve seen so many bios look like they were resumes, and I didn’t want to work with any of them.”
These simple tools communicate who you are and what’s important to you. You can use the headshot on your website, for media requests, and as a consistent profile pic for social media. For the bio, as Leonard says, make it sound like “you.” You want it to be professional but compelling and real.
3. Get some outside help, already!
With the online and social media world becoming such an important part of our lives and careers in the past several years, it might feel like we’re expected to be experts at everything: conceptualizing, producing, editing and monitoring content. Being your own “brand ambassador,” image consultant, marketing manager and PR rep. Of course, wearing all of those hats might make you feel a little crazy and pull you away from the tasks that you, uniquely, can truly do best.
Are there experts you can hire this year to help you on your journey? Are there expert friends you have that you could trade time with? (Make sure what you’re offering is as valuable as what you’re asking for, first!) Are there some classes you can take? (See resources below.)
Caren West, a PR pro, reminds us that not only are experts there to help, but that once you hire one – be willing to truly listen to them and let them do their job.
“Being and maintaining success is an active journey,” she says. “Understandably, a lot of brands are too close to their own situation, and while they hire a PR expert for a reason, have a difficult time working with an expert and think they know better because they took a PR class in college and have a sister has a Twitter account. If you hire an expert, believe in the process and let them do their job. Look, I was in a play once, but it doesn’t make me a Tony Award-winning actor.”
Don’t forget that the new year is also a great time to sign up for classes to learn new skills. Here are some examples that caught our eye to get you started:
Public Speaking: How to Tell a Story
TV Hosting and Media Training Workshop
AND! Connect more with our experts here:
Hilary Murdock | LinkedIn
Lauren Schram’s | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Video
Leonard Kim | Website | Twitter | Instagram
Caren West | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Talk to Kyle anytime! [email protected] | Twitter | Instagram
Francis MacAulay says
It is interesting how having goals is not always the best solution. You have to have the right parameters to set a goal that can be achieved.