A convenience store is a hectic business where day-to-day operation sometimes leaves little time for long-term planning. As a manager, though, you can’t be successful by just running in place each day. To get moving, set well defined goals for every major area of your business. Goals specify what needs to be done, how it will be measured, who will be responsible, when it will be accomplished, and what the overall impact will be. Goals get your operation off the treadmill and on to the fast track.
Whether you’re setting sales goals, training goals, or staffing goals, one proven acronym can help you keep your eyes on the prize: S.M.A.R.T.
Specific
Smart goals are specific. A goal merely to “increase sales” is vague. But “increase foodservice sales by 10 percent” paints a clearer, quantifiable picture.
Measurable
Smart goals are measureable. Not just the end result, but milestones established along the way.
Wrong: “Increase foodservice sales by training staff.”
Right: “Increase foodservice sales by 10 percent by training each employee how to suggest and sell our family meal deals.”
Within your over-arching training goal, for example, you’ll have specific training objectives that address issues such as product knowledge, sales dialogue, and add-on opportunities.
Attainable and Realistic
Smart goals are attainable and results-oriented. Aim high, but be realistic. Goals that are too easy to accomplish result in wasted time, manpower, and resources. If goals are too aggressive, you’re setting yourself and your staff up for failure.
Timely
Smart goals are timely. Set a deadline for your goals. For lofty, multi-step goals, set interim deadlines to help you track progress and maintain momentum.
Simply writing down a goal or discussing it in a meeting won’t make it happen. Success requires commitment and follow-through, supported by a planning process involving who, what, when and how — action steps that turn talking the talk into walking the walk.
Coming up in March, we’ll cover best practices of critical operational issues that keep your doors open and make your organization successful.
