How To Set Strategic 4th Quarter Goals

It’s finally the 4th quarter. Are you prepared to finish the year out strong? In today’s blog I am going to share with you how to set strategic goals to finish your 4th quarter strong.

Review Past Data

Now is the time to go through the last 3 quarters of your data and determine if you met your goals within those quarters.  Reviewing your data is an essential part of running your business, your data tells you what you need to tweak or change all together.

Most platforms have analytics tools that give you an overview of what your followers’ or subscribers are viewing or spending most of their time on.

Invest in tools that track data especially if you have a website Google Analytics is a free tool and great for checking things like, traffic, bounce rates, page visits and more.

Another great tool is Open Web Analytics, this is a free tool and open source web analytics framework that lets you stay in control of how you instrument and analyze the use of your websites and application.

Goals vs Priorities

As an entrepreneur you can set goals but what are the main priorities that will get you to reach those goals. For example if one of your goals is to bring in an additional $1000 a month what are the priorities that you need to focus on to meet that goal.

• Have a course/mastermind for for $99 a month which you need around 11 people to subscribe to which will result in $1089 a month
• Create an additional service 
• Create products 
• Offer consulting services 

The above list are the goals you may want to achieve, however with each goal a task needs to be implemented in order for you to get closer to that specific goal.

• Marketing (how will I convey the message to those who need this service/product?
• What language will I use in my copy that coincides with what my audience is already speaking?
• What images will I use to give a visual representation of what I want to convey?
• How will I show up online (social media, website, groups, offline) to gain interest in what I have to offer?
• Who can I collaborate with that will assist me in getting my offer in front of a new audience?
• How will I show up online to promote this offer, (Facebook lives, Instagram lives, Tic Tock, Linkedin)
• Will I run ads or go the organic route?
• What is the time-frame that I will set so I can measure my progress?
• Will I collect email addresses to gain new subscribers?

This list above gives you a better picture of what you may need to do to reach your goal. This is why I promote sticking to one thing at a time, because of the tasks involved you have to make a decision if you can meet those goals with the time-limits that you set.

Former Clients/Customer

If you have worked with a past client, follow-up with them especially if you have added new products and services to your business or ask for a referral. 

Another great tip is to survey your audience and ask them what they are looking to purchase towards the end of the year, although you may not offer that specific product or service but if you know of someone who does here is a way to negotiate some type of incentive for bringing them a new customer.

Create A Year-end Bundle

If you have any stand-alone training or workshops, why not take them and have a year end bundle sale with the incentive to give your customers access to the new course/mastermind that you will be promoting in the new year. 

This is a great way to start your 1st quarter with an email list of customers who will have access to the first month worth of content with a recurring fee.

Setting The Stage Next Year

For those who feel as though this year was a year to be reckoned with, I hear you so now let’s get focused for the next quarter. 

Begin with what you want to accomplish within the 1st quarter, remember to stay focused on one goal or priority at a time until it’s completion.

What’s your plan for the 1st quarter

• Grow your email list by how many subscribers?
• Increase your income by what dollar amount?
• Signup with companies as an affiliate?
• What product/service will you offer in the New Year?
• Who is the product or service for?
• How will it help them?
• Is the product/service priced to meet/exceed your goals
• How will I market my product/service (ads/organic or both)

When you are a solopreneur staying focused on one specific thing is crucial to your success, you will be better equipped to track and change as you continue to view your analytics. 

As you grow then you can add on team members or a VA to assist you with the mundane tasks of the business while you work on the marketing component. 

I wish you much success in your business and also say hats off to you for staying committed to finish the year out strong despite the challenges that 2021 has brought you. 

Don’t give up hope, continue to learn from your mistakes because that’s where you grow, don’t allow yourself to compare your business to someone else’s. 

Your journey is different and what you have to offer comes from what you hold dear as an entrepreneur and your followers as well as customers can tell if what you do is authentic to who you are.

Head down, stay focused, cry, take a break, work out, but don’t you dare quit. We need your knowledge, skill-set, motivation, and expertise as only you can deliver it. 

Here’s to an amazing 4th quarter!