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Education

StreetSmarts SM

Work SMARTER, not harder

By Natasa Cvijanovic Vague ideas about success and self-improvement don't
Tesla Payments work. The objective is to make specific changes that lead
to the desired results. A vague goal might be to make
hether or not the previous sales year was more money. A specific goal would be to increase your
successful, the start of a new year inspires portfolio's revenue by X percent during the first quarter of
resolutions and new goals. Salespeople see 2023 by offering dual pricing to your merchants.
W this time as an opportunity to make chang- Use performance metrics
es and improvements. When things don't go as planned,
we examine the previous year's events to determine what SMART goals must also include performance measures.
we can do differently in the coming year. If we had a ter- Without them, you cannot gauge your progress and
rific year, we look at how we can build on that and grow whether you are on course to achieve your goal. You can
even further. make a goal measurable by considering the following:
How do you know if you've reached my goal? How can
Most salespeople set goals to focus on what matters and you tell if you're making progress? For example, based
guide their efforts in the appropriate direction. Without on the specific goal mentioned above of increasing your
a clear destination, you'll drift, the year will pass you by, portfolio's revenue by X percent during the first quarter
and you'll have little to show for it. Goal setting discour- of 2023 by offering dual pricing to your merchants, you
ages procrastination. could aim to sign up a third of all new clients on dual
pricing."
As Denzel Washington famously stated, "Dreams with-
out goals are just dreams, and ultimately they fuel disap- Be realistic and relevant
pointment." Let's look at the goal-setting process to en- SMART goals are achievable. The effort required to ac-
sure that doesn't happen to you.
complish your goals should be challenging but attainable.
Be specific Think about whether you have the skills and resources to
reach your goals.
You've probably heard of the acronym SMART, which
stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic or Your goals should be realistic and relevant so they can be
Relevant, and Timely. SMART goals incorporate all of accomplished with the available resources and time, and
these elements to help you increase your chances of suc- they should reflect your professional aspirations. They
cess. If you haven't used SMART for your goal-setting should also come at the appropriate time in your career
strategy yet, try it this year. and be relevant to your needs, efforts and skills.

When goals are specific, they have a much better chance Does each of your goals have a due date? A SMART goal
of being achieved. Specific goals answer the five W ques- must have a start date and an end date. If a goal doesn't
tions: Who is involved in this goal? What do I hope to have a deadline, there will be no sense of urgency and, as
achieve? Where do I want to accomplish this goal? When a result, less motivation to reach it.
do I want to complete this task? Why do I want to achieve
this?
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