If the last post was about knowing where you’ve been, this one’s about deciding where you’re going.

Every business owner I know wants to grow. But very few define how they’re going to grow. 

They set vague targets like “We want to double revenue,” or “We want to grow our brand.”

Because there’s no how in those targets, there’s no path to achieve them. It’s like saying, “I wish I had something to eat,” rather than going to a restaurant, or a grocery store, or tapping your phone to order in.

If you want real growth that’s focused, strategic, and actually attainable, you need to get serious about your goals and how you’re going to get there. 

For many of the people I’ve worked with to figure out and hit these goals, we use a popular framework that puts the metrics and how into your goals.

WHat are S.M.A.R.T. GOALs?

When done right, S.M.A.R.T. goals create clarity across your business and remove all the fuzziness that leads to waste and misalignment.

I always recommend that your growth goals should be:

• Specific: No vague targets. What exactly are you aiming to achieve?

• Measurable: Attach a number. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

• Achievable: Realistic goals can be met. Fantasy goals may just disappoint you.

• Relevant: Why this goal? Why now? Does it support the bigger picture?

• Time-bound: Give it a deadline. Open-ended goals get ignored.

For example, instead of “I want to grow my revenue this year,” which is vague and easy to miss, try the more specific, “I want to grow Q4 revenue by 15% year-over-year, driven by a 10% increase in new customer acquisition and a 5% boost in average order value.”

Building a Strategy

Let’s say you want to grow revenue by $1M this year. Now we can break it down and figure out a few avenues in which you can do that.

Start by dividing that top-line goal into concrete sub-goals. For instance, you might look at a product line, region, team, or channel that can be improved. It needs to be whatever makes sense in your model.

Then break it down even further:

• How many contracts, sales, or orders does that mean?

• What’s your average deal size?

• What’s your closing rate from qualified leads?

Now reverse-engineer the activity required. If you need 100 new customers and you close 20% of qualified leads, you’ll need 500 more new qualified leads in your pipeline to convert 100 of them. If your average order size is $10,000, then you’ve grown your revenue by $1M this year. 

(Side note: you do need to know your CAC so that you don’t scale losses faster). 

Now you’re thinking like a growth strategist.

Once you’ve mapped out the activity, you can ask the real questions:

• Do we have the team capacity to do this?

• What budget will we need to drive enough traffic, leads, or attention?

• Do we need more marketing firepower? More salespeople? A better CRM?

Even if you don’t love numbers, you need to know them to grow. Clarity helps you make smarter investments faster and avoid scaling losses.

Managing your team for Growth

For this to work, you will need to be fired up yourself and get your team excited about it as well. 

People love to feel appreciated and that they’re involved in something meaningful, so ask yourself:

• Have I explained the “why”? Do people know why this goal matters? (to you, to the company, and to them personally).

• Does everyone know their role? How does each team contribute? How much does each individual contribute?

• Are we measuring progress publicly? Visibility drives accountability.

Consider setting up a dashboard or weekly progress updates. Incentives work, too, but don’t underestimate the power of shared purpose.

When people feel ownership over a goal, they fight to make it happen. They work harder, faster, and more productively because they want to, not because you ask them. 

A Quick Recap

I know there’s been a lot to keep track of, but your quick summary is here:

1. Set goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework.

2. Break your big number into smaller, trackable goals.

3. Reverse-engineer the activity needed to hit them.

4. Confirm you’ve got the resources and adjust if needed.

5. Get your team aligned and accountable.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by all of these new tactics. Reach out to a qualified expert to find the best personalized strategy to grow your company:

👉Book a call with a Growth Advisor

Next up in the next post: We’ll talk about your Product-Market Fit and why that matters more than any sales tactic when it comes to scaling the right way.

Until then, take 15 minutes to write down one growth goal. Make it S.M.A.R.T. Then share it with someone on your team.