Plugging the ‘Gap to Goal’ in 7 Simple Steps…Taking Goals to Daily Action Steps

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A couple of coincidences prompted this post today...

First, a forum poster asking for help on breaking down their goals

Second, a mentee essentially looking for an answer of how to fill what I call the 'gap to goal'

Third, the material I am currently preparing for an upcoming webinar that includes a simple property investment business plan process...on a single page

The stars it seems are aligning...

So, the best way of sharing this update is to, first of all, share the essence of a question posed by the property forum poster, called Thomas:

Hi all,

I'm new to property and could do with some help with my goals..

I have a 5-year plan going at the moment but after watching a goals training course I would like to break them down. This is where I am stuck, I simply do not know how to break it down.

If anyone could help me that would be great!

Thomas also shared a file containing his goals over the coming years...note with a signature section at the bottom! I will protect his privacy by not elaborating too much here, although his first-year goal was to flip or trade 3 properties...here is the essence of my response to Thomas:

Hi Thomas

I want to bottle what you have and sell it across the world quite honestly!! What a fantastic idea, what a vision and what accountability too...in my opinion, your goals are not that far off, although I accept the points made validly by another poster (relating to how long it can take to turn around a flip project).

Here are some tips from me:

Step 1 - read the book called The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone...I recently 'read' it on Audible at double speed, which was quite a thing given this guy speaks like he is on steroids to begin with! Persevere though, as it gets better as it progresses. The idea is to set big goals and then big actions to reach them (10X is a clue here!)...I would add one dimension to that...always seek to add lots more in value as well, so whether that's 10X the value or a different multiple, keep that in mind. Personally, I set two types of goal - realistic and stretch in simple terms.

Step 2 - I would say, keep your goals as they are (if you are not tempted to 10x them lol) but think how you can put more activity into reaching them. So, for example, could you leverage other people's time or skills say, could you find more properties than you can work on personally and sell the extras to another investor for a fee to top up your fund say, etc....think creatively here.

Step 3 - reverse engineer your goals to monthly, weekly and daily action steps - to buy 3 properties a year, how many do you need to have offered on, how many viewings, how many researched, etc. These are your action steps - there could be more, but this is just an example. Also, looking at your example deal you could run two projects at once but that depends on your time availability etc.

Step 4 - measure your progress, review it and set any corrective action required every month and quarter say. Write down your results in a spreadsheet and track your progress as you go...if you are behind, up the activity level, if you are ahead, up the goal!

Step 5 - celebrate your success - give yourself a reward each time to reach a milestone; it need not be big or expensive, but it helps if it is permanent or memorable

Step 6 - remember that if you aim for the stars and miss, you may still land on the moon, which is still out of this world...having a clear goal and focus will ensure you don't fall into a black hole as well 😉

Step 7 - give back...think how you can make your personal success more than yours alone...does not need to be financial but have a think about that too.

Post exchange ends.

Now, we can turn these 7-steps into a simple business plan that bridges the gap between our desired outcome (our goal) and our daily or weekly activities. Checkpoints are built in along the way to stay on course and take corrective action...or to up the ante even!

The one-page business plan would, therefore, look something like this, in the case of wanting to trade / flip 3 properties in the first year:

One-page Business Plan to Hit Your Goal

Top Line goal:

Flip 3 properties in 2015 with a £15k minimum net profit per property

Primary Strategy:

Trading properties looking to leverage other people's time or skills to process in parallel rather than in sequence for greater 'deal velocity'

Secondary Strategy: 

Identify other suitable properties that, whilst not fitting my ideal criteria, would still be appealing to another property investor - pass on for a sourcing fee

KPIs: 

Primary Strategy...for each property acquired, make 10 offers...for each offer, view 10 properties...for each viewing, research 10 properties (say)

Secondary Strategy...for each property sourced, make 10 offers...for each offer, view 10 properties...for each viewing, research 10 properties (say)

Progress Reviews:

Record Progress & Review: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly

Corrective Steps:

Missing the goal - increase the activity level

Over- achieving the goal - increase the goal

Small Wins Celebration:

Each time I sell a property I will buy myself a signed photograph of a sporting idol (say)

Giving Back:

Reciprocity - every time someone helps me with some free advice or tips, I will thank them, 'like' them and / or look for a way to support them in some way (say)

Selfless Giving - every time I bank a check from selling a property, I will make a donation to Water Aid, Dr Barnados, or Cancer Research (say)

 

Committed to by: ________________________________on Date:_____________

That's it! The one-page business plan to achieve the set goal.

And no, I have not made a mistake by repeating some steps...they could genuinely be a repeat, or they could, of course, overlap; part of the reason why I suggested sourcing and flipping together are, that these two strategies could be easily operated side-by-side and that is another form of leverage.

By, asking two simple questions we can effectively add greater leverage:

• Who else could do this activity for me?
• How else could I use these opportunities, if not for me, then for someone else?

That's a two-way leverage model and is very, very powerful indeed 🙂

Whichever way we look at this...call it coincidence, the stars aligning or serendipity...it has to be just what a number of people are thinking to themselves right now. How to bridge the 'gap-to-goal', how to reverse engineer from a goal to an action plan or as Thomas alluded to; how to break the goals down into bite-sized chunks.

This topic will also form a part of next week's podcast episode on The Property Voice Podcast; so there really are no coincidences are there?

Meanwhile...good luck in hitting your goals, Thomas...I am sure we are all now rooting for you!