5 Common Business Goal Setting Mistakes for Roofing Contractors

You’ve probably heard it 1,000 times: you need to set goals for your business. You know goal setting is important, but are you doing it right?

Everyone would agree that setting goals is crucial in business, and roofing is no exception. Goals give you something to work toward. They help you to prioritize, and to keep you focused on important tasks.

As stated by Mike Davis, General Manager of East Fork Roofing, “Setting goals to improve how we do business, instead of just accepting how it has always been done, is how we have increased our profits each year. The quote, ‘It takes money to make money’ is missing some conventional wisdom: it takes money, a decision to improve and time, to make more money than you are currently making. Start planning ahead now.”

Here are five easy goal-setting tips to help keep your roofing business healthy and growing.

1. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

“I want to be the top roofer in the city.” That may sound like a goal, but it’s too vague. How would you know you’re successful? When do you plan to be “top roofer?” Where do you rank right now? What does “top roofer” even mean?

A good solution is setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. If you’re not familiar with the term, it means to set goals that are:

• Specific – Exactly what you want to accomplish.
• Measurable – How you will know you’ve accomplished them?
• Attainable – Not too easy, but just hard enough to push you.
• Realistic – Not too far out of reach.
• Timed – When you plan to reach your goals.

S.M.A.R.T. goals help you plan your action and gauge your progress. They make it easier to stay motivated and less likely to give up.

2. Set short, medium, and long-term goals.

Using the S.M.A.R.T model above, let’s say you set a goal of doing $1 million in business annually within five years. That’s a fine goal, but it’s a long way off. What will you do this year and this month to get to that $1 million mark?

Set medium and short-term goals that support your long-term goal. Examples might include increasing your close rate, generating more referrals or improving your marketing. Taking this approach will give you a series of milestones that you can use to measure your progress.

Also, look at your goals every day and use them to create your daily and weekly agendas. You are always going to face distractions, but if you build your to-do list with your goals in mind, you’ll stay focused and you’ll make progress.

3. Share your goals with people you trust.

Many roofing contractors don’t like to share their goals in the event they might not reach them. Unfortunately, this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Don’t be afraid to share your goals with your employees, your family, and other people you trust. This has a variety of benefits. It can be a great motivational tool for you and your employees, because it makes you accountable to each other. It can also help you achieve goals faster and help you make better business decisions.

4. Be flexible with the direction of your goals.

Go back to the $1 million goal above. What if there is a recession? What if housing starts in your area explode? What if severe weather strikes, damaging many roofs in your city? Would any of those events change your goals?

Over time, things happen. Our realities change. New information becomes available. Opportunities are lost and new ones take their place. Your goals should reflect this.

Of course, making frequent, drastic changes is a bad idea, but there is nothing wrong with occasionally reviewing your goals and making slight changes if necessary.

5. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the short, medium, and long-term; share them and be flexible.

When it comes to goal-setting, this is the most common mistake, as many roofing contractors don’t set S.M.A.R.T. goals, or even fail to set goals altogether.

There are many ways to approach setting goals, and a lot of information is available to help you. Find what approach works for you, put it into action, and use it to grow your business.

But whatever you do, set goals. You can’t reach your goals if you don’t know what they are.

Further reading:

• Roofing Technology