No Quitters Here
Many agency owners start each year with ambitious goals, yet by mid-January, most have already lost momentum. Studies show that 80% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions within two weeks, a trend that is likely mirrored in business goal-setting.
Why does this happen? It’s not due to a lack of ambition. Instead, the problem lies in how goals are structured, the strategies used to achieve them, and the obstacles that arise along the way.
This post outlines a strategic approach to goal setting that ensures agency owners don’t just set goals—but achieve them.
The Three Common Pitfalls in Goal Setting
After working with numerous agency owners, three key patterns emerge when goals fail:
- Lowering the Bar – Many agency owners adjust their goals downward when they feel they are falling short. This may provide temporary relief, but it often results in a lack of progress.
- Raising the Bar Unrealistically – Some take the opposite approach, setting even higher goals without a clear plan. While ambitious, this can lead to frustration and burnout.
- Avoiding Goal Setting Altogether – A small but significant group stops setting goals entirely to avoid disappointment, a strategy that ultimately stifles growth.
Step 1: Setting Goals the Right Way
A goal should be a clear, defined outcome, not a task list or vague aspiration. Many traditional goal-setting frameworks (such as SMART goals) fall short because they oversimplify the complexity of real business challenges.
Instead, it’s essential to differentiate between goals, strategies, and tasks:
- Goal: The desired end result (e.g., “Grow my agency revenue by $500,000 this year”).
- Strategy: The intentional plan that outlines how to achieve the goal (e.g., “Increase lead generation through inbound marketing and strategic partnerships”).
- Tasks: The specific actions taken to execute the strategy (e.g., “Publish two high-value blog posts per month” or “Attend three industry conferences”).
Many agency owners mistakenly confuse these three, leading to poor execution. A goal without a defined strategy is just a wish.
Step 2: Reverse Engineering Success
To ensure meaningful progress, goals should never be divided into equal quarterly or monthly increments. Instead, they should be broken down based on the biggest obstacles that must be overcome first.
For example, if an agency owner’s goal is to increase revenue but their biggest challenge is time constraints, their first strategy might not involve sales at all. Instead, they should focus first on freeing up time by delegating responsibilities or streamlining internal processes.
Weight Loss Analogy for Goal Setting
Consider someone aiming to lose 10 pounds. Rather than immediately committing to an intense diet and exercise regimen, they might start by simply going to the gym five days a week, without worrying about what they do there. By removing initial barriers (such as habit-building and logistics), they set themselves up for long-term success.
Similarly, an agency owner looking to scale revenue should first address foundational bottlenecks before moving into direct revenue-generating activities.
Step 3: Embracing the Process Over the Outcome
Successful goal-setters focus on the process rather than obsessing over the end result.
Elite athletes, for example, don’t just visualize winning. They focus on small, incremental improvements in their daily training. Wrestlers, for instance, don’t fixate on winning national championships, they find satisfaction in breaking down each each match, practice, and move so they can improve more efficiently than the last.
In business, this means:
- Measuring incremental progress rather than constantly comparing current results to the final goal.
- Breaking big goals into first downs, not touchdowns—instead of focusing on hitting $500K in revenue, focus on the next meaningful milestone that moves the business forward.
- Avoiding arbitrary timeframes—true growth follows a process, and success can’t always be forced into rigid quarterly plans.
Final Takeaways for Agency Owners
1. Assess Your Goals and Strategy
Ask yourself:
- Do I have a well-defined goal, or am I just listing tasks?
- Does my strategy provide a clear, intentional path to success?
- Am I certain my current actions will lead to my goal, or am I just hoping they will?
2. Identify the First Major Obstacle
Instead of dividing your goal into even time-based increments, ask:
- What is the biggest obstacle between me and this goal?
- How do I solve this first before anything else?
3. Start with What Works
Success is about matching effort with reward. Instead of reinventing the wheel, start with proven strategies and refine them.
4. Less is More
Focusing on one meaningful goal and achieving it completely is far better than setting multiple goals and only partially accomplishing each.
5. Give Yourself Grace
Achieving big goals is difficult. Every successful agency has faced setbacks—what matters is staying committed to the process.
Conclusion
Goal setting in business isn’t just about writing down ambitious targets. It requires careful planning, strategic execution, and the ability to navigate challenges along the way.
By differentiating goals from strategies and tasks, focusing on solving key obstacles first, and embracing the process rather than just the outcome, agency owners can set and achieve goals that drive meaningful, long-term success.
If you want to know dive further into this, listen to the full podcast episode – Do 80% of Agency Goals Fail Before February?
Hi, I’m Russel, I’m a business coach that specifically focuses on digital marketing agencies to create their most ideal business by helping them attract better clients and build scalable systems, processes, and training to create their most ideal agency. Ready to take your agency to the next level? Schedule an introductory call to discuss how I can help you create your ideal agency.
