14 Jan How To Develop A Strategy To Accomplish Your Goals

GI breaks down how he helps companies, brands, and individuals achieve their goals by developing a well thought out strategy.

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Alright, let’s be real—most people have no clue what they’re doing when it comes to creating a strategy. They say they want bigger sales, more followers, or higher revenue but have zero idea how to make it happen. This is where strategy comes in. And no, it’s not some magical, touchy-feely pixie fairy vibe juice. It’s a plan. A straightforward, step-by-step plan designed to take you from where you are to where you want to be.

But here’s the thing—freestyling doesn’t cut it. If you’re “winging it” under the guise of “organic growth,” you’re probably hemorrhaging money, wasting time, and burning through energy you don’t have. Think of strategy as your GPS. You wouldn’t jump into your car and aimlessly drive around hoping to end up at your destination, right (unless it’s one of those nights)? Well, it’s the same for your business goals. Without a clear roadmap, you’ll end up lost more times than you think.

Here’s the reality of building a strategy from a strategy advisor and how to build one that actually makes a difference. No hypotheticals. Just facts from real world experience.

Step 1: Figure Out Where You’re Starting

Before you even think about setting a goal, take a good hard look at where you are. And no, I’m not talking about wishful thinking or some pie-in-the-sky version of your brand. Be honest. What’s working? What isn’t? Where are the cracks in the foundation?

This means doing an audit. I like to break it into two parts:

1. Internal Audit

• How’s your website? Functional, or does it look like it’s trapped in 2000?
• Is your messaging clear, or does it take an Albert Einstein level genius to figure out what you actually do?
• Does your logo reflect your brand, or is it one Fiverr template away from irrelevance?
• Most importantly, does everything connect emotionally with your audience? If not, we’ve got work to do—because most people buy with emotions, not logic.

2. Market Analysis

Look outside your bubble. What’s your industry doing? Who are your competitors? And your audience—who are they? What do they like? What do they hate? If you don’t know your customers inside and out, how on God’s green earth are you supposed to sell to them? Psst, I’ll tell you a secret—you can’t.

Roll up your sleeves. Dig into the brand’s DNA and the market’s mindset. There’s no skipping this step if you want to have the necessary info to build something meaningful.

Step 2: Get Real About Your Goals

Here comes the part where most people screw up. They set goals like, “We want to increase revenue by 1000%!” Great, but is that realistic? Probably not (especially on a budget of $18).

Goals need to:

• Be specific. Vague doesn’t tell you where to go.
• Be measurable. If you can’t track it, how do you know where to improve?
• Be practical. You can’t sell 5 million units if your distribution chain can only handle 50,000.
• Be time-bound. Deadlines make things real. No timeline, no accountability.

Once you’ve got your goal, reality-check it. Take your resources, budget, and audience into account. If your goal sounds good on paper but falls apart when you’re honest about your capabilities or resources, adjust it. No shame in recalibrating—it’s about playing the game smart, not fast.

Step 3: Fix the Broken Stuff First

Nobody wants to hear this, but you can’t slap a shiny coat of paint on a crumbling foundation and call it a day. Before you start adding tactics into the mix, go back and fix the fundamentals.

Is your branding on point? Does your visual identity connect with your audience? More importantly, does your messaging resonate? Cool logos are fine, but if your brand voice doesn’t make somebody feel something, you’re not going anywhere.

Fix all the glaring issues upfront—messy websites, confusing messaging, poor visuals, disorganized workflows—because if these things aren’t working, no strategy will save you.

Step 4: Build a Strategy With Tactics That Actually Work Together

This is where the art of strategy kicks in. Average businesses (and consultants) just throw random tactics at the wall to see what sticks. High-performers make tactics that work together as a cohesive unit.

Here’s the golden rule of strategy—everything should work as a system; everything should complement everything else.

• Running ads on social media? Great. Pair them with organic content that builds your reputation and brand image.
• Doing email marketing? Cool. Use those same emails to funnel traffic toward a high-impact landing page with asset.
• Leveraging SEO? Make sure your social content drives new backlinks for added domain authority.

It’s not about picking just one channel or throwing random spaghetti against the wall. It’s about making every action enhance the next. When done right, the effects compound exponentially—and that’s where the ROI magic happens.

Know your high-ROI tactics:

• Email campaigns (yes, email still reigns supreme—highest ROI in marketing).
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) (organic traffic never sleeps).
• Social Ads (but for the love of  Arabian coffee, track them properly).
• Branding Efforts to make people come to you while you’re reaching out to them with marketing.

Make it clear what needs to be done, when, and how. Break it all down so your team—or any freelancers or contractors you bring in—knows exactly how to execute.

Step 5: Track Your Progress Like a Hawk

No plan is bulletproof. Unexpected things happen. Metrics will suck some weeks. Ads often take experimentation. That’s okay—as long as you’re paying attention.

Tracking comes down to setting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Think of them as the chocolate flavored data breadcrumbs that tell you if your plan is working or heading straight off a cliff. Look at things like:

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) for ads.
• Conversion Rates for your product pages.
• Email Open Rates because unread emails don’t count.
• Revenue Growth because sales numbers don’t lie.

Here’s the secret sauce: Your analytics are like a book (if you know how to read them)—learn from them, and adjust accordingly. If something isn’t working, don’t keep throwing money at it. Pivot, rework, and improve it until it performs.

A Tough Pill To Swallow About Strategy

Not everyone want’s to hear this, but not everyone is cut out to create strategy. It’s not something you can wing. It’s about seeing the big picture—connecting dots that aren’t obvious, predicting outcomes before they happen, and setting up a system that eventually runs itself. That is a particular skill that some people have, and some people don’t.

That being said—you can get better at it than you currently are with practice. Stick to the steps:

1. Assess where you’re at. Know your starting point and environment.
2. Set real, measurable goals. No candy-coated BS allowed.
3. Fix what’s broken before you add more. Patch the leaks before you set sail.
4. Build tactics that work together. No random stabs in the dark—think chess, not darts.
5. Track everything. Follow your KPIs and learn from the data every step of the way.

Play it smart, and don’t be afraid to rework or pivot if something’s not working. That’s what separates businesses that grow from ones that stagnate.

Still not sure where to start? No shame in bringing in an expert who knows their way around strategy. Done right, it can transform your entire business.

 

GI’s unique perspective delivered in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. GI SAID IT: Brutally honest, no BS. Click for more GI SAID IT shows and articles.