Three Words That Will Change Your Business (And They Aren't "Increase Your Turnover")

Imagine you are in the top 50 of your industry Australia wide out of a field of 1600, and you get introduced to the owner of the No 1 performing business in your industry. You arrange for private lunch, a chance to speak one on one with a keynote speaker at industry functions, someone that runs a team of 7 to your team of 1 (just you). He is the real big dog on the block. This is your chance to find out what they do that makes them No 1.

You're sitting at the table in anticipation, waiting for some pearls of wisdom to come forth to help you get bigger and better. And then he arrives. You ask and he talks.

After an hour you work out 2 critically important things. Firstly, he is on his way to a heart attack and an early grave by working ridiculous hours each week, and secondly (because you know the industries pricing structure) you know that...

... every month you are making 34% more Net Profit than him.

That's right 1 person outperforming 7, a difference of 938% profit per employee. A true story.

The 3 words that will change YOUR business... "Focus On Profit"

It's Whats Behind The Veil That Matters

It's easy to sit in awe of your competitors, and try to do the numbers of how much they are doing in sales. But big numbers are irrelevant. They are only part of the game and when you constantly focus on turnover you are leaving out the key parts of the equation. You can't survive or flourish unless your business is making a healthy profit.

Remember this one most important phrase:

"It's Not What You Make That Matters, It Is What You Keep".

What's You Can't See Can Hurt You (BIG TIME!)

The problem for most businesses is that they don't increase the visibility of profit in their business.

To have a proper profit focus in your business you should stop waiting till the end of the year to find out if you have made any money or not. You should be looking at your figures weekly or at most monthly. Get your bookkeeper or accountant to do this (if its too much trouble for them, get someone else)

If you are doing quotes, build your overheads into your quotations so you know on each quote how much money you are REALLY making.

Other Profit Focused Strategies

Measure your profitability per employee per month (as I did above). This gets you focused on getting the maximum bang for your buck out of your team.

Check your profitability per customer. It most probably wouldn't surprise you to know that those "problem" customers who expect the world and want to pay peanuts are costing you money. Focus on "A" grade customers.

Reward your salespeople based upon your most profitable lines not necessarily on highest sales figures.

And obviously keep a tight control on your expenses, don't spend on things that aren't going to make you a profit.

It may seem obvious, it may seem basic, but don't fall into the trap of NOT looking at the bottom line at least once a month.

Get Moving: Print your Profit and Loss report today and check it. Start asking questions (of your accountant, suppliers, team)...

Steve Smit is a Business Coach with Reality Consulting.
He works with business owners who want to increase their take home profits and work shorter hours. For a free copy of his "Business Accelerator Pack" visit http://www.realityconsulting.com.au/ or please email stevesmit@realityconsulting.com.au.

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How To Start Or Increase A Current Business Fast, And For Free (This Is Absolutely True And Good)

Your challenge right now and before you read any further, is to keep an open mind - can you?

If you are going to make your business FLY as a opposed to slowly die, it takes people, right? To get people involved in your business takes relationships with people, do you agree? If you don't believe that, stop reading this now.

Why? It's because the ROOT of everything we do as humans comes back to this one simple core, human relations. Human relations create business for you. If human relations are that important, how can you quickly make more relationships?

We all know about referrals. A referral is when someone who is aware of your business tells another person (often a family member) about your business. The best referrals are from a happy customer, but second best is someone who is just aware of your service or product, telling another person. Both types of referrals are the single most powerful business builder there is, period.

Do you hate talking to strangers?

Most people are afraid to talk to strangers. Yet, talking to strangers will change your business or start your new business up, overnight. Really? Really. It is because when you talk to strangers you're not talking to one person, you're talking to a group of people. You're talking to that one person who has family and friends. If your message to them, delivered in a minute or two, is delivered right, your message could go out quickly to many more people.

Are you on-board this train with us here?

If you're with us - if you agree that talking to strangers is what you need to do, how can you break down your personal fears and enjoy talking to strangers? Would it make a difference in your business and your life if you could approach anyone, any time and tell them about your business? Use the following rules, and you'll have more fun than you can believe, while exploding your business.

Rule One:

Go where the people are. You have to find someone to talk to, right? They are in their homes. Simply knock on the door firmly, and give them a chance to answer. If they don't answer, leave your dynamic flyer or business card. Don't confuse this with leaving flyers on doors. You WANT to talk to people. It is ten times more effective.

Rule Two:

Deliver. For the following example, let's pretend you're in the custom cake business. When someone answers the door, they don't really care (at that point) what your name is. Smile and deliver your message: "Custom Cakes is what we make." Keep smiling as you say it. When you smile, they can be pretty sure you're not going to harm them. Continue. "Do you or does anyone you know have a special event coming up, like a wedding, retirement, or special anniversary?" Now, hand them the brochure.

What just happened? You began a conversation with a stranger, about your business. What did it cost? One of your cake brochures. Who else will probably get the message? It is very likely that your message will get to more people from that one contact.

Rule Three: (This is the EXCITING rule)

We have 30 years of small business experience. My son has a $200,000 degree in Entrepreneurship, and other experts will agree: If you deliver your message in person, with your voice, to 50 people, your effort will result in a purchase of your product or service, in six months or less. This is the worse case scenario. What is the best case? IF your product or service is hot, your return for time invested could shock you.

WARNING:

Safety first. Take a friend with you. Carry pepper spray. If anyone starts to say, something like, why are you bothering me, simply smile and say, "Hey, I'm just out looking for work. You understand that, don't you?" (It stops them in their tracks). The vast majority of people are friendly and want to help you. Yes, talking to 50 people at the doors will require you to knock on 200 doors. It will take about 4 hours. You'll get exercise and fresh air. People will meet you, and they'll know that you care.

Is it worth it?

There is no competition. Very few people will knock doors. Fortunes are made, even today, knocking on doors. Even in this market, there are Realtors, landscapers, plumbers and even cake makers making up to $500,000 a year, knocking on doors. You will be so excited when that first call comes from your effort. You'll just go through the roof! It is simple. It is good for you. It will rock your world!

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There is a lot more you can do with the basic idea of this article. For a limited time, we are offering a free eBook, "How To Knock Doors For Fantastic Fun And Profit." This is a comprehensive guide you'll enjoy reading, and it will make you serious money if you apply it.

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