toolkit 1 print - For Entrepreneurs Only...Go the extra mile and seek to delight and surprise your...

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TOOLKIT ONE: FIND YOUR HIDDEN PROFITS WITHIN TOOLKIT

Transcript of toolkit 1 print - For Entrepreneurs Only...Go the extra mile and seek to delight and surprise your...

Page 1: toolkit 1 print - For Entrepreneurs Only...Go the extra mile and seek to delight and surprise your ... That’s your opportunity!! Delighting customers leads to high levels of repeat

TOOLKIT ONE: FIND YOUR HIDDEN PROFITS WITHIN

TOOLKIT

Page 2: toolkit 1 print - For Entrepreneurs Only...Go the extra mile and seek to delight and surprise your ... That’s your opportunity!! Delighting customers leads to high levels of repeat

You have taken your first important step to finding your hidden profits in your business by downloading this toolkit.

Here is how to make this toolkit work for you:

Read through the toolkit and review which of the actions you have already taken and which you need to complete.

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Make sure you work through the toolkit carefully and don’t skip any actions which limited your profit potential.

2

Take the actions as suggested to find your hidden profits.

3

Share your successes and lessons with us and we may promote your business on a future programme – make you a star of FEO TV!

4

CONGRATULATIONS!

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Go the extra mile and seek to delight and surprise your customers with the service level you provide.

How many times in the last month have you been delighted with the service you received? Did you worry about the price you paid? That’s your opportunity!! Delighting customers leads to high levels of repeat business, new business from referrals and a lowering of sensitivity to price.

Too many small businesses think they need to compete on price. Why? It is much smarter and more profitable to compete on anything but price unless your costs are much lower than your competitors. Your suppliers prices will have gone up so put yours up or you are losing profit.

Here are some ways to help you to put your prices up:

ACTION 1 PUT YOUR PRICES UP

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Shush... I’m asurprise!

Ensure your product is best in class in your sector. If you give people something worth paying for that solves a problem they have they will pay you for it! What can you do to make your product better than the competition?

Then put the price up.

PRODUCT QUALITY

QUALITY

People generally buy from people they like and trust. Develop your customer relationships. Treat your key customers like your best friends. Treat them to lunch, e-mail them things that might help them and call them at least once a quarter regardless of the level of business you so. Hire nice people because nice people are nice to other people!

Make sure you keep your delivery promises, do what you say you’re going to do. If you have a problem and you will miss your delivery time call them and apologise in advance. People can often put up with late deliveries if you inform them in advance.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS DELIVERY ON TIME

My Top Tip for action 1 is to ask your key customers why they really do buy from you then focus on those reasons when selling in order to reduce the focus on price.

TOP TIP

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

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When you have repeat customers they buy from you because they trust you so they may be open to buying additional products/services from you. What else could you sell them? This is much easier and cheaper than trying to create new customers.

Many businesses make the most profit from additional add-ons rather than the core product.

ACTION 2 SELL ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES TO EXISTING CUSTOMERS

My Top Tip here is to check out how your customers use your products in their business and see if there is anything else you can provide to help them.

TOP TIP

ACTION 3 REVIEW YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICE PROFITABILITY

My Top Tip is to analyse where you are making and losing money on your products and refocus on the profitable products. If you cannot do it find somebody who can e.g. your accountant or somebody who is good with numbers.

TOP TIP

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Most businesses estimate sales then add up their costs and what’s left is the profit or loss.

The zero based budget approach does it differently...

ACTION 4 RE-ASSESS HOW YOU BUDGET, AND PRODUCE A ZERO BASED BUDGET

£1M

Therefore you can afford to spend £900k on costs. This then forces you to decide what costs are a must and what others you should cut. It is a very disciplined approach to boosting profits.

Have a go and see what hidden profits you can discover.

ACTION 5 NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE

When buying anything get into the habit of

negotiating. Ask for a discount, extended

payment terms or volume rebates. Seek to

reduce your costs by 10% at least.

£100KDetermine profits required

Estimated sales

CAN YOU GIVE ME A

DISCOUNT?

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Noticed very successful rich people always negotiate, that’s why they are rich! Don’t be shy – ask. It’s not always about price. Could be delivery times, quantities, payment terms. There is no such thing as a fixed cost or price, everything is negotiable.

If you manage to save 10%, then that’s an extra 10% profit in your pocket!

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Don’t assume anything about how people who work for you or with you operate. Not everyone will treat the business like it’s their own.

ACTION 6 INSPECT, DON’T EXPECT...

Follow the money. Where are your biggest costs? Be persistent if you smell a rat, don’t be fobbed off.

IT’S JUST A JOB!

Spend time with your staff & colleagues to see first-hand, how they operate; nothing should be off your radar. Inspect, don’t expect!

One local business had a policy of obtaining 3 quotes for purchases over £500. The buyer diligently followed this rule. Then one day she went off on maternity leave and somebody else took over her role. 3 months later the owner checked what they were doing and they just placed orders without following the policy. He realised it cost him £30k over the period.

The easiest way to make money is to stop losing it! Have a go at these six proven approaches and liberate your hidden profits.

When you do it well you will build up your own treasure chest for investment in your business. This is much cheaper and less risky than borrowing money from banks or other investors.

SUMMARY FIND YOUR HIDDEN PROFITS WITHIN

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we hope to get involved with the business community and extend our reach.

Here at

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Good luck and please share your success and learnings with us.