Making Your Bottom Line
More Profitable
There are a number of ways to improve your bottom line but here's one that is often overlooked - developing better products and services. It's more profitable than you'd think when your own people are the richest source of inspiration.
2 ingredients encourage product development
The first is information. Your people talk constantly with workmates and colleagues, managers, shop staff, customers and suppliers about what's working. And what's not. Collectively, they have all the inputs needed to develop new products and services - and make existing products better. The best market research may well be your own team.
The second is desire. Most employees understand the perils of being a tortoise - if you stick your neck out you can lose your head. Little wonder so many Managers reluctantly accept barely satisfactory levels of performance. Your colleagues know what to do but don't want to do it. Information and desire form part of every
Negotiation Seminar
we deliver; we break habits of non-contribution by stimulating and engaging people to act and interact with one another. Introduce new material. Engage people using insights and laughter. And support it in a safe environment that welcomes people talking about blockages and opportunities.
Simple processes release their daily experiences and thinking about how to develop new products and services. All of which adds to your bottom line.
Penetrate markets through business acquisitions
Perhaps you're thinking of more money, bigger profits, business growth, increased share price, more prestige, new challenges...
There are many reasons to acquire another business. But unless you understand the seller's interest in being acquired you're heading for trouble. You need more than a sound business strategy - you need to understand what motivates them. Check our
5 Point Method
and interrogate points 3 and 4 prior to any acquisition.
This might also be a good time to consider a
facilitated session
for your management team to determine how to proceed. Or we can work on some
one-on-one coaching
and in a few hours make great progress.
Costing for sales - other methods
Your customers pay you for perceived value. The challenge is to make the value relevant to them. By understanding their needs you match your products and services to fit. The level of fit can often determine the price.
It's the same with suppliers. We pay suppliers for perceived value. Their challenge is to make the value relevant to us. Likewise by understanding our needs they match their products and services to suit; the level of fit often determines the price.
The traditional way of costing for sales - Quantity, Specification, Price and Time - locks us into traditional thinking and delivers traditional solutions eg 1,000 xyz-grade widgets at $x per unit payable 30 days from month-end.
When looking for alternative approaches to cost for sales, look at other parameters and Possabilities® by which to negotiate - taxation, type of relationship, future sales, JV opportunities, stage of cycle, and referrals to name just a few. Ask yourself one powerful question:
What are our suppliers' bottom line needs?
By understanding others' motives you're able to pursue the criteria most likely to fulfil their needs. Begin by devising insightful questions, follow-up with provocative statements and focus their thinking upon their needs. Then leverage the process with better costing for sales' outcomes for both of you. Do you have such a process? Do your people follow it? Every time?
We offer simple techniques to reveal the needs of others, many of which are locked inside our
negotiating a better bottom line
seminar. Imagine how much more effective your people would be if they asked better questions of suppliers and customers. And the flow-on effect that would have.
Making money is easier when you know the other person's bottom line.
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