5 Profit Secrets For Your Business

Let’s begin this article with the Truth! There are NO SECRETS about how to make more PROFITS in business! That’s because what you’re about to read you probably already know!!

Where many people get stuck is in the implementation of THE SECRETS! 

Remember the movie ‘The Secret’ it was a phenomenon that swept the globe because it was well made and very well marketed. However the biggest comment that soon emerged about the movie was HOW? Everyone was asking ”How do we implement this information in our lives and our businesses”.

We often struggle with implementation because ‘How to implement’ depends on your own personal circumstance and mindset. Let’s face it we all have a different mindset, way of talking to ourselves and thinking about our own abilities and the capabilites of our team.

That means sometimes we’ll KNOW information yet won’t act on it because we think we can’t DOit!

This is actually the number 1 secret to a more abundant life and business! Bridging the gap between Knowing and Doing - taking yourself beyond simply gathering information to implementing it in the context of your life and your business!

This article will always be just useful informationi unless you do something with it!

The 5 Profit Secrets…

1. Research over the past  decade by the Gallup organisation has shown only 20% of our employees are Engaged in their work. This means they fully participate at work. Of the remainder 60% are not engaged and will not commit to fully participating while at work. The remaining 20% are disengaged! These disengaged employees can threaten the entire business because if they feel the performance of other employees threatens them they will attempt to sabotage their work! Removing the cause of their disengagement and increasing the level of your employees Engagement will increase productivity and impact your profitability.
   
2. Without Action there is no result! Without a result we cannot have a profitable outcome! The bottom line is you don’t have products or services to sell if there’s beem no action to create them. After all your customers are buying the results of your actions! They’re buying what your products or services promise to deliver! There is a direct relationship between profit and action. Yet not evey action will create more profit. In fact many employees can ‘look busy’ and not achieve much! It’s the role of managers and leaders to ensure employees take appropriate action that increases profitability.
   
   
3. Encouraging and expecting your employees to be Accountableis key to increased profitability. However if you’re the manager or leader who says one thing and does another, don’t expect others to ‘do as you  say’. We all know that actions speak louder than words, so ensure your management and leadership are being accountable for their actions.
   
   
4. A business that is Systemised will consistently outperform one that is disorganised. Systems that give clear instructions about tasks like answering the phone, taking orders, scheduling deliveries, responding to customer requests, dealing with customer problems and many more will be simpler, more efficient and add significantly to bottom line profits.
   
   
5. Make People important in your business! Your customers and your employees are your most significant asset, love them and they will love you in return. If people get a sense they’re not important, that they don’ matter, that what they say is of no consequence the results will be devastating. The current economic crisis has been in part caused by a lack of caring for customers and results important to them. We’re seeing the effects of credit being extended to customers who had insufficient ability to repay, simply to make another sale, instead of being given good financial advice! The bottom line is that those profits have disappeared and the rules are now so tight many customers are unable to get credit. We’re all continuing to feel the consequences of these actions.

Take some time to reflect on how you could implement these 5 Profit Secrets in Your Business. If you have already fully integrated and implemented each of these, congratulations. If you’ve got more to do then decide what where you will start and what actions you will take.

How Do You Problem Solve

When you’re confronted with a problem what is your immediate reaction?

Do you want to find a solution? Do you ask someone else to help you resolve the issue? Or do you just wait and hope that it will go away?

Which ever is your approach to problem solving (there are lots more by the way!) you have  learnt it through experience or someone has taught you! 

Fundamentally our brains are wired to be alert to danger and take immediate evasive action to keep ourselves safe. When you first experience a situation you perceive as dangerous you quickly learn what action to take and will repeat that again and again, as long as it works for you.

Our ability to solve problems is based on similar methodology. Our first reaction to a problem can be instinctive where our brain searches for similar patterns and responds with the closest pattern that it can find. This almost instant emotional response is very clear cut, black and white, all or nothing. For example when a black object on the path looks like a snake, your first reaction could be to feel frightened and run!

More rational problem solving occurs in part of the brain that functions in learning, reasoning and memory. Here we have more control and flexibility of our thoughts BUT it is a much slower process! This is where we see the same black object on the path, deduct what it could be (a stick perhaps) and then make decisions about what to do.

How do you problem solve? Do you dive in and make immediate decisions based on your emotional response to the problem? Or do you use logical or rational thinking to find a solution?

It may seem that the ‘right’ answer to this question is that you ‘should’ use logical thinking! Yet some problems do need to be resolved almost instantly while others need more reflection. 

To solve problems effectively its important to be aware of how you function. Do you dive in and act quickly almost impulsively or do you step back and reflect before you make a decision or take action? When you have figured out how you function you will be more in control of your own problem solving ability.

If you’re a person who dives in and acts quickly you are a fast decision maker, capable of moving rapidly from one task to the next. Entrepreneurs are often like this which can lead to both success and failure as it could mean you make more mistakes! The issues you confront have not been well thought through and the decisions you make don’t turn out as you expect!

Or if you are a person who steps back and reflects on issues before making decisions you tend to be more reserved, quite and slower to act. This can mean you make less mistakes though in a fast moving market your decision could be too late and you have missed your opportunity.

Now that you’re aware of how you function, the art of effective problem solving is being able to access both your emotional or instinctive response of acting quickly and your more rational and reflective thinking capability to make a decision about your issue.

5 Step Problem Solving Formula

Ever felt the pressure of needing to solve a problem instantly?

You know what I mean. Everyone is waiting for your solution, after all you’re the boss and you should have an answer! BUT you’re lost for words, can’t think and just can’t concentrate!

And then suddenly you get a flash of inspiration, blurt out your solution and everything changes! The room comes back into focus and you can breathe again.

You’ve run into the – leap at my first thought to resolve the problem – syndrome of problem solving.

Does it sound familiar?

Well then you’ve got a problem – with your problem solving technique!

You see it’s easy to get seduced by the need to solve problems - INSTANTLY! Because there is always time to think – unless you’re being chased by an angry bear (not likely for most of us)

Here’s a quick 5 Step Problem Solving Formula you can implement in (almost) any situation

1. Take a Step Back from the problem and identify the real problem by asking questions about the problem. Is it really an issue or just confusion? Who says it’s a problem? Where is it occurring? Why did it happen?
2. What Outcome do you want as a result of the solution you may come up with. Get clear on what you want so that you can then take a path toward it!
3. Create a number of Alternative solutions to the problem – which may require you to brainstorm with your team – allow as many alternatives to come to help everyone to ‘see’ the problem differently
4. Select the Most Appropriate solution by thinking through the other factors that can affect the solution such as – money, time, people, procedures and more
5. Implement the solution and Evaluate the outcome to identify if you have achieved the outcome you set out to achieve. Decide on what changes need to be made to the process in case you need to resolve the problem again if the outcome doesn’t suit.

Management and Controlling Costs

Making money in business is not difficult! What counts is how much money you keep!

Controlling your costs will determine how much of your turnover or revenue you keep! And cost control starts at the top! Business leaders who don’t prioritise cost control will eventually find their businesses in trouble.

Poor financial management has killed thousands of businesses in the past 12-24 months as the global recession bites deeper. Yet we’re not seeing the spread of sound advice for leaders who want to improve their skills.

Here are some tips to consider when establishing good cost control…

• Set a good example. Cost-reduction starts at the top. In good times and in bad, always show your employees that you are personally involvedin reducing cost
• Keep yourself accountable. If you can’t hold yourself accountable, how do you expect to hold your employees accountable? Good leaders have systems in place to track and monitor the progress they make towards achieving the company’s objectives-objectives such as finding less expensive ways of doing things.
• Manage your time. Don’t waste time. If you can’t manage your own time, you can’t expect your employees to manage theirs. Time wasted is a huge drain on profits. For example, if you come in late and/or leave early, if you are consistently late for appointments, or you don’t pay your taxes on time, etc, there are serious repercussions. Remember, your employees notice everything. So, consider reducing operating expenses by managing your time well. Your employees will follow.
• Never abdicate control of your finances. As a business leader, you need systems in place to ensure you personally review financial information on a timely basis. Never give control of your finances to someone else.
• Build a culture that values cost control. As your people begin to follow your good example, they will start to find new and more effective ways to reduce cost. Be sure to lavish them with praise and reward their efforts.
• Refine your negotiating skills. If you don’t negotiate well, make refining your negotiating skills a priority. And remember, negotiating isnot about “beating up’ your suppliers. Negotiating is about understanding your needs, their needs, the attendant market conditions and coming up with a win-win solution.
• Perfect your recruiting and hiring process. A bad recruiting and hiring process can cost you dearly. You need to be very clear about the results you want from both processes.

Managing Difficult People

It’s one of the most common experiences in the workplace and almost everywhere! Customers, employees, managers, friends, relatives, family getting angry, frustrated, annoyed and difficult!

How do you deal with it?

First thing to remember is that you’re the only person you can change! You are in charge of what you think and feel. No one else is in charge of your thinking and feeling.

Viktor Frankl, a famous survivor of the Holocaust concentration camps, said that he knew there was only one thing the guards of the camps could not take away from him – that was how he thought and felt!

Your thoughts and feelings are your internal barometer! If you’re in a difficult situation your feelings let you know that the event or what someone has said doesn’t agree with you. At that moment you can decide if you will allow yourself to get upset or not! That then dictates your attitude.

When you take charge of your thoughts and feelings, you will be in charge of your attitude! And your attitude will dictate your response! And it’s pretty hard to hide your attitude, others can see it in your body language and feel your emotions.

Now that you’re in charge of your thoughts, feelings and attitude you can think clearly about how to respond to the other person. Do you want to create a lasting win/win relationship with this other person? What relationship do you want?

The key is in the relationships! Lets assume you’re dealing with a difficult customer – if you want to continue with this relationship or make sure you’re reputation is preserved it would be important for you to create a win/win result.

You can achieve win/win in any relationship when you take control of your communication! You must make your message clear so that it can be understood. If it’s not understood deliver it again in a different way.

And win/win is not about giving in to another persons demands its about negotiating an outcome that is perceived as a win/win by both parties. Remember that feedback can be a useful tool when used to add value to the conversation and not just to get your point across.

Make the other person feel like they’re valued so that they can maintain their self esteem and you can maintain your own self esteem. When an interaction is dragged down by an emotional response that is poorly communicated, both parties self esteem can suffer!

There will be times when you must say NO! In this way you are honouring yourself and sometimes it can be the only solution to a tricky problem.

5 Crucial Measures of Performance

If you’re managing people one of the things you will be attempting to manage is performance. And that can be a difficult task!

The most common measure of performance is task completion or productivity. How much ‘work’ was performed in a given time period. On that basis many employee’s productivity will vary a lot. Some days there will be high results and other days low results. So often hard to measure effectively.

Another measure is amount of effort used to do the ‘work’. Low effort frequently shows up as a low result, yet high effort may not create a much higher result. The variable here could be amount of skill they have to do the ‘work’, problems with time managment or not prioritizing their work load.

Other performance measures also include attendance, time management, cooperation, goal completion, problem solving and more.

As much as each of these listed above are important measures of performance they focus on the how well or not the employee is ‘doing’ the given task. So in reality they are the simplest measure of performance because you can see or measure the result.

Resarch has shown there are 5 Crucial Measures of Performance often left off a performance review process. The most common reason for this is because they are more difficult to measure, yet will make the biggest difference to the individuals performance.

Companies that are using these 5 crucial measures as part of their performance review process are also putting themselves under the spotlight. Because the results can point toward problems within the organisation which need to be addressed.

Proactive organisations are looking for this feedback from their employees to gauge how well they are doing as an employer. The 5 Crucial Measures include…

1. Is the employee fully Engaged in their work, with other employees and with customers? Numerous studies have shown high engagement improves productivity, retention, teamwork and more
2. Does your team member have Pride in the company they represent as well as its products and services? Proud staff speak well of the company, give great customer service, act as excellent referrals among other things
3. Are they asking to Learn new skills and Develop their potential? Employees actively seeking to improve their skills are usually high performers with a drive to develop themselves further.
4. Is the employee Satisfied with their role, tasks, career advancement, working environment, management and team? Naturally satisfaction levels will vary amongst employees, yet the level of overall satisfaction will be give the employer a measure of performance and productivity.
5. Does your staff member accept Accountability for their behaviour and communication? This is one of the most important measures of performance as it will give the employer feedback about how the staff member perceives themselves and whether they are open to change.

So how do you include these 5 Crucial Measures in your performance review process? Firstly you will need to develop the benchmarks which you believe are relevant to these 5 measures and to your business.

During the performance review you would then ask each employee to rate themselves on the benchmark scale and you would give them a rating. If leaders or managers are being rated then their ratings would come from a number of different people to give a fuller 360 degree rating.