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    You too can increase profits without necessarily increasing sales!

    How?

    NewsletterThe “Profits Leak Detective Newsletter” offers regular tips and strategies to help you identify and plug those leaking profits.

    You may never have known you have them.

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    BONUS free report “7 Clues to a Profit Leak”, valued at $47.

    How do you know that you should be looking for leaks?

    Are there some clues or symptoms that are telltales saying that a
    bit of drilling down into your business might pay some dividends?
    Possible leaks could be anywhere.

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    "Adam, over the past six years, I've had the pleasure of 'bumping into you' on at least three business and marketing related forums. Your contributionsto discussions have always been courteous, astute, incisive and practical,delivered with good humour, and based upon 'real-world' business experience. You are clearly an experienced business professional who actually knows what he is talking about. I wonder if your clients know what a gem they have in you? As one business professional to another, I salute you.

    Good Wishes,
    John Williamson - The Wealth Coach
    www.thewealthcoach.com
    www.retaildisplaysecrets.com

    +++++++++++++++++++

    I just LOVED "7 Clues to a Profits Leak".

    Steven Walker - Profit Improvement Advisors
    Calgary, Canada

    +++++++++++++++++++

    You will be proud how your protégés are proceeding!  We have expanded the business to Katherine and Alice (Tennant is also on the list). T he catering side of the business is far less stressful and is actually profitable, now that we only take the good jobs.  
    We will never forget the assistance you gave us in re-inventing our business!

    Karen Sheldon
    Managing Director
    Karen Sheldon Catering
    Darwin, Australia

    +++++++++++++++++++

    The chap is Adam Gordon whom I have known for many years.   He is a former resident of Darwin having lived here for perhaps 25 years, is an excellent communicator and has a very good appreciation of small business, business plans and all that goes with it.  In fact Adam is regarded as a business guru.

    Charles Wright, QS Services, Darwin, Australia

    +++++++++++++++++++++

    Thanks for the catch-up the other day. It's great to be working with a legend in the small business community.

    AJ Kulatunga, BLKMGK ICT

    Darwin, Australia

    +++++++++++++++++++

    The 7 Clues is a great.

    What I like the most in the Seven Clues report is that it clearly explains that accounting is merely a subset of proper financial management and
    that only the business owner can practise financial management. The accountant does the accounting, and in doing so supports the business owner's financial management. And the business owner uses the accountant's information, but relying on the accountant to do full-blown financial management is short-sighted.
    The report nicely "grounds" an otherwise complex topic which many business owners are afraid of touching, so they often move ahead in blissful ignorance. The water hose and the soggy soil under the leak makes an excellent and easy-to-comprehend example, upon which the financial management concept is nicely built.

    Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan, Organisational Provocateur Dynamic Innovations Squad
    Personal and Firm-Wide Performance Improvement for Management Consulting Firms

    Vancouver, BC Canada

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    You have played a very important role in my development in business.

    You were there with the right information at the right time, I thank you for that.
    By adding the next level of systems, and marketing knowledge that you brought to the table we able to identify our objectives, acknowledge the gaps in our business and put in place the planning so as to achieve those objectives. Within 5 years we achieved 9 of our ten stated objectives.  In that same year we won the NT Telstra Small business of the year"

    Greg Haigh
    Director - Trade Group
    Regional And Northern maintenance services
    RANms

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Recent newsletters include:

    • How well do you know your market?
    • How turning away customers leads to profits
    • How to create Superior Value
    • How to win against your competition
    • Do you need to make changes to your business?
    • "Our customers are costing us too much!"
    • Why competition is good news
    • What makes a web site effective?
    • Most businesses have one, but...
    • How to improve your quotations
    • How to raise prices without losing sales
    • Is your business resilient?
    • How to develop a new product in your niche
    • How big is your profit gap?
    • How discounting destroyed value
    • Benchmarking for best practice
    • From all customers to some customers
    • How to take the guesswork out of growth
    • Should your USP be based on logic or emotion?
    • How to triple your quotation success rate
    • How to dramatically improve your quotations
    • How to make more effective decisions?
    • How to develop your USP
    • Do you want to make better planning choices?
    • Are youmaking these mistakes in planning?
    • How to use SWOT properly
    • Does your sales conversation balance the scales of justice?
    • The perils of profitless cash flow!
    • So what is more important, cash flow or profit?
    • Are you getting value from your pricing?
    • Do you report to yourself monthly?
    • Follow the money trail!
    • Performance also counts!
    • Get more bang for your buck!
    • Without measurement there can be no improvement!
    • Where would your business be without customers?
    • Using your monthly report to improve your profits
    • Just who is your customer?
    • And what do you know about your customer?
    • How branding can increase your profits!
    • Can branding make you more money?
    • How to balance the value equation
    • Tilting the balance in your favour
    • How to pin the tail on the donkey
    • Are you groping in the dark with your real cost of labour
    • Mastering core marketing principles
    • Building a 5P marketing plan
    • Profit leaking processes
    • Should you be trying to increase or decrease cash flow
    • At times it is folly to hasten
    • 5 steps to create your future
    • What will be the X-Factor in 2009
    • Lies, damn lies & statistics
    • How to use a squad profit leak detectives
    • Confidence leads to action
    • Increase sales - so easy to say
    • So you want to know how to increase sales
    • Is selling a necessary evil?

    Hope is not a method Print E-mail

    Nor is it a strategy

    For that matter "We'll have to wait and see" is not a strategy either. I was reminded of the above quotation when talking to someone about the problem they were having in their business.  The problem was essentially a lack of sales.

    To be fair, whilst their business had not been constantly growing, it usually received sufficient sales to keep it busy.  As you might guess, they are a very reactive business.  The orders come in; they fulfill them and hope to get the chance to quote on more.

    They presume or hope that the next month, quarter or year will turn out like the last - same issues, same outcomes.  

    What if it doesn't?  When will the penny drop?  Quite probably when it is too late!  

    Too late because they are totally dependant on the actions of others, on events beyond their knowledge and control.  There was no thought that they should try and do something.  They prefer the comfort of inaction than actually trying to do something to change the situation.

    Unless they take action, nothing is going to happen.

    What actions could they take? Well, they could cut costs.  That's what larger firms do.  However, like most small businesses their cost structure is fairly lean so there is little to be gained there.  In fact trying to do something in the cost cutting area could even further damage the business.

    The alternative would be to try and bring in some more sales, to actually try and market their business's capabilities.

    Recently I read of one sales initiative they could copy, just by way of an example.  In this real-life case study the businessman sent out postcards to a list of less than 400 people.  The postcards were simple, all-text with no photos.  The text had a benefit laden headline, an offer, and a deadline.  The cost to the company was $1,500.   It achieved only three responses and just one sale.  

    I can almost feel your shock. That effort and money for one sale.  But you have to consider the return on investment (ROI) from that little marketing effort.  That one customer has stayed a customer for 8 years and spends up to $80,000 per year.

    As my friend Andrew Young says "You don't need luck, you need action."  Action is the foundation to success.  There are undoubtedly risks and costs to action, but they are far less than the ultimate risks of doing nothing.

    My correspondent doesn't have to wait and see.  In fact they should not.

    They should try something and see if it brings a result, even if it is only one sale.   No action, no hope."

    ag05signature4_2s

    © Copyright 2010 Adam Gordon, Profits Leak Detective

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    Comments (1)Add Comment
    ...
    written by Dane Mitchell, April 08, 2010
    Very true adam,

    The light bulb clicked for me about 2 weeks ago.

    We've always been good at keeping customers, but the slow growth of our clients was matched with a slow loss, alas, I need to gain more clients as you can never keep evry single client (not in my industry anyway).

    Very timely blog,

    Dane


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