Monthly Archives: November 2019

5 Tips for Improving Margins and the Bottom Line

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There are really only 4 ways to increase profits – sell more, improve margins, cut costs or do all three. Costs always have a habit of creeping upwards over time. So, periodically, it pays to take a hard look at them and then eliminate the things we can live without. But there’s a limit to the extent to which we can cut costs before we hurt our company’s long term growth potential. To get steady, incremental increases in profit we have to sell more and improve margins.There are only 2 ways to sell more – add new customers or increase sales to existing customers. In my experience, when we talk about selling more we tend to put the focus on adding new customers. But we know that it costs at least 6 times more to sell to a new customer than to an existing client. That’s not hard to understand when we consider the “acquisition” costs – e.g. advertising, telemarketing, etc.So, the first tip is to avoid losing your least expensive prospects – existing customers. They must be convinced that we do a great job; otherwise they wouldn’t buy from us. Every business loses some customers over time, but when customers leak away, replacing them with new ones cuts into profits. The key is to focus on our “retention rate”. We need to have a process that alerts us when a customer stops purchasing from us. And we must find out why exactly they’re leaving – not simply make assumptions. Keeping customers satisfied is better for your bottom line than replacing them.The second tip is to remember that all customers are not created equal when it comes to profitability. Pareto’s rule tells us that 80% of our profits will come from 20% of our customers. But, how many of us slip into the situation, over time, of treating all customers as equally important? That actually hurts our profits because we waste money using the same marketing and selling techniques on everyone and treat them the same way when they contact us.

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So, how do we recognize the 20% of customers who give us 80% of our profits? They are the companies who buy from us regularly and understand the value of what we do for their business. They focus on quality and reliability rather than price and they pay on time. Because they are successful in their field, they have the potential to grow, allowing us to grow with them. They may even refer potential clients to us. These are our “A” customers. Can you identify yours?Tip number 3 – it makes good business sense to treat “A” customers differently than the others. Everyone in the organization should know who they are. So, when they talk to them on the phone or face-to-face, answer their email, make product for them or pick their orders, these “A” clients get the most prompt, attentive, efficient service we can give. We should market differently to them too. Stay closely in touch personally and via email, e.g. send them our newsletters, and develop the relationship by figuring out how we can help them respond to the changes in their industry.Next tip – watch the customers who offer some, but not all, of the benefits of our “A’s” very closely. They still focus on quality and reliability but may not have been around as long as “A’s” and so may not buy as regularly and/or as much. These are our “B” customers, and apart from what they do for our bottom line today, they have the potential to be the “A’s” of the future. Identify them and build a strong relationship with them. They may get fewer face-to-face visits than the “A’s” but they do get regular calls from our internal sales staff – a very effective but much less costly method of maintaining contact. They are also on our email database.Then there are customers who buy smaller amounts consistently but who have very little potential for further development. These customers – our “C’s” – are solid contributors to the remaining 20% of our profits but the ones who may be most likely to drift away. Our sales and marketing strategies are designed to maintain these relationships in a cost effective way. Primary contact is via regular (but less frequent than for “B” clients) calls from internal sales and email contact about the products or services they buy.The final group is easy to recognize – they complain most and buy small quantities of our products irregularly. That’s because they are focused on price and discounts. They buy from us only when we’re cheaper than our competitors – they have no loyalty. When they do buy from us, they are abrupt, demanding, they always need delivery immediately and people hate dealing with them. Processing their orders requires our staff to drop everything else and get them to the front of the line. They are our “D” accounts. Dealing with “D’s” can be so disruptive that occasionally they even cause us to make mistakes with the orders for the profitable customers.

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So, the fifth and final tip is to “fire” your “D” accounts. That’s correct, if orders from “D” customers are profitable they’re at the bottom end of the margin scale and the amount of resource required to get them out the door wipes out anything we were going to make. Yet we all have “D” accounts – why don’t we just get rid of them? We don’t have to be rude, simply play them at their own game – quote high prices or long lead times. They’ll make the decision not to deal with us. Do it often enough and they’ll stop calling.Focus on your “A” and “B” customers and you’ll improve your margins. Match your sales and marketing resources to customer type and get rid of your “D’s” and you’ll improve the bottom line. Make retaining “C'” customers a priority; work hard at turning your “B” accounts into “A’s” and get your sales staff focused on understanding your “A” accounts’ business – then you’ll not only sell more but you’ll make more profitable sales.To share your experiences, to take issue with anything I’ve said or to get some insight in how to execute send me an email jimstewart@profitpath.com or call me at 416-258-9610.© Copyright ProfitPATH, a division of JDS & Associates Inc., 2007

Healthy Snack Ideas

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Wellbeing and nourishment mindfulness has turned out to be more pervasive over the most recent five years. With the expanding expenses of social insurance, the spread of invulnerable framework debilitating illnesses and all around poor prosperity, numerous Americans are swinging to better eating regimens and customary exercise. Natural foods grown from the ground have turned into the standard. Wheat item deals have risen and customers are currently more centered around caloric admission, zero trans fat and stomach related chemicals are picked over acid neutralizers.

What does everything mean? It implies Americans are giving careful consideration to their wellbeing. With an end goal to anticipate afflictions as opposed to paying for costly specialist visits and solution, a more advantageous country is on the ascent. Are there still a great many individuals overdosing on garbage sustenance, fast food and unfortunate nourishments? Indeed. For some, the cost of eating sound has turned into a noteworthy deterrent in dealing with their bodies. Others have occupied existences that oblige a drive through window rather than a stove.

What can the normal individual improve care of their body? How might we show great dietary patterns to youngsters and give reasonable precaution care to senior nationals? Solid tidbits are a little yet successful approach to guarantee healthful prerequisites are being met. At the point when kids need to nibble, they think finger nourishments. Chips, confection and sugar filled pleasures are wanted over more advantageous option. Wellbeing snacks in the finger nourishment class incorporate grapes, berries, wheat saltines and infant carrots. Youngsters love to help in the kitchen and regularly take after the cases of their folks or gatekeepers. For what reason not give sound propensities to them to take after?

Studies have indicated crisp leafy foods offer all the more mending nourishing worth. In spite of the fact that natural items are very proposed by social insurance experts nonorganic items ought to be expended if the natural items are exorbitant. In the event that your organic products or vegetables are ruining in your fridge, consider washing and bundling them that day they are bought. For instance you can expel grapes from the vine, wash them and store them in zip loc sacks or Tupperware compartments. This will make the grapes more open and will expel the lethargic factor from eating better. It is likewise proposed to buy new products of the soil in assortment that are privately developed and in season.

Looking On The Bright Side of Services

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The Merits of Air Purification Systems Companies that deal with air purification products never go wrong. There has been a high increment on respiratory ailments, hence the rising demand for air purification systems. All in all, be careful as you make your purchase. Identifying a suitable air purifier device can be tricky. Otherwise, you may end up causing more harm than good. As you plan to make your purchase, consider some of the steps addressed below. It is important to determine your needs first. There are many categories of the purifiers and they all aim at different functionalities. Hence, you have to be certain of the goals you want the system to achieve. For instance, patients suffering from asthma require different systems from those with allergies. By clarifying your needs, you save yourself the agony of wasting money. The size and features are the main aspects that determine the price of the systems. You can decide to purchase the whole house or room purifiers. There are merits that come with each type. Room based purifiers can be bought from the local electrical shops. They are easy to handle since they do not require professional installation. With less than $200 and over $1000, you can acquire one of the room based purifiers. These are fit for people who suffer from allergies. The fact that they are portal makes them convenient as you can carry them along as you go for your trips. There is a need to note that the whole house systems tend to be more expensive than the room based ones.
Doing Purifiers The Right Way
Whole house systems tend to be more quite. On the same note, they take up very little space. The fact that the system is connected to a forced air HVAC system makes it a necessity to hire professionals for installation. They operate by drawing air into the purification unit. The cost of purchasing these units ranges from cheap DIY filters to the expensive systems that require professional help.
Doing Purifiers The Right Way
It is important to learn about the various modes of purification. You do not want to go for purifiers that target certain pollutants and miss others. You can acquire the systems from the online platform, as well as locally. it is up to you to research on market rates and get the best price. Second hand electrical stores could sell the systems as well. Try them out as they usually have more affordable deals. Avoid making assumptions that second hand goods are usually in poor condition. It is a high time you invested in an air purification lamp.

How To Choose The Best Yoga Videos

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Finding the best yoga videos is not as easy to walking down to your local video store and wandering over to the exercise aisle. Not all such videos on the market are ideal for effective home practice. In order to make sure you get the best yoga videos for your home, consider a few things you should really look for.

Easy To Understand

First of all, a quality yoga video will be easy for you to follow. You should be able to understand what is being done, how the positions are achieved, how long you should hold each one, and how often you should do it. It should also be easy to follow into each subsequent move. If you cannot understand the video, then it has failed on its most basic level.

Secondly, videos should provide not only easy to follow instructions, but also easy to understand demonstrations. You should be able to, by watching, understand the basics of achieving each pose and each transition. You should also understand, from watching, the breathing patterns and focus. If you can understand the verbal instructions, but the demonstrations are unclear then your video is no better than a book on yoga.

Next, there should be easy modifications offered in the best yoga videos. Yoga can be difficult, so beginners to it may frequently need modifications to their practice so that they can understand even that which they cannot complete. No matter what your ability level may be, you want your video to be able to apply to you. Once you buy a video, it should be of use to you at every stage as you progress further into yoga. Choose a video that will grow with you.

Teaching Qualilty

In a quality video, the yoga should be taught in a student centered manner. Though that seems like it should go without saying, you will see a number of yoga videos that are just a fancy way of showing off the instructor’s ability in yoga. Such videos do little if any good and in many cases may even be counterproductive for you. The idea of having the yoga video is to help your development, not to put you in awe of someone else’s level of flexibility or fitness.

Finally, high quality yoga videos should feature prominent and well qualified instructors. They should not only be practicing instructors, but should probably have achieved great success in their yoga education. You always want to learn from someone at as high a level as possible. By simply reading the back of the box, you will often get an overview of the teacher’s qualifications so that you can make an intelligent decision as to whether or not you want this person to help you practice yoga in your home.

Finding the best yoga videos really isn’t easy. However, when armed with the tools above, you can more accurately assess a video’s value. Look for something you understand visually and orally, that you can use at any level, and that features a successful teacher while staying student centered. When you find that you will have found the best of the best yoga videos for use at home and between private sessions or classes.