Introduction

Hi This is Richard Parkes Cordock, and I'm the author of Profit Upgrade.

In this book, I'll explain why developing your staff to think like business owners is the key to adding tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and in many cases, much much more in terms of new revenues and profits.

When you instill business-owner-thinking into every member of your staff, from your front-line receptionist, to your back-office finance team...

...from your sales and marketing department, to your delivery people...

...you can literally turn your workforce into your sales force - and ensure every employee and manager in your company has the same level of ownership and responsibility, passion and pride - that you have as the business owner or leader.

In the next 12 chapters, I'll explain why developing your staff to think, act and make decisions like business owners - is the key to unlocking higher levels of revenue and profit growth, AND I'll show you, how you can train ALL your employees to think like you.

In the written version of this book, which you can download for free in PDF format at www.freeprofitupgradebook.com, I include three appendices, which give you the exact steps I use to train employees to think like business owners, plus I've included there 52 ready to use training tips which you can implement right now.

In a moment I'll handover to Paul Rogers, who will read Profit Upgrade to you, but I'll join you again at the end of this book, where I'll personally read the missing chapter from Profit Upgrade, called the Profit Paradox.

But now, here is Paul Rogers reading Profit Upgrade.

Profit Upgrade :: Introduction

In your company, as is the case with virtually every business worldwide, you most likely have somebody responsible for selling, possibly even a direct sales team.

These are usually highly paid, highly skilled individuals who are charged with bringing in new business and expanding the top-line revenue of your organisation.

Whether you sell books, mobile phones, cleaning products, engine parts for a Boeing 747, or offer a range of professional or trade services, your salespeople will no doubt be charming, persuasive and focused on making your prospective customers want to buy from you.

However, even if you have the greatest salespeople in the world, you must not forget this one fundamental truth.

More often than not, the sale has been made in the mind of your customer before your salesperson has said a word. It has happened before your customer has made a phone call, visited your shop, or tested your product.

This is not because they’ve been sold your product or service by your highly-paid salespeople, but because they’ve chosen to buy based on an independent recommendation from a friend or colleague.

The greatest form of salesmanship is not direct selling by sales professionals. It is the word of mouth recommendations which come from your repeat customers who then happily tell their friends, family and business associates about you.

Word of mouth marketing comes from customers who have had an extraordinary relationship with your company, and have achieved exceptional results from the products and services you offer. It comes from customers who have received outstanding customer service from you, and want to tell others about you.

Word of mouth marketing always has been and always will be the cheapest and most effective form of selling.

The way to maximise word of mouth marketing is to create a company filled with passionate staff — at all levels — who give customers reasons to tell their friends about you, and give customers reasons to come back and buy from you time and time again. This is what this book is all about.

This is not a book about traditional selling through traditional sales channels but is a book about creating a culture, an energy, and a vibe within your organisation which can literally be felt by your customers and your marketplace.

Word of mouth marketing will not make your salespeople redundant, but it will dramatically and substantially boost your top-line revenues and bottom-line profits, simply because the heavy selling has already been done by your existing customers before prospective customers even contact you.

My wish in writing this book is to give you the tools and strategies for you to train your own employees, so they become the most outstanding, passionate and driven in your industry.

If you are committed to turning your workforce into your salesforce, you will find everything you need in this book to get started.