Most business owners and commission salespeople are looking for ways to increase their profits. Here are three simple strategies that can substantially increase your profits yet are not being used by most businesses.

Profit Strategy #1: Join an A Team

An A team is a group of usually three to five members who each sell non competing products or services into a similar client base to the other A team members. For example a person who sells finance to home buyers could be in the same team as a person who sells houses.

The A team meets weekly, usually over breakfast, with the aim of helping each other increase profits. This might involve simple referrals or perhaps joint promotions or any of a range of business building strategies only really limited by the imagination of the team.

A good question to ask when seeking potential A team members is; what non competing business currently has my potential clients? Then make a list of as many types of businesses as you can. From there you can make a list of specific potential team members.

Be creative in your thinking. I know a business owner who sells expensive, high class women’s clothing who is in an A team with a business owner who sells expensive, high class cars.

Of course for a particular A team to work the members must have good rapport with each other and must each be conscientious in their efforts to help each of the other team members to grow their business profits.

Profit Strategy #2: Join Organizations That You Can Network In

This is more general than the A team strategy. Good organizations would be any organization that may have as members people who would be potential centers of influence in your market place, or members who may be friends with good centers of influence.

A center of influence is a person who has a large contact base, is held in high regard by that contact base, and is happy to refer good business people into that contact base, either formally or informally.

Human beings are socially oriented beings and as a result a contact base of people who know and respect you is one of the best business assets that you could have.

Profit Strategy #3: Develop a Simple System for Each of Your Key Business Processes

There are three ways in which good internal systems can increase your business profit.

Firstly, consistency leads to repeat business. Customers like their business dealings to be predictable as well as satisfying their needs. If they know that your customer service will always be of a consistent standard, that your products and services will always be of a consistent standard and that your business is always easy to deal with, then they will keep coming back.

This is the main factor (after marketing) in the worldwide success of McDonalds. People always know what they can expect when they go into a McDonalds store and this makes the customer feel comfortable.

The second reason for good systems is that they reduce time wasting and overheads. Reducing overheads while maintaining or increasing revenue will result in increased profit.

The third reason for implementing good internal systems is that you can increase productivity per staff member. This leads to lower overheads and happier staff. Happier staff means less staff turnover and a reduction in the cost that accompanies staff turnover. Thus your profits increase.

If you are not currently using the two networking strategies discussed above or if your business is lacking in its effective systems then you may benefit by applying these ideas to your business.