Quit Worrying About Sales & Instead Worry About Profit: You’re Ignoring Your Bottom-Line if You’re Not Looking at Your Costs
I had some issues not long ago with my personal computer, and I remembered a good friend who is a self-admitted computer geek—and I mean that in a good ways—always volunteered to build me one from the ground up that would be better, faster, and have more memory than anything I could buy in a retailer. So, I gave him a ring, and he said he was happy to help. I just gave him some basic information on what I would want to be able to do with my computer; outside of that, I trusted his judgement.
I swung by his house a week or two later. He had put together this super computer. It was impressive. I noticed the various boxes laying around his office where this new creation was constructed. None of the parts appeared to be from the same company. I asked the reasoning. He said something that hit home: “I bought the best of what’s available at the best price. Why pay more for similar or lesser quality?”
Wow. What a statement by my friend. I gladly cut him a check for this hard work, and as I drove my new computer home, I got to thinking: We in the electrical industry are often guilty of being nonsensically loyal to various manufacturers.
Too often we get hung up on trying to find ways to make more money by finding more calls and selling more product. However, a great way to make more money—and by money, I mean profit—is to reduce costs!
When’s the last time you shopped around the equipment, materials, and supplies you use on a daily basis? And have you tried different brands of products and materials beyond what you normally use? In other words, there may be supplies out there that do just as well as the supplies you’ve always used—but they’re much less expensive.
I know shopping material can be a pain, but it can lead to real differences in your bottom line. At least once a quarter, you should be keeping an eye on your costs and looking to see where you cut here and there. I guarantee you that you’ll find money that can be put right back into your pocket.
