Double Your Profits audiobook

Very short and straight to the point book.The main part of the book focuses on cutting costs. It seems to work better in bigger companies - and not so much when your company is made of two people and their two computers. :)After that initial "cutting costs" part, there are some points about negotiations and sales, and the importance of being persistent.Besides the patent advice, I think there is a mindset that the author imparts in the reader, one about continuous improvement, pruning the superfluous and focusing on the essentials.Overall, it is a quick read, and an apt reminder that - wherever you are right now - you can probably increase your profits.

This is the book that is a required reading for managers at Ambev and by all companies when bought by 3G. It's very aggressive in tactics for reducing waste and making more improvements. Sometimes it looks harsh, but depending on the company and the market it makes lot of sense. Very good tool to choose what and when to apply ideas to improve profit.

Critics of the book don't get the point - this book is not to be taken literally and applied to real life without any judgment. Obviously if you're a mom and pop retailer buying from an industrial behemoth it may not be the greatest idea to unilaterally change payment terms. Nonetheless the spirit behind the book is great and should be required reading for company managers.

Livro de cabeceira do Marcel Telles, da Ambev. É uma leitura rápida , composta de recomendações bem pragmáticas .

Succinct, practical, ruthless, written in a way that is perfectly consistent with what it preaches

One of the few delightful/provocative books which I read in one go.I see how a lot of people dislike it, and in fact, that was one of the reasons I took it up. I believe that the only argument against a book is that it is boring. Well, this book is not boring.The writes sounds like an extreme salesman, which he probably is. He talks straight and talks sense, and he is not "nice". But he talks like someone who gets the job done. And he focuses on the details.Some ideas are out of date in today's digital world, but many can be adapted.I'd recommend this for every entrepreneur.

Author leads us in a concise and straight-to-the-point way through number of steps to realization that increasing your profit is relatively easy task. What we need is healthy logic, discipline and consistency - like in every aspect of the life and business. So this is my assessment of this book Double Your Profits by Bob Fifer according to my 7 criteria:1. Related to practice - 5 stars2. It prevails important - 4 stars3. I agree with the read - 4 stars4. not difficult to read (as for non English native) - 5 stars 5. too long and boring story or every sentence is interesting - 5 stars6. Learning opportunity - 4 stars7. Dry and uninspired style of writing - Smooth style with humouristic and fun parts - 4 stars Total 4.42 stars─────────────Here are some excerpts from the book that I find inspiring: ◆ Step 5: Never Apologize for Focusing on Profits▪ Never apologize for maximizing profits: There’s nothing to apologize for. If you’re unapologetically excited about profits, your employees will be too.◆ Step 6: Results, Not Processes▪ Never write a memo if telling someone will do, never call a meeting if a memo will do, never call a four-hour meeting if a one-hour meeting will do, never have two meetings if one will do, and never set up a process if two meetings will do. First of all, you’ll directly save lots of time and money by eliminating wasted motion. Second of all, you’ll convince people by the way you act that you’re serious about focusing on results, not processes, and the savings will be multiplied many times over as they act in a similar fashion.◆ Step 8: Don’t Over-Quantify Things▪ Never spend a minute quantifying something you know the answer to already, and never spend more than a few minutes quantifying something when there’s a reasonably high probability you know the right answer.▪ No business ever made a penny on a forecast. Optimizing profits is what the business is here for, not predicting them.◆ Step 12: A Sense of Urgency▪ That is the real benefit of tight deadlines. My philosophy is always to keep resources very scarce, because that is the only way to force people to soul-search to decide which tasks are truly value-producing and which are not▪ Never call a meeting to discuss; call a meeting only to decid◆ Step 23: You Need a “Bad Guy”▪ Someone has to be the heavy. It can be “corporate,” or the head of the business. It can be a specially-appointed cut-purchasing-costs “czar” as one company I work closely with has done very effectively.◆ Step 25: Go to Bid, Frequently▪ Try announcing to your suppliers that every price increase triggers an automatic, serious competitive bid. You will instantly start receiving only half as many price increases.)◆ Step 38: Deplete Inventory▪ If you extend your payables thirty days and reduce your inventory fifteen days, then you’ve just reduced this year’s costs for goods and services by 12%: (30 +15) ÷ r 365 = 12%. If your accounting system doesn’t report cost and profit that way, then ignore it, because your accounting system is wrong. You’re effectively not buying anything for forty-five days, and that’s forty-five days of costs which you’ve saved, permanently; that savings truly goes right to the bottom line.◆ Step 41: Setting Salaries▪ We believe in profits and efficiency, and not waste. We believe in hard work, but not long hours. We believe in a meritocracy—you’ll be rewarded if you deserve it, but not if you don’t.◆ Step 55: There Are No Such Things as Companies, Only People▪ People’s true agendas come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are angling for a promotion. Sometimes they are trying to avoid being fired. Sometimes they want something bigger to run, so they are trying to justify an acquisition or investment in a new business area. Often they’re trying simply to educate others in the organization as well as themselves so that political infighting can be replaced by teamwork, and they can go home and sleep better at night. All the shapes and sizes, however, inevitably come down to something personal, not rational or corporate.◆ Step 57: Bob Fifer’s Five Ingredients for Completing a Sale▪ Scarcity creates its own demand. Availability creates its own ambivalence (“Why is she so available? Doesn’t anyone else want to hire her? Am I a fool for doing so?”)▪ FIVE INGREDIENTS TO COMPLETINO A SALE ─── 1. Show your fundamental competence. 2. Show that you empathize with the customer personally. 3. Stand in front of a truck for the customer. 4. Make yourself scarce. 5. Use guilt to transform your personal interest in him or her into his or her personal obligation to you.◆ Step 67: Determine Price, Then Product or Service, Not the Other Way Around▪ The first and most important thing I do is figure out the maximum the customer is willing to pay. Then I scope a product or service appropriate for that level of expenditure. That way, I get the most possible price and revenue from each customer and maximize my businesses overall revenue and profitability.◆ Step 68: Ask Them What Price They Want to Pay▪ One approach is to state ranges and let the customer respond. “I’ve seen a project like this done for $50,000, $100,000, and $200,000, depending on level of detail. So as not to waste my time or yours, give me some sense of what level fits your budget.” Usually the response is in the following form: “We can spend a lot more than fifty, but not quite a hundred.” You’ve now gone a long way to knowing what the customer wants to pay: Maybe $80,000, maybe $95,000. You can refine this further by coming back with a narrower range (eighty to ninety-five), and letting them react, or by first selling an $80,000 product and then trying to get them to trade up by offering additional options totalling $15,000.▪ A second approach is consistent with the “teaming” mentality which has taken over many supplier-customer relationships among large corporations▪ Never underestimate the power of a direct question.

Must set clear and high standards! Run a meritocracy company! Reward those doing well adding to your profits! Tell new hires if they do well they'll love the rewards! If they don't do well they won't be happy and will leave. Then COMMUNICATE WEEKLY AND DEFINE THE TERMS AND HOW PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED AND DELIVER THE RESULTS! Focus on RESULTS, not processes! However processes should lead to results! Understanding STRATEGIC COSTS (increase revenue.)Out spend competitors on strategic costs and cut nonstrategic costs ruthlessly! Must manage in detail! Be strategic with your time! WORK W/ URGENCY! Divide day in 3 lists. Anything that brings in new business! Anything to maintain current business and operations running. Everything else! Set deadlines and don't do #3 until finish #2 and don't do #2 until finish #1! Cut costs first and ask questions later. If they're truly needed you will be let known.Set arbitrary budgets and stick to them. Go to bid frequently. Bid everything often for better prices! No just means I'd rather not. Keep asking. Stop the paper flow. Stop cc emails. Stop sending memos unless have to. When walk into an office always ask about the people in the pictures or other tips of memorabilia on the wall, then compliment the object of their affection! Five Ingredients to Sell:Be competent. Empathize personally. Convince will stand in front of a truck. Make it clear you don't need them. Use guilt to transform personal interest in him into his personal obligation to you. Think about how you sell. When blow a sale or nail it, break down what, why, and how did it. Your selling process highlights how you'll work. This means instead of waiting days or weeks to get proposal out, get it out that night or next day by overnight express. RESPOND QUICKLY. RESPOND PROFESSIONALLY. RESPOND WITH HIGH QUALITY. THOSE WHO ASK FOR MORE GET MORE! The goal is not a perfectly happy client, but a profit maximized one. Ask what price they want to pay. Ex: I've seen a project like this done for $50k, $100k, and $200k, depending on the level of detail. Use price discrimination to ensure each client pays the most they can. Marketing is a strategic cost! Outspend your competition in good times AND bad! 

3g In Bev RecommendationI have been reading everything I can about the 3G group, so I read this book because mr. Teles recommended. It’s interesting to see some of the concepts like Strategic Costs that are used in many of their companies. Other advice it’s hard to digest like the supplier squeezing techniques. It’s worth reading if you want to understand AB InBev, Burger King, Heinz...

very clear and direct to the vein, too much in some passages ... I really like the part of how to reward workers and the concepts of how to avoid unnecesary costs. Good reading to form a management philosophy. I do not think that everything should be implemented literally, such as sharing computers ... today, not betting on technology as a means to achieve productivity, I think it would be silly.

+ advices on cutting costs are actionable~ some examples were from era that are no longer relevant today, but the concepts still applies regardless- portion on increasing sales are slightly generic and you can find better tips from other books that deep dive into it

InspirationalAn absolute must-read for anyone running a business. Conveys plenty of actionable advice. Some of the recommendations might seem a bit over the top, but the underlying philosophy is always true.

“Doubling your profits isn’t a matter of rocket science; it is simply a matter of resolve. If you can achieve that resolve and have fun doing it, you’ve accomplished what relatively few people have.”Interesanti ieteikumi biznesam un spējai ne tikai pārdot, bet labi nopelnīt.

The most straight forward book I've ever read. Short and to the point. it contains very practical and easy to implement ideas.Some of the ideas sound very radical but I think it is reasonable. It is recommended for any business owner

Fast reading , very didactic and focused . You can not take all advices literally. Must read book ! If you want to be a focused CEO you have to start acting like one, even in low positions. This will help with good insights .

Some good actionable ideas on cutting costs and some bad. Lot of dated things that aren't relevant anymore.

Straight to the pointDicas excelentes para gerar resultados. Tomar cuidado pois o autor impõe seu estilo de liderança. Em alguns casos eu não seguiria tudo a risca. Mas o overall é uma aula de exemplos práticos que geram resultado sem burocracia.

Content much better than the title

Muito bom, mas deve ser lido com sabedoria pois tem alguns pontos um pouco radicais que talvez não funcionem atualmente.