important part, and frankly the one that made it work, was tying their commissions to the margin of the product they were selling. In effect, they would get a percentage of the margin instead of the overall sale. Do you think this made them focus on the higher-margin products? Of course, it did, and as a result, while the turnover of the business remained relatively stable, profits went north. You told me, Ryan, that the most important part of making it work was open communication with team members, I said. Absolutely, Brad. It all hinged on being able to relay to every team member what we were doing and why. Everyone knows exactly what the margins are and what they need to do to make the best money. If you don't spell it out very clearly, you can't hope to make a system like this work. The real beauty for Ryan is that during quiet times, he isn't burdened by high salaries, as wages are directly linked to how much is being sold. It's the safest way to run a business: pay on performance. It's also a great motivator offering tremendous opportunity for those who can sell. We also took a hard look at the cost side of the business. I was convinced we could cut at least 10 percent from his overheads. And once again we got the team involved. Getting the team behind the cost cutting was the real key, confirmed Ryan. We sat down together and individually identified all the areas we could work on. Then I declared that all the money saved would go into a pool with 50 percent going to the bottom line and the other half going towards an end-of-year party that everyone would enjoy. It didn't take long before people were getting right behind the effort. We ended up saving so much that all team members and their partners stayed in the mountains for the weekend, all expenses paid. Naturally, it was also great for my own profits. Some of the savings achieved were simple yet significant, like ordering all stationery only once during the week from one of the big suppliers. Other ideas 50