---
title: "The phone business turnaround"
description: "How Caudwell reversed a £2,000-a-month loss within three months."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/the-phone-business-turnaround/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# The phone business turnaround

> How Caudwell reversed a £2,000-a-month loss within three months.

John Caudwell's framework, from Love, Pain & Money, pp. 106 to 116.

Framework 2 of 7 from [Love, Pain & Money](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/index.md) by John Caudwell. Category: Lead generation.

## The steps

1. **Find the cause.** Work out why the business is losing money and how to move to break even, because profit is always the goal.
2. **Make performance visible.** Put a bar chart of each person's monthly phone sales on the wall, including his own name.
3. **Add a bonus.** Pay a cash reward to the top seller, awarded to the next best when he himself topped the board.
4. **Lead by example.** Stay late, sell, coach tough and recruit only winners.
5. **Set the price point.** Push airtime commission up and cost price down to reach £999, £200 under any competitor.
6. **Graph the margins.** Plot supplier prices, volumes and commissions to find where more margin exists.

## Where it comes from

From chapter: Chapter 13_GIANT, pp. 106–116

## The animation

24 seconds, 4:5, no sound.

- MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/the-phone-business-turnaround.mp4
- MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/the-phone-business-turnaround-dark.mp4
- Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/the-phone-business-turnaround.png
- Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/the-phone-business-turnaround-dark.png