Consulting Matters

JANUARY 7, 2019

If you want to achieve sustainable success as a consultant - ideally you want to create a marketing system to ensure you have a consistently full pipeline of right-fit clients. However, there will be times when you have to feel the cash flow pressure and need to find clients.right now! level, title, company size, industry, etc.)

Consulting 202

Consulting Strategy Strategy Strategy& 202

Harvard Business

JULY 25, 2017

Companies spend a lot on marketing communications. And more fundamentally, does marketing actually work? Marketing ROI analysis can help answer those questions. What is Marketing ROI, and How Do Companies Use It? Avery explains that it is also referred to by its acronym, MROI, or as return on marketing investment (ROMI).

ROI 28

ROI Marketing Financial Sales 28

Progressus

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

For example, if your CSF is improving service quality, you might use KPIs like average resolution time, first-time fix rate, or customer satisfaction scores to understand how you’re performing in this area. It prevents you from generating reliable cash-flow forecasts and makes it incredibly difficult to manage resources.

Agile 52

Agile Tools Data Talent 52

Progressus

OCTOBER 27, 2023

Professional services is an expansive space spanning several industries – consulting firms, software publishers, IT service providers, even manufacturers and distributors that offer post-sale services — each with its own set of challenges, regulations, and opportunities.

Industry 52

Industry SMB Software Talent 52

CaseInterview.com

MAY 26, 2023

Let’s say a company is looking to relocate to a new market. They may hire a consultant to advise on ideas for gaining market share. Let’s use the example of a business that’s seeking to relocate. They may mix separate issues or expect that their previous strategies will work in a new market.

Management 105

Management Consulting Bain Deloitte 105

Harvard Business

JUNE 28, 2016

So, we begin by assuming that the traditional path offers cash compensation equal to the average starting salary. (It It might be tempting to turn to the highest starting salary paid, which typically goes to the graduate with the most experience in the most competitive market, who often earns crazy money their first year.

Small Business 28

Small Business Cash Flow Consulting Analysis 28

Martinka Consulting

MARCH 7, 2015

Yet when homeowners see the former house sell for a certain price they think their house, the latter example, is worth the same. I wrote last year about the pricing of middle-market companies and an article in the Zachary Scott newsletter titled “8 is the new 6″ (referring to multiples of EBITDA on middle-market deals).

Small Business 40

Small Business Cash Flow Banking Sales 40

CaseInterview.com

APRIL 15, 2019

In other words, the client wasn’t just wrong about some facet of the market, competition, or company. I’ll give you a simple example that applies to startup founders. They’re obsessively concerned that their sales growth will be too low to generate enough cash to pay the bills. The client was 180 degrees wrong.

Cash Flow 66

Cash Flow McKinsey Finance Financial 66

Martinka Consulting

JUNE 18, 2021

You must use free cash flow to truly calculate ROI. Financial diligence – we agree a Quality of Earnings report is not usually necessary for small business deals (those that fit in the SBA loan range) but you must get a “proof of cash” from a CPA firm. Sam gave an example of a trick he uses.

ROI 40

ROI Cash Flow Small Business Financial 40

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

And the same applies to the affected workers: The tight labor market means there are opportunities for those who go through retraining. Car sales in the U.S. But car sales are now probably past a cyclical peak, not only in the U.S. Another issue involves reallocating resources in the face of fundamental market shifts.

Cash Flow 38

Cash Flow Operations Government Sales 38

Martinka Consulting

MARCH 5, 2021

You may think it sexy to make something but if you’re a sales type with no manufacturing experience it’s probably a road to disaster. For example, a client of mine had, over three years, four expense items I determined were owner compensation (officer salary, owner salary, management wage, and shareholder wages).

Balance Sheet 40

Balance Sheet Cash Flow Financial Education 40

Martinka Consulting

OCTOBER 27, 2017

Salespeople shown how high their commissions will be when nobody has ever previously achieved those levels is just one example. In the Discounted Future Cash Flow method profits are projected (same as the first issue) and discounted back to a present value. Using comparable sales of much larger firms will distort the value.

ROI 40

ROI Cash Flow Methodologies Small Business 40

Free Agent CFO

MAY 10, 2018

In a recent example, he revealed that the prospect was controlling the conversation and appeared to have the upper hand with pricing since he was comparison shopping. At that point, we did a quick GoToMeeting where I showed him scores of examples of the problem he was trying to solve. Be honest, some of these signs are true, admit it.

Cash Flow 40

Cash Flow Finance Comparison Examples 40

Harvard Business

MAY 6, 2016

Four hundred seventy-one companies in the S&P 500 bought back stock last year, and 372 companies expanded their dividends — actions undertaken in spite of the need to invest heavily to keep up with global market changes. For example, one large technology company embraced a strategy to win through new digital businesses.

Cash Flow 28

Cash Flow Management Government Financial 28

Harvard Business

AUGUST 3, 2018

On June 25, 2018, Facebook lost market capitalization of more than $100 billion in just two hours of trading after it announced its quarterly performance, despite exceeding analysts’ earnings forecasts. This example illustrates that investors consider information beyond just earnings as value-relevant. What caused this slump?

Financial 28

Financial Report Company Metrics 28

Martinka Consulting

OCTOBER 18, 2013

When it comes time to sell however, they want to demonstrate that the business has more cash flow than the tax returns (and financial statements) show. Some of these adjustments are easily justifiable, such as adjusting the owner’s salary to market rate or if the seller owns the real estate and pays more than market rent.

Insurance 40

Insurance Insurance Cash Flow Real Estate 40

Harvard Business

AUGUST 13, 2018

And stitched into its origin story is a clue to why some products (and businesses) succeed in the market while most wither and die. They used a harsh phrase to describe this cause of failure: “no market need.” Test your marketing promise. To better leverage its foodie customer base, Yelp purchased Eat24.

Cash Flow 28

Cash Flow Productivity Industry Study 28

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 21, 2016

Today’s executives are dealing with a complex and unprecedented brew of social, environmental, market, and technological trends. Hoping to alleviate their concerns, this article also provides concrete examples of how sustainability benefits the bottom line. These require sophisticated, sustainability-based management.

Study 28

Study Efficiency Productivity Operations 28

Harvard Business

MAY 5, 2016

The year before, prompted by all this, Lumiscape’s leadership had decided to pivot from a sales model to a subscription model. And it would give the company more control over its product and brand and a more stable cash flow, which would translate into higher multiples from would-be investors. “Higher!”

Case Study 28

Case Study Case Studies Study Sales 28

CaseInterview.com

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

When he cites the idea of market niches as a way to build a durable competitive advantage, he borrows that concept from the field of ecology. For example, the mental model you have about your business is your mental picture of how your business operates. This can occur if sales drop drastically, and you didn’t see it coming.

Case Interview 64

Case Interview Cash Flow Interviews Sales 64

Tom Spencer

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

In contrast, economies of scope is a lesser known concept particularly relevant to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that may not have access to large markets or the ability to produce at scale. For example, SMEs currently account for more than 99% of businesses in Europe ( Economist Intelligence Unit 2011 ).

Cash Flow 117

Cash Flow Consulting Productivity Telecommunications 117

MishTalk

APRIL 1, 2015

For example, Culpepper reports Chicago general obligation bond deals have been used by the city as a means to avoid servicing short-term debt. Among other things, she handles the structuring and sale of bonds for schools across the state. She has uncovered things the City of Chicago does not want anyone to understand.

Financial 28

Financial Engineering Finance Government 28

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 19, 2017

For example, Blue Apron rose to become the largest meal kit delivery business in the U.S., Indeed, some analysts have gone a step further, declaring that subscription boxes are in the midst of a venture capital-fueled bubble not unlike the flash-sale business craze that ended five years ago.

Methodologies 28

Methodologies How To Metrics Sales 28

Harvard Business

JULY 13, 2016

For example, you can now subscribe to razor blades, underwear, groceries, clothes, toiletries, even dog toys. Leaders… Make sure they have a market/service fit before investing in on-boarding customers. In the transactional economy, the most important measures are new customer acquisition and sales.

Cash Flow 28

Cash Flow Survey Metrics Accenture 28

Harvard Business

JUNE 26, 2017

For example, at a grocery store chain I worked with, employees were steeped in an operations culture that valued efficiency and productivity. As the industry moved toward an emphasis on customer service and merchandising, the company fell behind, because its employees were focused more on increasing inventory turns and sales per square foot.

Culture 28

Culture Company Cash Flow Operations 28

MishTalk

DECEMBER 16, 2015

Cash: With zero interest rates the penalty for holding cash is not very significant. Stock Market: Nothing cheap. If you take out those stocks, the stock market isn't doing real well. That's indicative of the way the market has responded for the last six months. So I don't understand the stock market.

Real Estate 28

Real Estate Energy Tools Government 28