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You're flying along, running your business, thinking you're making money. And then something happens -- all of a sudden, cash is a problem and you're worrying about making payroll. What happened?
Usually, it's because you didn't understand your financials. Not just your Income Statement (Profit and Loss), but that other nasty part of your financials, your Balance Sheet. I'm working through this problem with a business owner who thought someone else was watching his back. Who did he think that was? His CPA.
NEWS FLASH: A CPA is NOT a CFO.
In my business coaching practice, I generally find myself drilling into a client's financials, asking questions like "What's this item?", "Why did you book it that way?", "Why is gross margin % bouncing around month-to-month like a random number generator?", "Where's your company car on the balance sheet?", "And where's the loan for it?"
As I explain why those things are important (like you might want to borrow money or bring in an investor or sell your company some day), it's almost predictable that the client will ask, "Why hasn't my CPA ever asked me any of this stuff?"
Or perhaps you've approached a bank (or 4 or 5) for a loan, and after they look at your financials (sometimes quizzically, while looking at you over the tops of their reading glasses) they suddenly seem disinterested. You may have interpreted that as weak net income. It's just as likely that your financials just don't make sense.
So, here are 7 Ways a CPA is not a CFO.
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Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
"A Spreadsheet is Not A CRM", says Chief Executive Boards International member Brian Fricke of Financial Management Concepts.
Brian delivered an excellent Executive Briefing on sales lead generation at a recent CEBI Summit. I would have to add that an Outlook Address Book isn't a CRM, either. In case the acronym is unfamiliar, we're talking about a Customer Relationship Management System. The key word is system.
A real CRM has several important attributes that are essential to your business:
- Enterprise-wide and Online -- Everyone who needs access to it can get there, anytime, anywhere, and at the same time (spreadsheets crater under multiple users)
- Portable -- Synchs with PDAs, smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc. so anyone who needs it can use it on the road
- Captures all prospect and customer "touches" -- Phone calls, emails, quotes, etc. are captured and tied to both the company and contact
- Prompts followup -- Each "touch" has a followup/reminder date so prospects don't get lost in the sales cycle
- Continues after the sale, tracking customer service "touches", new quotes, problems and complaints, as well as execution work flow.
Here's a great Wikipedia Article with a typically thorough explanation of CRM systems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management
So, you might ask, "Where would I start in selecting a CRM platform for my company?" Good question, and here are some suggestions on places to start -- CRM platforms regularly mentioned among CEBI members:
- ACT! -- The granddaddy of "personal" Contact Managers. ACT! has added most standard CRM features, and is also available in a multi-user version, hosted on an in-house server. Integrates with Outlook and has a "mobile" module available. ACT! Premium is also web-accessible at a hefty per-seat price.
- Goldmine -- The historical favorite of self-hosted users. Available in several multi-user versions, plus some additional post-sale "workflow" modules. Web Client available. Integrates with Outlook and MS Exchange servers.
- Salesforce.com -- The original "cloud-based" CRM (invented before use of the term "cloud" in IT). Salesforce leverages the native advantages of a hosted solution. No server, no backups, no hassle. Monthly subscription. Droves of 3rd-party "add-ins" to manage specialty integrated application needs.
- Sugar CRM -- Cloud-based, low cost
- Zoho -- Cloud-based, low cost
- Highrise -- Cloud-based, moderate cost
- MRP/ERP-Integrated solutions -- If you own an enterprise-class MRP/ERP system such as a Sage product, Microsoft Dynamics, Visual Manufacturing etc., almost all enterprise vendors provide a highly-integrated CRM offering. It's worth checking with your vendor to have a look at their offering.
Other Resources -- I came across an "industry report", with a very basic comparison of fourteen different CRM offerings. It's not clear to me how they picked those products - a curious span from Zoho to SAP, including some, but not all of the above.
Most CRM offerings have "Free Trial" offers that give you an opportunity to sample the user interface and feature set to see how they fit your company. Some offer a "free" version of limited functionality, plus a full-featured "paid" version.
DISCLAIMER -- The above product descriptions are based on information available from users and vendors, and may be incomplete or inaccurate. Do sufficient due diligence on any product under consideration to be sure it fully meets your needs and expectations.
If you've recently evaluated or chosen a CRM, please click "Comments" below and share your views with others.
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Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
At a recent Chief Executive Boards International meeting, I shared my most recent experience of getting one good idea that, on its own, is worth tens of thousands of dollars to me. Here's what happened.
Here at CEBI, we do a lot of prospecting by email. Awhile back, I saw an email promotion (someone else's), offering an email marketing webinar. Now, good ideas don't just reach out and find you -- you have go places where they might be. I wasn't able to participate at the scheduled time, so I asked Alison Pacewic, CEBI's Manager of Member Services, to check it out and see if they offered something we could use to improve our email marketing effectiveness.
Sure enough, when I asked her about it the next day, she said, "They reinforced a lot of things we do, like putting the 'call to action' in the first paragraph, rather than at the end. But they mentioned something we might try -- rather than the call to action asking the prospect to call us, why not just give them a date and time at which we'll call them -- also saying that if that time is inconvenient they can let us know by email or phone."
Well, that's a novel idea, and one we'd likely never have stumbled upon by ourselves. What happened? It was absolutely amazing. Would you believe that some people did, in fact, reply to the email, saying things like, "I'm busy at 2 on Tuesday -- could you call me Wednesday at 2?" Those calls have resulted in new CEBI members and a more effective business process that's sure to continue working for years in the future.
Considering that this single idea will get us in touch with people who would not have otherwise responded and that some of those will become CEBI members, an estimate of tens of thousands of dollars of income resulting from just one good idea is probably low.
Speaking of going where good ideas might be -- that's the amazing outcome of CEBI meetings. Members go away with ideas they might never have come upon any other way, and they become more successful and more prosperous as a result. Here's another author's essay on "Where Good Ideas Come From".
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Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
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