Functional Areas in which you may benefit from the advice of a knowledgeable business strategist with excerpts from NAHB’s “Guide to Consulting Services” publication
KEY FUNCTIONAL AREA: EXECUTIVE/LEADERSHIP
- Do you have written clearly defined goals that each team member
has subscribed to?
- Have you developed a written business plan
to achieve those goals and effectively communicatedthe importance
of each team member's role to attaining success?
- Have you involved your business advisors
in the planning process and enlisted their support in implementing
your plan?
- Have you attracted competent and trustworthy individuals capable
of achieving your goals?
- Are you leading your organization by example?
KEY FUNCTIONAL AREA: FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
- Do you understand how to evaluate and act on the five critical
financial reports?
- Are you creating written budgets on a rolling basis for the
next 4 quarters and adjusting to changing market conditions quarterly?
- Are you taking full advantage of all discounts, rebates, and
supplier co-op money available?
- Are variance reports being reconciled before weekly/monthly
payroll is released to the field?
- Is your company structured to receive full benefit of the current tax laws?
KEY FUNCTIONAL AREA: OPERATIONS
- Have you hired only people that believe in, and
fully subscribe to, your company's business goals and philosophies?
- Are each persons responsibilities clearly communicated
in writing and are all team members held accountable for their
actions?
- Is there full cooperation and seamless communication between
all functional areas of your organization?
- Are your information systems properly designed and effectively
monitoring all administrative operations?
- Do you have a written plan that ensures the continual
improvement of people, product,
promotions, and profitability?
KEY FUNCTIONAL AREA: SALES AND MARKETING
- Do you determine who the end user of your homes
will be and their ability to purchase prior to going hard on
a land/lot contract?
- Does your architect understand how to design homes
that excite your prospective buyers, yet can be built and sold
at a profit.
- Are you able to find and keep top quality Realtors and sales
professionals.
- Do you know the "cost per sale" data
of each medium you are using to promote your product?
- Do you "Mystery Shop" your sales
staff to evaluate their competency on a regular basis?
KEY FUNCTIONAL AREA: PRODUCTION AND WARRANTY
- Does your CPM system consistently achieve "on time", "in budget", "no call back" homes?
- Have you developed a dependable trade base
that can quickly respond to "spikes" in your sales
and starts?
- Are you continually bringing in your jobs at less than 1/2%
variance?
- Are you purchasing and production people trained and skilled
at negotiations?
- Are you consistently achieving over 90% on your Customer Satisfaction
Surveys?
BEFORE YOU HIRE A CONSULTANT:
Many times it is difficult for an Owner/Principal to take a totally objective look at their business. Sometimes emotions and personalities may cloud the issues and, in many cases, the Principal is a specialist in one or two functional areas of operation, but only a generalist in other critical areas.
Today most businesses operate on very tight margins. A good Consultant can help the Owner/Principal identify areas needing improvement, give needed direction to implement the improvements, and monitor the results without incurring the permanent overhead associated with hiring another full time In-house executive.
During the initial meeting with your Consultant, you should provide him/her with your objective. He totally open about what you are trying to achieve and your perspective of the situation. The results you attain from any qualified Consultant will be directly proportional to his/her understanding of your objective and perspective relative to the issues to be addressed.
At Roger Fiehn & Associates we are
continually strategizing new methods of improving performance
and profitability. We assist many of the Nation's most progressive
companies by streamlining management systems, identifying areas
where costs may be lowered, creating high impact sales/marketing
programs and recruiting top talent to ensure that the company's
goals are achieved.
Roger's leadership and achievements have earned him recognition as one of the housing industry's leading authorities on business management, marketing and sales. This year he has been honored with inclusion in the Who's Who Worldwide Registry of Business Leaders and also in Marquis International Who's Who for his leadership in developing sound business plans, designing effective business management systems, and developing highly accountable management teams.
His credentials include receiving the NAHB "Excellence in Education" award,
Past President of the Bay Area Builders Association, Past President
and current faculty member of NAHB's Institute of Residential
Marketing, Trustee of NAHB's National Sales and Marketing Council,
President Elect of Builder Realty Council International, and
chairing many business related councils of the housing industry.
Roger is a frequent speaker at National trade events and his
articles are found in prominent trade publications including
BUILDER, SunCoast Architect/Builder, Custom Builder, and Builders
Management Journal.
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