August 6, 2013
John Collard

Defense Conversion – Myth or Mystery? How To Avoid Minefields in the Marketplace

John Collard | Interim CEO, COO, Turnaround

Defense manufacturers that head blindly into uncharted territories are asking for peril.

The nation’s shift to a peace-time economy is forcing many companies into a real battle for increased sales. Their defense conversion efforts may be a matter of new products, new markets, or both.

Some companies are finding new, peaceable applications for their military technology. Others remain committed to their product core. But all defense companies are in search of new markets.

Corporate directors are expected to participate in the strategic planning process. If you are a director of a company seeking to find new markets for defense products, you are not only expected to participate in the planning process; you may be needed to lead it.

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August 6, 2013
Walter Simson

Taking control amid corruption: A discussion with Harry Spence

Walter Simson | CEO, CFO, Turnaround

View original article in In Business here.

A couple of months ago, I got an email from Benton Harbor, Mich. It reported on the local strife following the appointment of a super-powerful municipal administrator under a new Michigan law.

“Do you do this?” my correspondent asked. “Any comment?”

And I replied that the only person I would trust to comment was someone whom I had admired for many years but had never met.

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August 6, 2013
John Collard

Leading by Example

John Collard | CEO, COO, Turnaround

Turnaround & Workouts magazine named your firm one of the top 12 outstanding turnaround management firms in the country, twice. How did you do that?

This award is usually given to firms based on their growth, we stood out with our case work. We are unique from the standpoint that we are very nimble and flexible and can respond quickly to a company’s needs. We think it’s far more important to build a team within the corporation, therefore build value, because unless we do that, once we leave, so do our resources.

Is that unique?

That is in contrast to the major consulting firms that want to put in 10, 20, or 50 people at their rates into a particular company. What we want to do is use the people that are within the company. We want to bring employees to the next level, hire a full permanent management team, and make sure that plans are in place so that the business can continue when we leave.

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August 6, 2013
John Collard

Steering Clear of the Brink: Early Warning Signs Pinpoint Business Troubles — Changing Leadership Style to Accomplish a Turnaround

John Collard | CEO, COO, Turnaround

Whether you are an investor, serve on a board of directors, own or manage a company, you face business risks. All of the stakeholders accept additional risk when the company is heading for trouble. Balancing these risks can cause a predicament. By recognizing some early warning signs that indicate business trouble on the horizon, you can eliminate, overcome, or, at the very least, side step many of those risks.

Business trouble means different things to each of us at different times. The perception differs depending on the stakeholder, but the fear is always the same — loss of their investment (money, time, energy, good will, reputation). The anticipation of loss is unacceptable. No one likes to lose — anything.

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August 5, 2013
John Collard

Looking for the Exit: An Approach to Investing in Underperforming Companies

John Collard | CEO, COO, Turnaround

Professionals guiding investors or looking to invest in underperforming companies themselves should be aware of what to look for and how to execute. The key to returns from investing in underperformers is building an enterprise with the sole purpose of selling it at maximum value – to concentrate on exit strategies from the start.

First, seek enterprises at a precipice, not those that have already fallen off the edge. Look for those with critical capital shortages and future potential, but avoid the pitfall of investing in an insolvent company. Acquire companies that can provide quality products at competitive prices but are severely undervalued due to ineffective management and/or lack of market direction and penetration.

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August 5, 2013
John Collard

Recover & Preserve Value: Working Successfully With Turnaround Professionals

John Collard | CEO, COO, Turnaround

The turnaround of a business in financial distress involves managing the business and its problems. The process is time consuming and requires a special set of skills. The problems of the business are often compounded by owners or management who are facing financial distress for the first time and who are reticent to change. This is where a turnaround specialist brings his art to the process.

The identity of the client must be clear. The client’s identity may appear clear at first glance, but it can quickly become blurred. For example, the owner of a closely held business may be as concerned about personal guarantees as about the survival of the business. In addition, if the lender has referred the specialist, the specialist must make it clear to all parties whether the lender or the business is the client.

Turnaround specialists generally are either interim managers or consultants. Interim managers will replace the CEO, take the decision-making reins of a troubled business, and guide it through its troubled waters, hopefully to safety. Turnaround consultants advise existing management without taking an operating role within the company. Although some specialists are willing to act as either an interim manager or a consultant, most prefer to act as one or the other.

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August 1, 2013
Scott Philips

Not so Basic Sales Basics!

Scott Philips | CEO, CSO, COO, CMO, Turnaround

For the past several months, I’ve been using our blog to highlight the various elements that we focus on as a company. Writing the posts has been great, but every now and then I hit an area that is so many “miles deep” in terms of content that I become completely stumped on how to boil it down (which is why we have, oh, 50 or so posts in the hopper for the future).

Revenue generation is one of those areas.

Why is revenue generation complicated? It’s complicated because every company is unique, and because there are a million marketing “tips and tricks” out there to try. I wracked my brain for a bit on this one and have decided to keep it basic. Since a blog is not the space for eight-point “how-to’s” and twenty-quadrant charts, I’m simply going to share a truth I’ve found to be fairly universal for companies when it comes to boosting revenue (specifically pertaining to sales and marketing):

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July 18, 2013
Philippe Lavie

Hire to Replace Mediocre Performers or Train To Instill Best Practices?

Philippe Lavie | CSO

The world, as we all have known it during the late 90s, is gone. No longer are sales executives order takers and if they think this is the game, the awakening has been and continues to be rude. Culpepper Sale Study, a benchmark for the world of sales, released the following statistics:

1… Fact: 94% of all sales veterans have had less than 5 days of any formal sales
training.
2… Fact: 87% of all sales managers have had less then 8 days of any formal sales
training.
3… Fact: 98% of all salespeople don’t follow a consistent sales methodology.
4… Fact: 93% of all sellers volunteer a price decrease without being asked.
5… Fact: 87% of prospected inquires are never followed up by a sales contact.
6… Fact: 81% of all sales take five calls or more.
7… Fact: 80% of all salespeople are willing to accept a 90% rejection rate.
8… Fact: 40% of all sales veterans experience bouts of call reluctance severe enough
to threaten their contribution in sales.
9… Fact: 93% of all sales veterans have had no training on how to generate their own
leads

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July 16, 2013

PE Dealmaking Soft in 2Q: Pitchbook Report

PE investment seemed poised for a spike in 2013, but Pitchbook’s 3Q 2013 Private Equity Breakdown spells out how that hasn’t happened, at least so far this year.

“While public equity markets experienced strong gains throughout the first half of 2013, PE deal-making was at a lackluster pace in 2Q 2013, reaching a new quarterly low since the depths of the financial crisis,” Pitchbook reports. PE firms invested $71 billion across 318 deals in the second quarter, down from the 420 investments in 1Q 2013 and far off the 671 investments in 4Q 2012, where late-year activity saw $141 billion in investments.

Meantime, exits saw a “slight uptick” in the third quarter– 108 portfolio company exits totaling $17.1 billion–but that activity was still the second lowest quarterly total in the last three years.

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