Case
History #5:
Insurance Brokerage
Background
 Fast
growing brokerage firm with three young owners and a staff of 30 servicing
a customer base of 200, producing gross sales in annualized commissions
of approximately $2 million.
Situation
The
owners' previous successes in sales, from three different firms, drives
the company's rapid growth and remains their focus. The collection cycle
from sales to receiving commission checks varies from two to four months.
The owners wish to implement process controls, i.e. to create the "backroom"
to support their services.
You
be the consultant: What would you need to know before defining the Project
and understanding the Challenges? Compare your ideas with a model consulting
strategy used by Holeton Consulting.
Model
Consulting Strategy
Holeton
Consulting asked strategic questions in five areas: Finance, Strategic
Planning, Ownership, Employees, and Operations.
Finance
- How is the company financed?
- Is the company making any money?
- Can the poor cash flow process sustain current overhead levels?
Can it be rapidly improved?
- Are there reliable financial information systems and controls?
- Do they have reliable cost accounting?
- Is there low cost funding available to bridge any gaps?
- What systems need to be set up to solidify these financial areas?
Strategic
Planning
- Do the three partners have a united vision?
- Are they following a written strategic plan?
- Is there a written business plan?
- Have they done any financial, customer, or product modeling?
Ownership
- What is the percentage ownership of each partner?
- Do they have an exit strategy and buyout agreement?
- Do they get along?
- Have they divided up the shared responsibilities for the key areas
of the company appropriately?
- Are they positioned to capitalize on their individual strengths
and have they brought in leaders to properly direct areas in which
they are collectively weak?
Employees
- Do all employees understand their job and the overall plan of the
company?
- Are they capable? Are there any "sacred cows"?
- Are there cultural or interdepartmental issues or discord?
- Are human resource legal policies implemented and understood by
all?
- Is there active training to improve individual and corporate performance
toward customer satisfaction?
Operations
- Is there a Quality Management System in place?
- Does the system or the company satisfy the external marketplace?
- Does the company understand and satisfy the internal marketplace?
- Do they have written procedures and work instructions to match
the "backroom" to the products being sold to the customers?
- Do they track performance and results in all areas?
Approach
- With most answers to strategic questions proving to be "no"
or "unknown," recommend that company employ a CFO for Hire
from The Mastermind Group.
- Expand
the project to encompass solutions to all strategic consulting questions,
prioritized in collaboration with clients.
- Create
Process Controls and implement a Quality Management System under direction
of internal process owners.
Results
One
year later, the company is well positioned in its marketplace, viable
with good cash flow. The company has a clearly defined focus around satisfying
both internal and external customers. Employees have job descriptions
and review procedures. The owners are executing a common business plan,
united in their vision, and they capitalize on one another's strengths.
Holeton Consulting can do
the same for your company. If you are interested in improving your bottom
line, contact us today for your complimentary
initial consultation.
See
other case studies: #1, #2,
#3, #4
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