Consulting Services: Financial Growth Library

How do you know if you should put a lot of resources behind a new product or service idea? The product discovery process is the answer. In this course, you will learn about the questions that need to be answered before you decide if and why a product should be created or updated.
Instructor: Evelyn Grammar
CPE Credits: 2.0
 

Innovations to existing products and services, as well as brand extensions, are critical to any company’s growth. These allow companies to reach new customers and demographics, which can lead to an increase in opportunities, market potential and ultimately sales.
Instructor: Andrea Jennings
CPE Credits: 1.5
 

Proper pricing strikes the balance between what optimizes your profit production without exceeding what your customers will pay for your product or service. Great opportunity comes with great responsibility. Striking that balance takes time, research and planning. Yet, many companies set their prices somewhat arbitrarily. This course covers the basics and dynamics of product and service pricing; six steps to create an accurate and competitive pricing structure; myths and mistakes with prices; and how to conduct price tests.
Instructor: Michael Brown
CPE Credits: 1.0
 

Effective marketing is far more than plastering a company’s name everywhere. The nuances of marketing, advertising and public relations must be understood in order to be implemented powerfully and effectively. This course covers the differences among marketing, advertising and public relations; the power of data in marketing; activating digital capabilities; and digital multi-channel marketing.
Instructor: Andrea Jennings
CPE Credits: 1.5
 

The goal of a business model is to find the balance between capability (people and culture) and resources (budget) to determine the mix of the levers to use to hit business growth goals. This course covers the purpose, function and structure of a good business model and the critical importance of flexibility with a business model.
Instructor: Jim Eicher
CPE Credits: 1.0
 

There’s a reason why companies are afraid of experimenting with the sales force: it’s the engine that drives revenue. No matter how ineffective things are, the thought of overhauling sales techniques and processes will make most senior executives nervous. This course focuses on the purpose, function and cost of a sales department; how to expand sales capabilities and increase sales opportunities; and how to enact powerful customer retention and referral strategies.
Instructor: Andrea Jennings
CPE Credits: 2.0
 

What makes a customer happy? How do you measure it? How do you maintain it? What does it take to establish a successful customer service/account management system, culture and processes? This course covers the difference between customer service and account management; strategies you can put in place for customer service/account management; measuring customer satisfaction; and nine levers for customer service/account management.
Instructor: Evelyn Grammar
CPE Credits: 1.5
 

One of the main keys to successful growth is having a clear understanding of your customers’ needs, as well as their unmet needs. Too often, leaders struggle with how to refresh their brand, differentiate from the competitor and grow their market share because they don’t know where their target customers’ needs remain unmet by the market. This course covers the basics of customer needs; the significance and implications of unmet customer needs; and techniques to satisfy unmet customer needs.
Instructor: Evelyn Grammar
CPE Credits: 1.5
 

Human resource (HR) costs need to be commensurate with the amount of revenue generated (or projected). When deciding on the right strategy to manage your employee footprint, you must cut through the clutter by asking the right questions. This course includes an introduction and overview of HR; four levers of HR expenses, including personnel quantity, costs, quality and cost of bad management; outsourcing costs and benefits; and the use of technology to keep HR costs down.
Instructor: Evelyn Grammar
CPE Credits: 1.0
 

Property costs — both real property as well as leases and equipment — offer a perfect opportunity for expense reduction. Asking the right questions is key. This course covers examples of property costs in business, effectively evaluating property costs and preventative maintenance.
Instructor: Michael Brown
CPE Credits: 1.0
 

The starting point is differentiating the good costs (activities needed to fuel profitable growth) from the bad costs (low-performing business and inefficient operations) and targeting the bad costs for overhaul or elimination. Create a culture of cost optimization by embedding ownership of processes and incentivizing continuous improvement. This course covers the basics of inventory management; common (and uncommon) inventory costs; steps to establish and maintain inventory excellence; and specific ways to reduce supply chain and inventory costs.
Instructor: Michael Brown
CPE Credits: 1.0
 

The benefits of early cost reduction in product development are significant. The biggest cost impact is possible when product specifications, design and manufacturing processes are defined. Take this course to understand the basic components of product development and to be able to identify inherent costs of product development.
Instructor: Jen Lowe
CPE Credits: 1  

As any good consultant knows, no two companies are alike. Neither are their funding needs. However, every company needs a sustainable capital structure to grow and deliver returns. Striking the perfect capital balance can be tricky. This course covers the dynamics of equity versus debt financing in addition to the type of equity versus debt financing; pros and cons of equity financing; pros and cons of debt financing; and methods to determine which type is best for your client.
Instructor: Michael Brown
CPE Credits: 1