Industry: Property and Business Services 
"Don Graham and BusinessNAV’s involvement with our firm at the strategic level has been instrumental in helping us clarify our vision for the future, prioritise strategic projects, engage the team in our strategic direction and drive action. The result has been a growing business that has successfully maintained its reputation for quality. Thank you!"
Brad Chruch, Chief Executive and Senior Advisor
The Situation
Goodman Private Wealth Advisors is a small but growing financial advisory firm to high net worth families. This multi award-winning firm has built a strong reputation over the last 23 years as one that offers high quality personal and tailored service to its growing client base.
About 10 years ago the Directors established an annual strategic planning cycle and brought in external advisers to facilitate. Don Graham, BusinessNAV has done 5 of these during that time, initially with the Directors and now also with management.
Goodman’s were looking for 3 things from their Strategic planning process:
- Set the strategic direction,
- Set priorities over the next 12 months,
- Engage the team so those priorities got done
The Solution“The thing that separates Don and BusinessNAV from the other independent strategic facilitators we have used is the preparation done before the day,” says Brad Church, Chief Executive. Prior to the strategy session we obtained the past, present, and future years’ Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. BusinessNAV spent time with the Directors to confirm the vision and establish a theme that umbrellas the priorities.
“This made sure we got the most out of the day. Time was spent talking about new ways of exploring issues and deciding on action. Previously nothing had been decided on the day and took 4-5 follow-up meetings to formulate anything. BusinessNAV had it done in one or two.”
MarketNAV was also introduced because Goodman’s had a clear growth strategy of 50% increase in revenue over next 5 years. MarketNAV focuses the team on the first line of the Profit and Loss – the Revenue line. The management team discussed where their leads were to be generated most effectively. It was important to get the right balance on back end efficiency, tailored service and growth.
The Business Result
Goodman’s have established a strong reputation within their industry for personal tailored service. One advisor would service 80 clients compared to an industry average of 300-500 clients. With this bespoke service delivery it was essential that their back end was as efficient and effective as possible if they were to maintain their margins.
“Our top line has been good but our bottom line is less than satisfactory. We have always put our clients ahead of our own profitability.” CashflowNAV helped them identify where those backend inefficiencies existed – where they were leaking cash. They focused on their processes and systems to streamline their workflows so they would not have to compromise their personal service. Consequently there is a priority to familiarise themselves with the best technology available for their business. The GFC has had an impact on the net profit margin, which they aim to take from 4% this year to 16% in 2 years time.
Goodman’s, at all staff levels now focus on their conversion rate. This is a new process for the business but crucial if they are to grow revenues over the next 5 years. “Marketing is something we needed help with. Traditionally we have not been good at this,” said Brad. They now concentrate their sales growth on referral and self-generated activities. The metrics show that these drive leads most efficiently for them.
Using their existing internal systems they have been able to reliably report on their conversion rates. The firm has a target of 75% conversion from prospect to sales. This is high by industry standards. The firm has also partnered with a financial services firm to provide an online process to generate qualified referrals. It is early days but the Chief Executive is confident they will achieve their target within the next 12 months.
“Don did a terrific job. I would recommended BusinessNAV and have done so,” said Brad. “It provides clear strategies and targets, which we all can action and hold ourselves accountable to.”
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