Bellwether - A Blytheco Magazine

BELLWETHER Volume 4 | Issue 2 | Second Quarter 2013

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2 Bellwether Magazine | logo, Budget Maestro, 2013
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“It is only when they go wrong
that machines remind you how
powerful they are.”
~Clive James

Letter from the Editor 5
s e c t i o n s

Leadership
Sales and Marketing
6
8 6
Technology 14
Cover Story 17
Corporate Finance
Book Report
18
23
8
Industry News 24
Human Resources
Customer Profile
26
30
13
Call Centers and CRM
Integration

24
1

20
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LETTERFROMTHEEDITOR

BELLWETHER
A Blytheco Magazine

Volume 4
Second Quarter, 2013

www.blytheco.com
www.bellwethermagazine.com

STAFF
EDITOR
Apryl Hanson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Greg Went

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Alicia Anderson
Avalara
Donna Baeza
Scott Cramer
Joshua Estes
Jeff Gregorec
Apryl Hanson
Ginger Kittinger
Greg Went
Bill Wiersma
Geni Whitehouse

ADVERTISING SALES
Ginger Kittinger

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dorif@blytheco.com

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of Bellwether Magazine.


Results in the Workplace
How to get them and at what cost?
by Bill Wiersma

F or a leader, what’s not to like at the promise of your team delivering great results?
And since the leader gets things done through others, to what degree should
the leader really care about how the results get generated? The answers to these
two questions have played a big role in the thinking behind non-traditional policies
that have impacted work environments at several high-profile organizations in the
past few years.
This article attempts to help the reader sort the nuggets These three examples illustrate how employees were
of truth from the hype about three contemporary work granted varying degrees of greater autonomy while, in
environments that might be loosely called ‘results only’. turn, were expected to demonstrate greater degrees
of accountability. Despite the significant short-term
In a nut-shell, it was believed (or had been promised) that difficulties in implementing these approaches, all three
these status-quo busting policies would lead to better companies did so because they wanted to reinforce the
results. It’s not quite that simple, but that’s the gist of importance of results above all else. At the end of the day,
it. What is the core message to employees? We care each company expected better results.
passionately about the results you are accountable for and
we are less interested in how you get those results. There Netflix – Unlimited Vacation
are exceptions, but not many. Consider:
What do a supermodel and Netflix’s novel vacation policy
• Netflix’s unlimited vacation policy (employees are have in common? They both get a lot of attention! There
allowed to take as much vacation time as they wish). is great depth to Netflix’s philosophy surrounding culture.
And it’s that core philosophy that gives rise to the much-
• Best Buy’s, now defunct, ‘work anywhere you wish’ ballyhooed vacation policy that gets so much attention.
policy (while in effect, some corporate staffers were
rarely seen at the office). Netflix learned through experience that they should ‘focus
on what people get done’. In other words, the results you
• Videogame maker Valve’s philosophy of self- produce are most important to the company. By default,
management (no bosses, no promotions, few titles). they don’t worry much about how people get their work
done. They feel that work hours, vacation time and the like
just aren’t worth administering. People are adults, they’ll
figure it out.

At Netflix, ‘results’ are king. In fact if you put in minimal
effort, as long as you produce great results on a sustained
basis, you are rewarded with more responsibility and
a significant boost in pay. For Netflix, this core
philosophy---one that’s maniacal on results--
has clearly worked well.

Best Buy – Results Only
Work Environment
Best Buy’s ROWE (Results Only Work
Environment) policy said ‘people
are free to work wherever they want,
whenever they want, as long as they get
their work done’. It was largely targeted to

6 Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2013

LEADERSHIP
employees at the corporate center. Under ROWE there were Is a Results Only Work Environment right for your
no schedules or mandatory meetings. And employees didn’t company?
need a manager’s permission to participate.
There is little doubt that these types of approaches to
How well did it work? The answer depends on who you management have demonstrated benefits. Yet, they’re not
ask! for everyone. Leaders who think they can easily implement
one of these approaches (or something like it) are kidding
Earlier this year, Best Buy canned ROWE. But despite the themselves. These approaches are fundamental to how
outcry in the media, Best Buy didn’t end the opportunity these companies operate. The approaches need to be
for employees to have flexible work schedules. Today ‘baked in’ not just ‘bolted on’. Leaders shouldn’t view
employees at the corporate center can work remotely, potential benefits (think: cost savings) as low hanging fruit
although they now need their manager’s permission to do that warrant a new ‘program’.
so. It’s important to note that Best Buy and Yahoo (which
ended its well-known ‘work from home’ policy within weeks Some companies successfully adopted ROWE’s approach,
of the cancelation of ROWE) were both struggling financially some failed. Also, there are very few companies around
at the time of the cancellation decision---both with new that utilize self-management in the way that Valve, W. L.
CEOs orchestrating turnarounds. Gore and The Morning Star Company do. Certainly, it looks
straightforward enough---why haven’t more adopted it?
Valve – Self-Management Because it’s a lot harder (and trickier) than it looks!

Everyone’s desk at Valve has wheels. After all, no one can Companies who have successfully made these approaches

“
tell you where to work or what to work on. Those things are ‘go’ have done so in large part because they believe in them
up to you. Soon enough you’ll learn philosophically. As importantly,
that those wheels come in handy their people believe in them too.
as you voluntarily relocate yourself
and your stuff half-way around the
The approaches It’s something everyone values. It’s
the way everyone wants to run the

need to be
building after a colleague recruits business. Thus, the policies are not
you to work on their sexy new an afterthought! Leadership believes
project. Self-management is clearly that results are a natural by-product
the most aggressive of the so-called
‘results only’ work environments. At ‘baked in’ not of ceding control to responsible
people and letting them weave their
Valve---the Bellevue, Washington
just ‘bolted on’
magic. Sounds like professionals to
videogame maker---their self- me!
management philosophy has
helped this private company build
impressive equity holdings that
some have estimated at $2.5 billion dollars.

More examples of results only companies

Interestingly, two other private companies—The Morning
Star Company and W. L. Gore---also espouse self-
management and both are undisputed market leaders.

For most, the topic of self-management is extremely
intriguing---deserving of more ‘air time’ than we have here.
Gary Hamel’s December, 2011 Harvard Business Review
article—“First, Let’s Fire All The Managers”—is a great
article to start with (you can read it at http://hbr.org/2011/12/
first-lets-fire-all-the-managers). The article is Hamel’s ‘take’
on how The Morning Star Company, the world’s largest
tomato processor, approaches self-management. We at
Wiersma and Associates are fortunate to have a bird’s eye
view of Morning Star’s approach to self-management as they
are a client.

About the Author
Bill Wiersma is the principal of Wiersma and Associates, LLC, a consultancy that helps leaders create cultures based on professional ideals. Bill
is the author of two critically acclaimed books. His expertise has been featured in numerous media outlets--including the New York Times. The
Power of Professionalism, Bill’s latest book, was a finalist for Soundview Executive Book Summaries 2011 Book of the Year. Follow his weekly
blog posts at: www.wiersmaandassociates.com/blog/


SALES&MARKETING

by Joshua Estes

D emo hell; we have all experienced it. We
have either been on the receiving end
of some bumbling nightmare or been the
bumbling nightmare ourselves, due to slow
internet connections, webinar host services
issues, bad microphones, dull presenters or
lack of respect for time, etc. This is my story of
overcoming demo hell:
I am both a sales guy and a presales guy for CRM here at Blytheco. I have built,
customized, pitched and sold products involving only myself. This caused me a
heart attack a few months ago. The scenario: I had built out and customized
a demo for a very large client
that is going to make
my quarter. Today I am
remote, today I am the
man, today I am hosed…

10 minutes before my
demo starts, my computer
dies because the power is
out. Ten critical minutes
before a demonstration
of a product that I have
spent several hours
customizing for a client
that I have spent several


LEADERSHIP
months getting to this point and already spent everything up and open that I need.
a few weeks trying to align all of the key players
2 minutes: I start GoToMeeting. I still have to dial
schedules to be on this demo. I am sweating bullets.
in… I still have to dial in. Oh no. Luckily I have another
I have no Internet connection, no access to host a
cell phone at my disposal. I dig up the other phone
GoToMeeting, no computer to perform the demo
and call into the meeting. Again I do not want to use
and very little hope.
the mic and speakers and potentially kill my internet
9 minutes: It is crucial that I think fast. So, like a connection.
trained professional, I analyze what resources I have
Bling; the sound of the first caller joining the meeting
at my disposal: my iPhone, iPad, and my brain. A
and I am as proud as Doctor Frankenstein is looking
glimmer of hope! My iPhone has the ability to be a
down at his living monster. I present the product and
hotspot; internet connection (check). Hot spot turned
it all goes off without a hitch; aside from the fiasco I
on, now trying to use my iPad to host the meeting. The
just experienced. They laugh at my jokes, enjoy the
GoToMeeting app doesn’t give me the functionality
presentation of the product, see that it fits their needs
to host a meeting using the app interface and I can’t
and at the end ask for a proposal. They had no idea
do this from my iPad. There has to be another way.
and still to this day do not. Mission accomplished,
7 minutes: I have an app on my iPad called crisis averted.
SplashTop that I use to remote connect to my father’s
Lessons learned from this experience?
computer in Boston. Being the family IT guy is about
to really pay off. I am becoming a believer that this 1. ake sure that you use products that support and
M
will happen. Working from home in Atlanta I attempt have great mobile connectivity and functionality.
to remote in from my iPad to a computer in Boston. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and
Connection achieved! I navigate to GoTomeeting. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems with
com and download the software. While the software mobile clients are a must.
downloads I log into my demo instance of the CRM.
2. et logged on and set up early – it will make for a
G
To paint this picture I am using an iPad so I have
better experience for everyone and give you time
to zoom in and precariously select the area on the
to adjust and adapt if you do experience issues.
screen that I want to touch on the window of the Mac
that I have a remote connection to. Have you seen 3. ake sure you have a tablet or smartphone with
M
‘Inception’? I am at the last scene and am in deep. cellular connectivity as you cannot always rely on
wi-fi.
4 minutes: I got this. The demo is up I am able to 4. plashtop Streamer: This will allow you to remote
S
maneuver my way around the system with relative connect to any computer that you install it on. It is
simplicity. I open some tabs of the various areas in also password encrypted and will only work from
the system I want in an effort to avert any potential your specified devices.
internet speed and connection disasters. I have


SALES&MARKETING

Selling with Todays
Technology by Apryl Hanson

H ave you taken a good look at some of the new technology available to take
your sales organization to the next level? In the last 10 years we have gotten
away from traditional methods of selling and salespeople rely on their CRM system
to help them book appointments, follow-up, send reminders and move the sales
process along.
While CRM is of great assistance to you when you already • Relationship Selling - When you setup
have that warm lead, what can you do to empower your InsideView it asks you about your network and also
sales team to find additional opportunities? Going out connects to your social information on LinkedIn, but
and networking, shaking hands and good old dialing that’s not all. It also asks you to put in your referral
for dollars can be somewhat time-consuming without companies that you have sold to, their contacts and
structure around your efforts. when your entire team does that, what you get is a
database that helps you relationship sell. When you
A tool like InsideView can put your sales team in the have InsideView set-up this way and then look-up
drivers seat (www.blytheco.com/insideview). In fact, a contact it will tell you if any of those people that
our sales team uses InsideView to help guide the you are connected to have a relationship with the
relationship sales process and target companies that contact you are trying to reach. It is virtually telling
would be appropriate to talk to. How do they do that? you “Your business contact Joe Smith, knows this
guy. Contact him and ask for an introduction”.
• Competitor Information – InsideView has a tab AMAZING!
called competitors. This means if you just closed a
sale for Super Stars Manufacturing, you can look at all • Industry Information – Not sure about the
of their competitors. What a better time to approach industry you are calling into? Get industry tips and a
other companies like the one you just sold, but right call prep sheet within the InsideView product right
after you just sold them. on the same page as the company you are looking
up. You don’t have to switch between multiple
• Detailed Contact Information - If you have ever screens, it is right there.
wanted to get the e-mail address, social contact, and
phone number of C-level executives at a organization • Perfect the time to call – What InsideView
all you have to do is look them up in InsideView. Yes, has perfected is that there are a times when an
it is all sitting there, at your salespeoples’ fingertips. organization is changing and those time are a
wonderful time to get your foot in the door. You can
create lists of companies in the SIC code or area you
are looking for (or both) and either call now or create


a watch list for when changes happen.

• Access Anywhere – If you are on
the road all you need is access to the
internet to look up someone you may
have met in person OR InsideView can
also integrate through your CRM for
even better ease of use. Either way,
you will never be without contact
information at your fingertips.

Besides looking at the funnel
before you get the sale, how are
your connection points with that
potential customer throughout the
sales process? Is it completely in
the hands of the sales person or
do you have automatic systems in
place to nurture leads that have
come through your website? There
are several out of the box tools
that integrate with CRM solutions
that can do that for you. For instance,
Hubspot (www.blytheco.com/hubspot)
can take a lead that has filled out a form on
your website and continue to message to them
bubbling them up in the lead nurture process. This
strengthens the lead and allows you to differentiate
between the types of leads you are receiving. If
you can differentiate between a lead that is “just
looking” and those that are “ready to buy” you
can give better qualified leads to your sales team
members while nurturing those lower quality leads
automatically.

Maximizing your sales personnel for any business,
especially if you have a smaller sales team can be
the difference between extra revenue this year
over last year. If you are spending time contacting
those that are ready instead of weeding through
all leads, this can help you focus your efforts for
maximum returns.

With today’s technology you get the benefit of
lead intelligence to help you spend your time in
the right places, following up with the right leads
and getting in contact with the right people through
a warm introduction instead of a cold call. How have
your teams changed what they are doing with the use
of technology to sell smarter, better, faster? Join the
conversation at http://think.blytheco.com.


SALES&MARKETING

How Do You Measure Your
Sales Team’s Performance?
by Ginger Kittinger

We asked Blytheco’s VP of Sales, Jeff Gregorec, how he 90-day period and measures it against at
measures his sales team’s activities and performance. It can least 2.5x their current month quota . If a
be quite complex, but he has created a graphical dashboard sales team member’s pipeline is at least
inside of our Sage SalesLogix CRM system that all sales team 250% of the quota, the dashboard will reflect
members have access to and can monitor their progress. green, 200%-250% yellow and for less than
200% red. This KPI measures a number of
It all starts with defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) -
attributes. It provides visibility as to whether
what exactly are you going to measure. Jeff looks at several
a salesperson will have enough opportunity
different metrics:
to reasonably attain their current quota, as
• Month-to-Date Achievement well as manage multiple complex projects,
• Year-to-Date Achievement and lastly provides insight into what future
• Forecasting Accuracy opportunities are ahead of them. One of
• Pipeline Growth/Management/Conversion the biggest mistake salespeople make is not
• Close Rate building leads for the future – they sell a big

• Activity Management Dependant on Job Function one and then they have to start all over again.

Close Rate – looks at Closed-Won
opportunities and calculates a percentage.
Month-to-Date (percentage of quota attainment) – this
If they close 25% or more of their qualified
calculates a salesperson’s actual dollars sold against their
opportunities, the dashboard reflects green,
monthly assigned quota. It is calculated daily in real-time. If
15%-25% shows yellow and for less than a
a salesperson is at 100%+ of attainment the graph is green,
15% close rate - red.
70%-99% = Yellow and <69% = Red
Activity Management – different sales team
Year-to-Date (percentage of quota attainment) – this gets
roles have different metrics, such as having
recalculated every month, but follows the same pattern as
a specific number of customer meetings per
Month-to-Date metrics.
month, adding new customer(s) per month,
Forecasting Accuracy – a sales team member forecasts the number of calls made per month, the
their total dollars sold each week but they are measured number of demos performed per month and
against their submission the third week of the month This the like…
KPI demonstrates a sales person’s command of their business
If you can keep on top of your team’s progress
as well as provides leadership with an accurate snapshot of
throughout the year, you will be able to guide
the month’s expected results. If the sales person is within
them to higher levels of success. Keeping
ten percent of their committed forecast, the dashboard will
the metrics and progress in front of them,
reflect as green, within thirty percent yellow, and if off by
keeps them motivated and fosters healthy
more than thirty percent red .
competition.
Pipeline Growth/management – this looks at all open/
active opportunities with an estimated close date in a rolling


SALES&MARKETING

Call Centers and CRM
Integration by Ginger Kittinger

We all remember Lily Tomlin’s character Ernestine saying “one ringy dingy, two ringy dingys”
and how old-fashioned that phone system was. With today’s technology you can have a fully
integrated voice recognition system to handle inbound calls and a fully-automated outbound
dialing system that works with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

In this fast-paced technology era, equipment is outdated caller is and automatically opens their record in your
as soon as a new model comes out – so why invest in CRM system. The benefit from this is that the Average
an expensive calling system, when you can manage Speed of Answer, Talk Time, Handle Time, Quality and
an enterprise level hosted platform that provides full Performance are all improved providing a positive client
features and redundancy? caller experience.

One such solution is from Newbridge. They offer a Outbound Call Dialing
hosted solution that provides organizations the flexibility
You can increase your outbound efficiency by up to 20
of multiple features without the capital investment of
times over manual dialing with their virtual call center
hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Newbridge call
platform. They filter out the busy signals, no-answers,
center platform is designed to allow companies to have
answering machines and fax machines, allowing your call
total control over the flow of calls in your inbound call
center staff to maximize their productivity. With a full
center. With key features such as flexible scheduling,
suite of rich reporting tools, full call recording, granular
skills-based call center agent selections, and their
dialing campaign controls and real-time statistical
proprietary Queue Flow routing engine, you have the
data, you have complete control over managing your
ability to route calls exactly to your specifications.
outbound call center.
Steven Cramer, Sr. VP of Operations at Newbridge,
Blytheco and Newbridge are
explains that Newbridge provides a full service call center
working together so
solution with the added benefit of client consultation
our clients can
services included. The Newbridge team brings over 50
integrate their
years of hands-on global call center design, configuration
CRM system
and implementation to every project.
to provide
The real beauty, however, lies in the integration with your consistent
CRM system. Newbridge’s solution integrates tightly reporting
with Sage CRM, SugarCRM, NetSuite, SalesLogix and of data
Act!, to name a few. and efficient
staff transaction
Inbound Call Routing management.

When a caller dials your number, Together we help ensure

they are then provided options/ the client, staff and

prompts to route the call. When reporting requirements

the call is received, the Newbridge are in sync and provide

platform already knows who the maximum efficiency for the
organization.

To learn more, please go to www.blytheco.com/newbridge


To Increase Profits

In this day and age it is all about optimization. We are trying to make
the most of the tools that we already have. When was the last time
you took a look at your current technology from the standpoint of
understanding how it is being utilized by your users? by Greg Went

We worked with our client, Yardney Water (bly:Optimize) headed up by veteran Blytheco
Filtration Systems, when they asked themselves consultant Debbie Long.
that very question – “are we getting the most out
of our systems”? Here is their story: The Blytheco consultant (Debbie) interviewed no
less than 13 key personnel within the organization
Riverside California’s Yardney Water Filtration from executives to shop floor employees. She

“
Systems operates a state of the art 60,000 square observed the interactions of the different teams
foot research, design, and and how they used their
manufacturing facility. business system. Debbie
They are a pioneer in the You don’t know confirmed some of Chris’s
development of clean water suspicions. Yardney was only
solutions and since 1965 they what you don’t using 15% of their business
have provided high-quality, system, if that. They were
cost effective products know.” driving in the slow lane with
becoming one of the world’s a high-performance sports
leading manufacturers of Chris Phillips - Yardney COO car. There were severe lags
water filtration equipment in getting useful data, they
for industrial and agricultural could not trust their inventory
applications. levels due to the way they were pulling stock and
tracking labor costs was nearly impossible during
Chris Phillips, Yardney Operations Manager, the manufacturing process.
approached Blytheco with a feeling that they
were not getting the full use out of their Sage Based on her interviews and assessment
100 business system. In fact, he feared they may of Yardney’s processes and needs, Debbie
be doing things backwards, since some of their produced a bly:Optimize “Summary of Findings”
processes had not changed in many years. With report and presented it to Chris and his team.
a planned manufacturing facility expansion on The report, laid out clearly in bullet point
the horizon, Chris did not want the new facility format, highlighted the interviews with the team
coming on line with the same flawed processes members separated by job function for ease of
of the current one. So, armed with a hunch, Chris reading and comprehension. At the end of the
arranged for a Blytheco process optimization report were ‘Recommended Next Steps,’ again,


TECHNOLOGY

in bullet point fashion, categorized into short term, I would highly recommend bly:Optimize to any
mid-term and long term goals and the concrete business that wants to run more efficiently and
steps needed to achieve them. more profitably.”

After just a few short months, Yardney was already We understand that many businesses are in this
seeing a return on their investment on not only same boat. You have technology that you have
the bly:Optimize they had performed, but also on deployed but you aren’t sure if they way you are
their business system. “It is refreshing to be able using it is the most effective for your business.
to see live data.” Chris later told us. “Prior to the That is exactly why a service like bly:Optimize is
bly:Optimize, the data we were working with was necessary.
potentially 2 months old!” Chris feels they have
gained in the utilization of their Sage 100 system If you think that you could benefit from
and are up to 40% system utilization and climbing optimizing your systems and work-flows
as they work with Debbie to implement her take 10 minutes and do a gut-check with our
recommended next steps. bly:Optimize savings calculator at
Not only has system utilization been increased,
but their inventory is now 75% more accurate with
the implementation of bar code scanning software
and equipment. Manufacturing labor costs have
www.blythecom.com/optimize
now been standardized and are now being tracked
accurately and efficiently. New custom reports
are helping Chris and his teams see
in ‘real-time’ Key Performance
Indicators on a daily basis and
the company financials are being
produced on a timely basis. Overall,
the responsiveness of the system
due to the change in processes has
increased substantially.

“You don’t know what you don’t
know,” Chris explains, “It is great
to have someone like Debbie from
Blytheco come out, look at how you
are doing things, help you see what
you are not seeing and recommend
ways to leverage your current
system to help make your teams and
organization run smoother.”

“Blytheco is unique in that their
experts know so much about the
business end as well as the system.
When they applied this knowledge
in the bly:Optimize, it really helped
uncover some road blocks in
our system and processes, and


TECHNOLOGY

by Greg Went

What is implementation fatigue and how can you identify it
in your organization?

After most companies deploy ERP, CRM and HRMS systems, they are tired and burnt out after the initial
deployment. They never go back and refine the business process after the initial approach of “Get it in and
make it work so my employees can do their job”.

Companies rush through implementation to minimize business disruption as well as costs and time of
implementation. It is very important to go back and refresh the system and
the processes to be sure they are aligned with current business
objectives.

That is why we designed a service called
bly:Optimize to help companies overcome the
fatigue of their systems. It can be one of the
most effective tools for keeping your company’s
technology in tune with your goals.

bly:Optimize Methodology
• Interviews are conducted on-site with key
personnel from each functional department
• We talk to the staff about how they
perform their jobs today and the tools they
use, such as reports, import/export jobs, or
web interface software
• We gain an understanding of your goals
and recommend any tools you may need for
future growth
• We document the process of
each functional department and provide
recommendations to business process, work flow
and system controls. In addition, we identify if you
may benefit from additional training, the addition of a
new module, or an upgrade to a more current version so
that you can take advantage of new features that enhance
your business model.
To learn more, visit our website at

www.blytheco.com/optimize


COVERSTORY

What you are missing without an
integrated system?

A ccording to the
Aberdeen Group’s
2011 Study “Leveraging the 360-degree
by Alicia Anderson

Customer View to Maximize Up-Sell and
Cross-Sell Potential,” CRM is the link
between better business performance
and achieving “Best in Class” status.
That is all fine and well, but what does
that really mean?

When you have disparate solutions, not everyone in • 4.5%
your organization can see the life of the customer as is year-
transforms through your business. From the moment over-year
that someone raises their hand to speak to you improvement
about your product or service there should be views (decrease) in sales
at every level of how that hand raise transforms into cycle, compared to .5% worsening
a customer, which then transforms into an existing (lengthening) of the sales cycle for the
relationship where there can be many touches across industry average.
multiple teams. Billing, finance, service, and customer These are just some of the benefits
requests all come after that initial sale, but many times you can gain when having a complete
businesses are using different systems to track these view of your customer. This is a holistic
different actions, not to mention marketing touches approach to providing a complete,
and ongoing sales efforts. With all of those different accurate and integrated view of
ways of connecting with a customer – when your customers to improve satisfaction
systems are separate, things can get lost. and retention without losing sight of
customer profitability.
With modern technology, the new breed of ERP,
CRM and marketing automation tools are either tied For more information about how your
together with connective technology tools or come business can benefit from integration
all in one package. check out our white paper on
Business Beyond Constraints.
What does this “Best in Class” status mean? There
are three key criteria: You can find it here:
• 91% average customer retention rate, compared to http://bit.ly/10ArR9J
83% for the industry average.
• 5.1% increase in year-over-year quota attainment
compared to .5% for the industry average.


CORPORATEFINANCE

by Ginger Kittinger

Are you really making money?
What techniques do you use to know if you are really making money? We know it
takes a deep knowledge of your organization, but what else?
We got some great insight from Beverly Solomon, who started as a model and then became an account
executive in sales and marketing for Diane von Furstenberg, Revlon and Ralph Lauren. She now runs
a successful international art and design firm. She gave us some straight-forward, non-nonsense tips:

• Know the difference between gain and loss in all things.
• Understand the basics of buying, selling and trading.
• Keep accurate records of all expenses and all income. And constantly evaluate these figures.
• Know what your goals are for both your business and for your life and evaluate constantly if you are
progressing toward those goals.
• Know and understand the concept of value in all things. Cheap is not always a good buy.
• Understand the dynamics of the broader economy. For example what does a 16 trillion dollar deficit
mean to future inflation, taxes, national security, etc.
• Distinguish between political realities and political rhetoric. Understand that often economic reality
and political propaganda are miles apart.
• Do not get caught up in fads/economic bubbles. Stick to economic basics and trust your instincts.
• Do not get caught up in tax schemes cooked up by accountants. Pay your taxes as accurately as you
can to avoid future negative surprises.
• Understand the power of compound interest---both positive and negative.
• Do not over leverage your assets. This is the downfall of so many businesses. Stick to traditional
money raising methods -- loans based on past performance, investors,etc. Do not put your current
assets at risk to over extend.
• Understand the difference between real, tangible assets and funny money (unfortunately our
government does not).
You can learn more about Beverly on her website at www.beverlysolomon.com. She has received
coverage in a number of financial publications and was given official recognition by the State of Texas
for her business savvy.


CORPORATEFINANCE

RiskCLOUD and the

by Alicia Anderson

T he cloud has clear benefits for companies who recognize the power of software-as-a-
service to provide greater access to the latest technology and functionality with fewer
investments in infrastructure. But like any technology, risk must be factored into the equation.
Early perceptions of the Cloud were that security and What can you do to mitigate risk?
privacy were questionable. Many users believed that The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is the cloud
it was a risk to have sensitive company data outside provider’s answer to these concerns – it is blueprint
of company firewalls. Fears included the inability of and a warranty for cloud services. The SLA should
providers to prevent users from accessing data. High- explicitly establish the provider’s criteria for security,
profile breaches of Google, Salesforce.com, and including:
others have reinforced the idea that the cloud is a
security risk. • Availability/uptime statistics
• Redundancy specifications – data mirroring
However, technology has matured and perceptions
and failover capabilities, often through multiple
are changing. In fact, in certain situations, the cloud
geographically separated data centers
may be more secure than on-premise systems.
• Performance/speed expectations
Large-scale cloud providers focus on security as a • Security and data privacy – encryption practices for
core component of their solution. In fact, their entire storage and transmission of data
brand hinges on their ability to ensure optimal system
uptime and keep data properly safeguarded. They • Disaster recovery standards
retain dedicated security expertise at a level not • Change management process – standards for
affordable to most small and midsized businesses. updates or new services
Their CTO, IT architects and network administrators • Exit strategy for customers who are leaving the
strategize and monitor the security of their solution. provider
They are chartered to ensure robust redundancy,
• Certifications such as PCIDSS, SAS 70 Type II, and
back-ups, and data controls, while also addressing
compliance with EU-US Safe Harbor regulations
newly arising security challenges.
- all important indicators of a cloud ERP vendor’s
On the other hand, many small to medium-sized commitment to security.
businesses struggle to implement and maintain best Your organization may also consider putting a
practices for security and redundancy. Their IT staff comprehensive Governance, Risk, and Compliance
is often tasked with supporting broader businesses (GRC) Strategy in place that includes methods to
needs and struggle to monitor and mitigate emerging smooth the transition to the cloud and set standards
threats. Further, investments in full redundancy and for cloud system management. A GRC strategy helps
offsite regular back-ups can be difficult to fund and avoid conflicts and gaps in managing organizational
support. An environment such as this can be at a risk, not just in technology, but in all areas of the
greater risk of security breaches and outages than a business that encounter risk and compliance
cloud system. challenges.

The cloud’s dependency on the internet is a significant For more information about comparing cloud ERP
concern for cloud users. According to a 2012 report to on-premise ERP, read our new whitepaper “ERP
by the International Working Group on Cloud Comparison Guide for Your Business Lifecycle,”
Computing Resiliency, cloud computing services are available now.
down an average of 7.5 hours per year, with large
providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, www.blytheco.com/erp-comparison/default.asp
and Apple iCloud experiencing high-profile outages
last year.


CORPORATEFINANCE

The New Role
of the By Alicia Anderson

CFO
T he CFO has it rough. As the steward of a company’s finances, his or her
responsibilities are only growing during a challenging business environment, and
the stakes are ever higher.

In a survey of CFOs in the US, Italy, and France recently companies like EMC, TJX, and Sony have increased
conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) concerns, and the growing influence of Software-as-
and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, a-Service, or “Cloud” solutions cannot be denied,
CFOs are pessimistic. The CFO Optimism Index though it presents its own set of security concerns.
dropped eight points from the previous quarter, the Security is not just a problem to toss over the fence
lowest since Q2 2009. They also don’t look for things to the IT department anymore. The demand for
to improve anytime soon, predicting less growth than data breach insurance continues to increase among
the previous quarter in several key business areas small businesses in particular. CFOs must devote
over the next year. appropriate funding to preventing problems, or deal
with the fallout if breaches do occur.
The challenge to today’s CFO is to get strategic,
using their expertise and tools to influence the Globalization presents challenges to companies of
business positively. CFOs can play a hugely important all sizes. Working across boundaries and competing
role in enhancing a company’s business performance with overseas businesses has changed the business
and facilitating growth, but must also keep a sharp environment, and the internet has made it relatively
eye on managing risk. Several of the key issues that easy to do business internationally. Creating supplier
plague CFOs today can be managed with effective relationships with overseas companies brings its own
technology. set of risks along with potential rewards. Shipping
and labor costs overseas continue to increase – many
CFOs in Crisis Mode factors must be weighed carefully to determine if
outsourcing is an option for your business.
CFOs have understandably been in crisis mode lately,
due to economic volatility, unemployment, uncertainty Changing regulations such as the IFRS (International
about taxes and inflation, regulatory changes, and so Financial Reporting Standards) are coming – its
many more issues confronting them. impacts will not only be felt in global companies – it is
likely to “trickle down” and influence existing GAAP
Information security is always a concern for company
standards.
finance leaders. Recent IT breaches in large


Human capital is also a concern of the CFO. Anticipating making support to your company’s leadership, in
and managing the costs of this important resource is the form of reports, dashboards, and other business
one of his or her primary tasks, and plenty of challenges intelligence platforms. Work with management to define
accompany this role. The workforce is changing – one the information needs first, and then implement a system
of the biggest factors in rapid change is the Patient that enables your team to get those needs met without
Protection and Affordable Care Act, with its complex heavy customization.
benefits mandates. Additionally, in 2014, a FTE (full-
time employee) will be defined as anyone who works an Understanding customer performance, monitoring
average of 30 hours per week in a month. This law will credit, and effectively managing collections can help
have heavy repercussions on benefits costs, especially the CFO meet cash flow goals. Effective systems with
for retail, hospitality, and other industries that rely on bullet-proof adherence to accounting standards allow
part time workers. The CFO must manage uncertainty accounting teams to establish rules and processes, and
that accompanies these changes with the goal of to receive alerts when exceptions occur. Automation
understanding the compliance and benefits costs and also helps reduce the time and work needed to perform
implementing appropriate responses. reconciliations and journal entries, improving accuracy
and reducing costs and bringing needed discipline to
Cash flow optimization is a continuing challenge for the process.
the CFO, in these days of little available credit for the
small to mid-sized business. Customers are strapped, The CFO can also take an “operational” approach
so adjustments in Receivables expectations must be in an effort to maximize cash flow by optimizing sales
made. Dealing with increasing capital costs, particularly and production. Sales leaders and CFOs can work to
energy, is a major concern particularly for the distribution establish processes to help teams close more business
business. CFOs must also work with the sales team on faster and drive more sales from existing customers.
strategies to get accurate sales forecasts and drive CRM applications help them manage these processes
revenues. efficiently, serving as a repository for data over the
lifetime of a customer and providing tools and platforms
Automate to Succeed that motivate and empower sales teams.

A June, 2010 report from IBM called “The New Value Manufacturing automation can have positive impacts
Integrator, Insights from the Global Chief Financial for the CFO. Revenue is generated more quickly
Officer Study” defines the best practices of leading when production is able to automate to speed order
CFOs who outperform the competition across several processing and make the best use of available resources.
measurements, including bottom line, income statement, Automating time tracking and data collection can help
cash flow, and efficiency metrics. These leading CFOs you understand and manage productivity levels in your
recognize the value of technology in helping them company. Warehouse management systems can reduce
manage risk: “According to the report, value integrators loss and improve order accuracy. Tracking supplier
express a heightened interest in using technology to performance metrics enables companies to build critical
further increase data accuracy, streamline information partnerships with suppliers. The ability to analyze costs
delivery and develop a richer base of information for and profitability of production on customized dashboards
deeper insights into managing risk.” enables the CFO to adapt quickly to changes and target
areas for improvement in the business, and to share this
Today’s ERP systems provide the CFO with the tools data easily with others who need it.
he or she needs to lead and succeed. The availability
of advanced systems to the middle market has Workforce management technology can benefit the
brought formerly enterprise-level features to smaller CFO in areas of benefits costs, recruiting, training, and
businesses, and integration across the enterprise with minimizing the risks associated with company teams.
sales, marketing, production, shipping, and HR means HRMS (Human Resources Management Systems) can
more and better information for making business more provide the intelligence required for planning, while
efficient. What are some ways that business management maintaining employee data, managing Payroll and
technology empowers the CFO? benefits enrollment, tracking time and attendance,
enabling efficient recruiting, and much more. They
The 21st century CFO’s role includes providing decision- provide the security of knowing that tax updates and
(Continued on page 22)


CORPORATEFINANCE
(Continued from page 21 - The New Role of the CFO)

filings and compliance issues are taken care of in the Today’s CFO should get involved in IT decisions, since
system, minimizing the risk presented by frequent they bring a valuable perspective to the evaluation
changes to laws and requirements. Benefits enrollment and implementation process. Finance can be a
tools that allow employees to apply online, then strategic partner to IT, helping them focus on projects
transfer that data directly to benefits companies, that improve business processes and result in greater
makes the benefits process less error-prone. business insights. CFOs also need to be involved in
order to keep an eye on risk: IT projects and system
What about the CFO and the “cloud”? Internet- changes present their own set of inherent risks. Do the
based applications bring major benefits for business, research and work with a partner who understands and
including greater scalability speed, and flexibility, not helps you manage the risk.
to mention cost savings, but, of course, the Cloud
brings its own set of risks as well. Security and reliability Risk is inherent in the CFO office, but finance leaders
are foremost among the risks. Fortunately, the move can and should identify risks and put procedures in
to the Cloud can be strategic and incremental, thanks place to manage them. Use automation to help create
to “connected services” that work with on-premise structure and discipline in your company to eliminate
applications. Online collections management and as many potential risks as possible, and to provide you
sales tax automation sites, for example, can help keep the information you need to deal with risk as it occurs.
overhead low while effecting vital controls. Web-based
systems that connect to software may provide the best
of both worlds for companies in transition, offering
the cost benefits of the cloud and the security and
checkpoints offered by on-premise systems.

We Make
EDI Painless
To learn more, join us for a webinar on May 22 at 2pm ET.
Contact us at 888.205.1531 to register.


BOOKREPORT
by Geni Whitehouse

I have been writing book reviews for this excellent magazine for the last two years. As I
write my last review, I think it is only fitting to go back to the beginning. I want to share
three books that have made a lasting impact on not only me, but my career. These books
are starring members of my reference library and their pages are both dog-eared and tea-
stained. While they have been in publication a while, their messages remain timely and
relevant.
Even a Geek Can Speak
| Joey Asher
This book by Joey Asher is one of the most powerful tools I have ever found. This book literally jumped off the
shelf of an Atlanta bookstore. For $15, it not only changed my approach to public speaking, it also formed the
basis of a friendship . It inspired me to write its sequel which I decided had to be called “Even a Nerd Can be
Heard” ten years before I wrote the book. Asher is an Atlanta attorney who spends his time helping would be
presenters find and share their maximum “you”. He covers everything you need to know to make a winning
presentation. If you are in business, you need to read this book and share it with everyone you know.

Managing by the Numbers
| Chuck Kremer and Ron Rizzuto with John Case
This book unlocks the mysteries of financial accounting for the small investment of $18. It should
be the primer that resides on the desk of every business owner and should be stocked in the
hundreds by anyone in finance or accounting. If you are an accountant, you need to hand this book
out to all of your non-accounting friends and co-workers. By chapter 4, your co-workers will have
gained a level of understanding that will permanently alter the way you interact. Get multiple copies
of this book now.

The Universal Language of DISC | Bill Bonnstetter and Judy Suiter
It is provided through Target Training International,Ltd. The most expensive of the books
reviewed, at a list price of $125, it is worth every penny of your investment.
The book explains DISC which is “the universal language of observable
behavior.” By understanding DISC, it is possible to improve your ability to
communicate and to form lasting connections. Insight into different styles
and a willingness to adapt your own style can lead to success in every area
of your life. Read this book and then take the online assessment. You will be
amazed at what you can learn about yourself and others around
you.

About Geni Whitehouse
A self-proclaimed nerd, former technology executive and CPA firm partner, Geni Whitehouse
has made it her mission to eliminate boring from the world of presentations. The author
of “How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting: 52 Ways Even a Nerd Can Be Heard,” Geni
believes her mission as a presenter is to understand a subject well enough to approach it
from an angle that will not only educate her audiences—but will resonate with them. Learn
more at www.evenanerd.com.


INDUSTRYNEWS

Ninja Maneuvers Used
by Growing Businesses
by Avalara

G iven the realities facing companies in the post-recession economy, growing businesses and
those who lead them require the skills and abilities of a ninja: stealth, speed, and efficiency.
These maneuvers enable growing businesses to adapt resources (i.e., staff, production, sales efforts)
to meet market demands.

Yet there is a fine line between intelligent adaptation, and total chaos. What sets flexible and
resilient companies apart from their undirected counterparts is their ability to build infrastructure
to accommodate change, rather than reacting helter-skelter to fluctuations in supply and demand.

There are three key maneuvers growing businesses use to achieve above-average growth and
higher revenues: outsourcing, automating and using cloud
technology.

Ninja systems or processes (i.e.,
Maneuver #1 payroll, sales tax, IT) that
Growing Businesses utilize more resources than
Know What to Outsource the business can afford.
1

Some processes ta
It is no secret that companies ke significant time,
utilize outsourcing to meet either because of lack
the fluctuating demands of the of expertise or utilizing
marketplace. What is often less manual processes when a
obvious is determining when to
outsource and which elements of
the business to handle this way. The
faster automated process
is available. 2
following three steps are often used Step 3. Understand the
by growing businesses to make crucial impacts of not outsourcing
outsourcing decisions: Once you’ve identified your
Step 1. Identify core competencies company’s core competencies
and pinpointed time drains,
Take a look at areas of your business where your company you’ll have a better sense of which
sees a high return for a reasonable investment in time. functions to outsource. In weighing
These are likely your company’s core competencies. the pros and cons of outsourcing, it’s
Identifying core competencies helps growing businesses important to understand the impacts of
determine which resources to outsource and which to not doing so. Potential negative impacts of failing to
keep in-house. If you’re really good at a process, task or outsource include lower customer satisfaction, revenue
activity, and if it’s core to your business, keep it in-house. loss, employee turnover, and greater risk exposure.
If it isn’t core to your business, consider outsourcing.
Ninja Maneuver #2
Step 2. Identify time drains Growing Businesses Automate

Once you’ve identified the core competencies of Unlike the automation introduced by Henry Ford
your business, the next step is to identify any internal (assembly lines), today’s automation uses technology


to streamline key business processes. resources
From inventory management to sales t h a t
to finance, automation gives companies t h e could be
ninja agility, flexibility, and efficiency in a still-recovering u s e d
market. The alternative – handling these systems m o r e

3
manually – can stymie rather than promote growth. efficiently in
other areas.
Growing businesses leverage technology to streamline
business processes. The more streamlined their Automating sales tax
business, and the more they outsource processes and using the AvaTax
expertise outside their competency, the more time suite of products
and energy they have to be strategic, focus on what lowers audit risk
they do best, and, ultimately, grow their business. and decreases
u n p l a n n e d
Ninja Maneuver #3 penalty expenses.
Growing Businesses Look to the Cloud Companies that
partner with Avalara
In the past several years, many companies have turned get a simplified sales tax process
to cloud-based computing solutions (those hosted and and guidance when it comes to sorting out taxability
operated on the web, versus those that are on-premise) rules and requirements. Avalara’s suite of products
rather than their larger and often more expensive replaces manual look-up tables, the need to stay on top
predecessors. Cloud- based solutions offer several tools of rules and regulations, substantially cuts down time
that other systems simply don’t: they automate updates to file and close the month, and gives you a system for
and integrations without having a Chief Technology exemption (reseller) certificate management. We do it
Officer handle time-consuming versioning and back- all. And when it comes to understanding and staying
ups and they are able to grow along with the computing in compliance with taxability rules, Avalara walks you
needs of growing businesses. Cloud- based solutions through the changing landscape of sales tax.
adapt more quickly to changes in operations and update
automatically without a staff person having to manually The AvaTax suite includes:
track any changes or iterations.
AvaTax Calc which provides address validation and
It used to be that in order to automate; growing delivers real-time sales tax calculations based on up-
businesses had to buy on-premise software that was to-date sales and use tax rules including: sourcing
expensive to buy and came with expensive rules, product taxability and jurisdiction
maintenance costs. It was a assignment.
tough choice to make. Now,
Cloud software has made AvaTax Certs is a complete
automation affordable and exemption certificate management
practical. For virtually any service. From wizard-driven online
business process or function, collection to associating the correct
there is a good bet that Cloud certificate with transactions, AvaTax
software exists to meet the need. Certs ensures you maintain compliance
This is especially true when it comes and reduce your audit risk.
to sales tax management.
AvaTax Returns reduces the time your company
Growing Businesses Use AvaTax. spends on sales tax return processing. AvaTax
Returns automatically processes e-file, hard-copy and
Avalara. An easy automation win for Streamlined Sales Tax returns for businesses of all sizes.
growing businesses.
But don’t just take our word for it.
As businesses grow, they’re likely to increase their sales
tax liability. Whether they hire contractors in a new state, Over 10,000 businesses have outsourced and automated
or create affiliate relationships in another, a business their sales tax management to AvaTax. Learn how your
might be liable to collect sales tax and not know it, or business can stay ahead of the curve with sales tax
do so incorrectly and risk penalties and time-consuming management by adopting ninja maneuvers. Download
audits. Manually figuring out accurate rates and keeping a free white paper at:
up with taxability and rule changes can be nearly
impossible. And handling it in-house drains employee www.avalara.com/bellwether


HUMANRESOURCES

Managing GEN-Y
employees by Ginger Kittinger and Donna Baeza

G eneration Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, is a large part of the workplace
today (being born in the 80s and 90s). Many people have formed opinions about
this group calling them entitled and narcissistic. A lot of seasoned managers just don’t
quite know how to work with Gen-Yers as they have a very different mindset from their
predecessors. We reached out to some industry experts and our Blytheco team and asked
– “What are the tips and tricks that you have learned to be successful managing GEN-Y
employees?”

Tom Armour, with High Return SelectionT, mentors GEN-Ys maintaining relationships. As a result, these young people
to provide real work experience to help them land jobs. Here have not had to develop fundamental skills that older
is what he has found over the last few years: generations take for granted.

• They are not all the same, so it’s counterproductive to In spite of these differences, however, he does not think that
categorize them into one bucket. companies need to change their corporate structure or culture
• Employers can swap stories and dwell on the negative just to accommodate these young workers. Sure, it’s great if a
folklore about millennials, much of which is untrue or they startup can build a new environment from the ground up that
can reach out and help them build careers. will make them comfortable, but he’s still not convinced that
this will provide the most productive setting in the long run.
• First you need to identify the ones that have a strong work
ethic, ability to learn quickly and the self-awareness to So, here are some tips from Alfred:
continually improve their game (these are the same traits
for every generation). • The key is to recognize that these young employees come
• When you have millennials with these traits you will see they to their jobs lacking essential “soft skills” and do not even
bring tremendous strengths to an organization. These are: know that they are unprepared for work. Managers need
energy, creativity, strong intention and desire to achieve. to recognize the lack of skills, and work with the employees
to build them. It can be as simple as making sure that all
• Finally, as a leader if you find great GenYers and are still new employees receive time management training.
having trouble mentoring them, look in a mirror and
change your methods. • Be careful to present praise in public, and criticize
constructively in private, as they are not likely to have the
emotional maturity that you expect from an adult.
High Return SelectionT helps companies improve profitability,
productivity and sales – you can learn more about his company • Work to communicate your expectations in detail, because
at www.highreturnselection.com when things go wrong, these workers are more likely to
react with frustration, anger, and fear.
Additional insight came to us from Alfred Poor, author of • On the positive side, strive to help them understand how
“7 Success Secrets that Every College Student Needs to their part fits into the broader company goals, because
Know.” they may not see the connection from their perspective.

He believes that there are some very good reasons why Alfred Poor is a member of the National Association of
young workers behave so differently than others did 20 or Colleges and Employers. You can learn more about him on
even 10 years ago. While some people cite the “everyone his website at www.alfredpoorspeaker.com
is a winner” culture and disparage “helicopter parents,” he
doesn’t believe that parents are all that different than they
were a generation ago. What has changed is that digital
communications have altered our ways of establishing and


In closing, here’s what our Blytheco team shared related employee’s
to helping to keep Gen-Y employees feeling valued within a budget (it
your organization: doesn’t have
to be a lot
• Trust your employees until there is a reason not to. of money)
Actions such as blocking social media site access at the to plan and
office says – “we don’t trust you”. rollout fun
• While formal reviews may be annual, performance events each
feedback and dialog should be a consistent and a month.
regular occurrence. Recognize contributions openly • Have high
and often – address issues as they arise and agree on standards
improvement strategies – include them in determining for both
the solution. management
• Make technology/tools a priority – cutting edge and employees.
technology is the norm to millennials – it is important to Have goals and
them at home – it is important to them at work. desired outcomes
tied to timelines
• They want a voice! Gen-Yers don’t just want to “do”
and ensure those
– they want to be involved in the process. They want
are met (within
to express ideas (i.e. mental creativity), be collaborative
flexible reason).
and be heard. Listen, they have some pretty great ideas!
Nothing is more
• Be flexible – millennials value flexibility in the workplace. demotivating for a young
If your environment is locked down with rules and professional than to work
regulations that doesn’t allow for some flexibility in under an unmotivated,
schedule or time off, then Gen-Yers will likely struggle unresponsive manager.
in your setting. Young professionals should
• Take their pulse be able to see how their
regularly – work directly impacts the
conduct employee organization.
engagement surveys
at least annually
to identify what isn’t
working and why, ask for
specific feedback and then
take action when feasible.
• Provide competitive
and creative employee
benefits – this will mean
different things to different
employee groups, but
understanding what is
important to the majority of
employees is important
• Think differently about
meeting workspace.
Starbucks is a great
example of what millennials
consider a “social space
workspace” – think about creating
social spaces within your work
environment where employees can
gather, collaborate and have access to wi-fi
for their laptops and tablets.
• Create fun at work, and let your employee’s
define fun. Create fun committee’s and give your


HUMANRESOURCES

How Do You Handle Tough
Employee Situations? by Ginger Kittinger

B eing a manager has many aspects to the job and a very
important one is managing your employees. Most of the time
it is pretty straightforward, but how do you handle those tough
or awkward situations? We asked and got some great feedback
from Marv Russell, a leadership speaker, author and leadership
expert with 25+ years’ experience in human resources.


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