AA DS V

UEPRPTLI E
S IM
NEGNSTU PTPOL ETM
HEEN H
TOTO
U SHTO
OUNS TBOUNS IBNUESSI N
S EJSO
S UJ O
RUNR
ANL A L

REBOUND
ROUNDTABLE

Sponsored By:

The recession of 2009 proved chal-
lenging for businesses across almost ev-
ery sector of the economy. From the
credit crisis to new regulations, business
leaders were faced with difficult deci-
sions as they steered their companies
through uncertain times. To discuss
these challenges and the predicted re-
bound in 2010, we invited four execu-
tives to share their experiences, lessons
and predictions for the coming year.
Phil Morabito, CEO of Pierpont Commu-
nications moderated the discussion. Joining
the panel were:
Keith Cole
President and Chief Financial Officer,
Delcor USA
Ken Jones
Director, Center for Entrepreneurship,
University of Houston-Downtown;
Principal, KenJones Partners
Vince Foster
Chairman of the Board and
CEO, Main Street Capital Corporation

Curtis Brown
CEO, Rimkus Consulting Group
2RR Rebound Roundtable Week of December 18–24, 2009

From Left to Right

Front Row: John Beddow, Houston Business Journal;
Keith Cole, Delcor USA; Mark Miller, Strategies for
Success; Phil Morabito, Pierpont Communications;
Kenneth Guidry/PKF Texas.
Back Row: Gram Painter, Sterling Bank; Vince Foster,
Main Street Capital Corporation; Curtis Brown, Rimkus
Consulting Group; Ken Jones, Center for Entrepreneurship
University of Houston-Downtown.

MORABITO: We’re going to kick it
off with our first question. How
would you use this current eco-
nomic environment and impending
rebound that’s coming as a strate-
gic advantage for your business?
BROWN: Our industry sector is coun-
tercyclical where we’ve not seen a
downturn, per se. Our business has
grown over the past year, and we’ve
been very fortunate in that regard.
Some of our smaller competitors have
downsized so we’re looking at it as an
opportunity to grow by adding new
offices and adding to our services.
COLE: We’re trying to take market
share. For us it’s been laying a founda-
tion that will allow us to take advan-
tage when the market ticks up. We’re
in construction, following the new con-
struction cycle mostly for oil and gas.
It’s nice to get the foundation laid so
when you get the chance to execute,
you can, profitably. That’s where our
focus has been, from people to divi-
sions to how we operate and how we
bid. We’ve had time now to breathe
and actually take care of that.
FOSTER: You’d have to characterize
the current environment as highly op-
portunistic. If you’re able to survive
with your balance sheet intact and you
have some liquidity, everything out
there is for sale and on sale, and you
can really upgrade your staff. 2010 is
also the last time we’re going to see a
15 percent long-term capital gain rate
— it could be a banner year for M&A.
But you have to have liquidity and the
balance sheet.
JONES: I would like to take issue with
the phrase “impending rebound.” I
don’t think there is an impending re-
bound, and I don’t think the term will
be defined the same way it has in the
past. I don’t think anything will ever
be back to where it once was. The
pendulum has swung so far on the
debt side that it’s going to require a
totally different set of logistical re-
quirements to do the same thing. I
think it’s going to be a long, long time
because it hit so many sectors. I don’t
even know what the trigger will be for
the definition of when we’ve started
the rebound.
MORABITO: How did you seek to
benefit besides acquiring new em-
ployees? And what did you do to
maintain positive employee mo-
rale, spirit and productivity when
things were tough?
BROWN: The key thing we did was
communicate with our people. We
had some positive results to tell them,
so that was pretty easy for us to do.
They knew what was going on, so it
gave them a little bit more ease in
dealing with what they think might be
happening.
FOSTER: We had some downtime in
my business because we went a cou-
ple of quarters without making any
investments or buying any compa-
nies. I’ve always had an objective for
each of my people to be involved in a
not-for-profit, whether it’s education-
al or philanthropic. We took this year
to allow one of our guys to become
president of the KIP Academy board.
Another has a treasurer-type position
at Ronald McDonald House. I think it
develops their character, their person-
ality, their set of contacts, and it helps
our reputation in town. It’s better to
keep people busy than sitting around
wondering about their future. That
was the challenge of last year.
COLE: Our goal is to grow this compa-
ny, and it was an interesting year to try
to start that. Part of it was rebranding
with a new name, a new image and a
new logo. That really excited people.
Since our business is new construc-
tion and that cycle goes up and down,
there were some layoffs. But we’ve
been able to hire some of them back
as things pick up. Everyone is seeing
the positive end and it was just a brief
blip for their lives.
And also with the downtime, you can
spend more time and money to de-
velop your employees and show them
that they’re a part of the future that
you have coming.
JONES: I’ve got 500 students and ev-
erybody knew somebody who had
been laid off or lost their job. There’s
great concern with those coming into
the job market who have to compete
with the folks who have been laid
off. The bar for competition has been
raised, and I think it increases the ac-
countability requirements that people
have to prove their worth.
The fear factor runs pretty rampant
depending on the industry.
MORABITO: What have you done
in a leadership role to positively
impact your business as we look
toward this upcoming 2010 recov-
ery?
COLE: It’s laying that foundation so you
can take advantage of the rebound.
We’ve been aggressive in changing the
way we sell, how we brand and how
we market — things we’ve never done
before. When the market is down, you
have to be aggressive. The company
won’t be the same, it’s going to grow
beyond what it used to be. As the
economy starts to tick up, the fruits of
that labor should pay off.
BROWN: I’ve tried to lead by example.
I’ve gone out and seen a lot more cli-
ents on a national basis and tried to
have a positive impact with those cli-
ents so they will stay with us for the
long-term.
FOSTER: I’ve decided to get a lot more
involved in the legislative activities
that impact my business and my share-
holders.
I try to get involved with writing to
our congressmen and senators, trying
to advance some of the small business
funding legislation that’s out there. I
started getting involved in our trade
association and led a trading seminar.
I normally don’t like to train my com-
petition, but since we get government
funding, we need visibility and credi-
bility with the government. Sometimes
you need to play ball and train the
competition.
Week of December 18–24, 2009 Rebound Roundtable 3RR

JONES: There’s a lot of new market op- benefitted us.

portunity. I went to the conference for
the Action Bank. There are lots of new
players trying to figure out what new
markets they may be able to go after,
as well as the incentives that the gov-
ernment is trying to provide. There’s
some upswing there.
MORABITO: Let’s get into some
details for next year. Is anybody
planning on doing anything with
their pricing for next year?
COLE: From our point of view, we’re
quoted. Our ability to raise prices is
only as good as our competitors’ will-
ingness to do the same, so you never
know what’s going to happen. When
you come out of a downturn, there’s a
period when people are just trying to
buy work to keep their doors open. If
they made it this far in the downturn,
they’ve got to go three, maybe six,
months before something really ticks
up. They’re going to just try to survive
and then perhaps you will see prices
come back up.
JONES: I’m seeing a lot of situations
where the sales cycle has elongated.
What used to take three months now
takes five, and what used to take six
now takes eight. Companies are start-
ing to adopt shorter sales cycle product
mixes with what their run-of-the-mill
product might be. And they’re adding
more features and pizazz to the prod-
uct to keep their prices where they
were, but there’s still margin degrada-
tion.
FOSTER: I think a lot of companies are
redefining what was core to them and
taking a broader view of where their
products or services may have a mar-
“I think a lot of
companies are redefining
what was core to them
and taking a broader view
of where their products
or services may have a
market.”
-Vince Foster
ket. That might result in some repric-
ing because you’re in different mar-
kets. I have billion-dollar LBO firms
call me about providing $30 million of
financing for one of their companies
because they can’t find it anywhere
else. So I’m using the same pricing,
but I feel like I’m taking a lot less risk.
I’m dealing with more sophisticated
counter-parties.
As you start shifting your target mar-
kets, you have to rethink who you’re
partnering with in order to not get
out-negotiated.
BROWN: Our pricing strategy really
hasn’t changed that much in the last
year. And it’s really driven to a large
extent by the situations that our clients
are in during this recession. Some of
them are doing well and some aren’t
doing so well. For the ones that are,
we’re able to raise our prices a little
bit, and for those that are not, we’re
trying to hold the line.
MORABITO: Let’s talk about spend-
ing some money. Do any of the
companies here at the table have
any plans for capital equipment or
technology purchases?
FOSTER: We’re rethinking real estate
because a lot of our companies leased
during the boom. We would have
been better off owning this real estate
and controlling the destiny of our oc-
cupancy, because as I go from big to
small, there’s volatility in our portfo-
lio. One of the more intractable items
is that these lease obligations are re-
ally hurting our flexibility, so I found a
top real estate advisory firm in Austin
to help us. There were a lot of valuable
lessons learned during the last year.
BROWN: We see some unique things
with regard to real estate as well. We
lease thirty offices across the country,
so we’ve gone to a real estate adviser
as well. They’ll negotiate a longer-
term deal for less per square foot
because prices across the country are
typically down now. That has actually
COLE: Assuming that most companies
probably put off any purchases over
the last year or two, you’re going see
natural demand increase. I think most
companies will buy more, but if prices
are suppressed, what do you do in the
middle to get the same return? We
can buy things we used to rent or lease
and start getting efficiencies from a
cost point of view back into your in-
come statement. I think all compa-
nies are going to look at some way to
squeeze more out of the middle.
JONES: It gets back to that four-letter
word: cash. If you have cash, there are
some great equipment buys out there.
If you want to upgrade your shop or
production facility and you have the
cash to pull that off, you’re getting
60 or 50 cents on the dollar for brand-
new equipment.
MORABITO: What are your plans in
marketing and communications in
the upcoming year? Are you plan-
ning on being a bit more visible
than you have been in the past ?
BROWN: We’re planning to hire a
PR firm to help capture more market
share. Internally, we looked at how we
communicate among our salespeople
because we think we can share and
grow more leads within our company.
Externally, we rolled out several new
e-mail marketing campaigns on a na-
tional basis that have been very effec-
tive. We’ll continue to do traditional
advertising in different publications
that fit our industry.
FOSTER: There’s one thing you need
to think about communication in this

Our business model is simple:

we know how to influence
the way people think.
PIERPONT COMMUNICATIONS combines the very best in marketing expertise with
dynamic media relations counsel. We will help you achieve and exceed your business
objectives. Fortune 500 companies and high-growth entrepreneurs alike turn to us
to help them launch, thrive and adapt.

We can do the same for you. A simple call is all it takes. Please visit our website at
www.piercom.com

PUBLIC RELATIONS • INVESTOR RELATIONS • PUBLIC AFFAIRS • MARKETING

Houston 713 627- 2223 Austin 512 448 - 4950 Dallas 214 217- 7300 San Antonio 210 372-9200
4RR Rebound Roundtable
uncertain environment. It’s not the
left-hand side of your balance sheet,
but the right; communicating with
your lenders and your capital provid-
ers.
We’re trying to reach out to our share-
holders, communicating what we do in
a way people can understand. We’re
looking at hiring an IR firm that can
help us communicate with the people
who are providing us with capital.
You have to stay on top of your rela-
tionship with your capital providers.
I think that’s a valuable lesson every-
one’s learned.
JONES: There’s a phrase I like —
co-opetition. People are trying to fig-
ure out how much it costs to land a
new customer and they’re JV’ing with
others that are complementary to their
business — not necessarily in direct
competition — so they can spread the
cost for adoption and try to increase
their yield. Everybody knows it’s a
buyer’s market now, and that makes a
big difference as far as what the mar-
keting message has to be.
MORABITO: A lot of companies
reduced their costs and trimmed
things down. What areas did you
target? Did you uncover some cost
centers that you reduced in this
last year and are you going to keep
them down?
COLE: We did a lot of that. I think you
have to be responsible to your share-
holders and investors. There’s a point
at which the market downturn goes
on long enough that you start cutting
into your ability to rebound. I’ve told
everybody we’ve cut enough. Your in-
vestor may not like that, but if they’re
long-term it shouldn’t be an issue. In
the downturn, you can get rid of some
dead weight, so to speak. But you
don’t want to get rid of the best peo-
ple. We’ve been able to hold on to our
Don’t think you need to pay attention to social media? Think again.
When it comes to social media, mar-
keting and communications depart-
ments are at a crossroads, trying to de-
cide if they can afford to pay attention
to social media. But the real question
is: Can you afford not to pay attention
to social media?
What many people do not realize is
their brands and industries often al-
ready have an active and vibrant social
media presence. On LinkedIn, Face-
book, and Twitter, your customers are
talking about you and your company.
Do you know what they are saying? Is
it positive?
If you can’t answer these questions,
you need to be concerned. Social media
is paying attention to our businesses,
and it’s time we join the conversation
– or risk losing big time.
Below are four major reasons why
you need a social media campaign to-
day:
Social media allows you to easily
– and affordably – promote yourself
“I’m seeing some
companies around
the country offer their
employees a choice –
layoffs or everyone can go
to 32 hours. That’s a tough
decision.”
-Ken Jones
best people.
FOSTER: I sit on a number of public
company boards and the knee-jerk re-
action is to suspend the 401(k) match
because it’s a huge number. I went the
opposite way and froze senior execu-
tive salaries and cut out cash bonuses.
When you do that, it’s a lot easier to
have very modest bonuses for every-
one else because you did what you said
you were going to do to yourself. On
the other hand, I asked our board if we
could make a supplemental above the
normal match contribution because I
want to signal to the people that we’re
here for the long-term.
With respect to health care benefits,
we had the Rolls-Royce of health care
plans and we looked at it. We found
out what was market and very quickly
gravitated toward that.
One of the more important things we
did was implement an internship pro-
gram where we brought these kids in
on a rolling, 90-day, modestly paid,
post-graduate intern program. Al-
most like a special-projects person.
I’m bringing in the top kids from the
honors college at 15 bucks an hour. I’ll
probably rotate three or four through
as a thought leader. Collectively, your
company and staff have a wealth of
knowledge and experience that no
one else has. Social media allows you
to not only leverage and promote that
expertise to your target audiences, but
also create an exciting conversation
surrounding it. It will allow you to be
positioned as an authority in your field,
as well as being an active participant in
the industry by encouraging new ideas
and innovation.
Social media is replacing the rolodex
and becoming the new way to net-
work. People do business with people
they know. Increasingly, that means
people they know online. The stack of
cards on your desk is worthless unless
you pick up the phone and call some-
one. But your online followers, friends
and connections are an active and inte-
grated part of a community that grows
every day. An added bonus: engaging
in social media gives you an inexpen-
sive, easy and casual way to tell people
more about you and your business on
a daily or weekly basis.
Social media allows you to better
this year and we’ll get the equivalent
of a full-time employee, but I’m not
taking on that fixed overhead. That
has been a great source of talent for
us.
JONES: We’re doing a lot of work
along those lines with a lot of franchi-
sors — I offer them free labor in ex-
change for a piece of the action and
the students get resume enhance-
ments. That’s worked out pretty well.
I’m seeing some companies around the
country offer their employees a choice
— layoffs or everyone can go to 32
hours. That’s a tough decision.
BROWN: We made some cost cuts with
a few employees we had to lay off.
One of the things we focused on was
productivity because to some extent
we’ve had to hold our prices, so our
margins are getting squeezed a little
bit. We’ve worked hard at getting our
productivity up, and we continue to
work hard at that.
MORABITO: This last year was a
real challenge for sales forces.
They had to work harder and sales
cycles got longer. What does ev-
understand – and see firsthand – how
you are being perceived. The online
community plays a huge role in shap-
ing your brand, whether you like it or
not. Declaring yourself to be innova-
tive and groundbreaking is not up to
you. Instead, manage your brand by
developing a relationship with those
who actively engage in it through
blogs and social networks. Ask them
what they think, and take their re-
sponses seriously.
Social media can be your lifeline in
the case of crisis or misinformation.
Social media and online communi-
ties not only champion your service or
product, but your industry as well. It is
in your best interest to make sure they
have all the correct and pertinent facts
related to your company, regardless
of whether or not there is a crisis. If
you are not monitoring your brand on-
line, then you cannot take action to fix
any incorrect information, or support
your brand during a public relations
emergency. And don’t be too confi-
dent – incorrect and negative informa-
tion about your brand may already be
Week of December 18–24, 2009
erybody think they’re going to do
with their sales force?
BROWN: Since we had growth in 2009,
we’re going to keep on doing what
we’ve been doing. We’ll tweak it here
or there a little bit, and do a bit more
training next year. We’re bringing in
a companywide CRM (consumer rela-
tionship management) program which
will roll out to all of our salespeople.
JONES: I’m seeing a shift away
from base-plus, to more of an
eat-what-you-kill with a higher per-
centage. But then they have a mana-
gerial problem because sometimes
that person deems himself as not really
working for the company, so you have
a difficult time from a managerial side.
It’s an interesting trade-off.
FOSTER: In my business, the people
who bring deals to us are generally
the smaller investment bankers, busi-
ness brokers, cell sight intermediaries,
whatever you want to call them. And
they, like almost every other industry,
have trade association meetings, in Ve-
gas, Orlando, wherever.
We found that we could attend even
though we’re not a member of that
organization. If you pay a sponsorship
fee, you can host a breakfast or happy
hour or continuing education and you
can train them. The associations are at
the local, state, national and even in-
ternational level. It’s a powerful tool,
so allocating some capital toward that
goes a long way.
COLE: I took all the associations we
should be involved in and weren’t,
then took all the executives aside and
said “you get this one, you get that
one, you get that one.” Every month,
go to the meeting, participate and be
active, because you need to do that re-
gardless. In any economy, it’s good to
out there, waiting
to be found. You
need to protect
yourself against it.
Social media
is already taking
an interest in you
and your business.
Move forward and
meet this inter-
est head on. Start
tracking your
company’s online Brian Block
presence today. Account
You may be sur- Executive
prised what you Pierpont
learn. Communications
Brian Block is an
account executive at Pierpont Com-
munications, Inc. You can contact him
at bblock@piercom.com or on Twitter
(@PierpontCom or @BriGuyBlock). To
learn more about Pierpont and how
it helps its clients leverage social me-
dia in effective communications plans,
please visit www.piercom.com or call
(713) 627-2223.
Week of December 18–24, 2009 Rebound Roundtable 5RR

be part of your industry associations. people learned the hard way.

You’ll hear things you may not hear of
otherwise. COLE: For all the suppliers or ven-
You’ve got to sell your way out of re- dors that we use, I want them to be
cession, so we’ve revamped our entire long-term partners. That goes for
sales approach. We’ve spent a lot of
time from CRM systems to everything
“The wrong person can banks as well, because they tend to
judge you at this point in time. I think
else to track and monitor down to a
micro level. I think a trade association
cost you a fortune.” the regulators have gone too far and
it has actually stymied any recovery
is a great place to start. -Keith Cole because the banks aren’t able to lend
when they want to.

MORABITO: So, you upgraded your
sales force during this period and
took an opportunity to really see
who the performers were?
BROWN: Yes, we continue to do that
on a regular basis. We require our
salespeople to put together a weekly
marketing report. Our national man-
ager of sales is very good at looking at
everybody’s report to make sure that
we’re getting the right amount of calls
out per person, because the more calls
you make the more business you’re go-
ing to get in the door. It’s a numbers
game so we try to hit those high num-
bers. That makes a big difference for
us.
FOSTER: We have a flat organization,
and I can tell people to do stuff until
I’m blue in the face, but they’re going
to do what I do. If I’m going to trade
associations and calling on people and
giving speeches, then they will too. If
I just direct them to do that, then sit
in my office and play on the Internet,
that’s what they’re going to do, too. I
think it starts at the top.
COLE: I keep telling our guys that a
company may know of you, but when
a project comes across their desks, they
may have forgotten about you. The
more times you’re in front of them,
the more they’ll think of you.
FOSTER: We hired a person to give
us a training session on how to inter-
view.
In the past, two of us would go to
dinner with the candidate. We’d eat,
drink, talk about ourselves and have a
great time, and the next day, we’d try
to figure out if he was a good guy or
not. The consultant said to do it one-
on-one in the office, ask open-ended
questions and look for consistency. It
was very beneficial.
JONES: I don’t think many companies
nowadays have enough surface area
between the people in their organiza-
tion and their marketplace. They are
one, two or three people too depen-
dent. It creates the tail starting to wag
the dog.
BROWN: If you’re trying to hire a
new salesperson, go for a salesperson.
We’re an engineering company and we
work with attorneys, insurance people
and corporations. In the past, we tried
to hire people in those particular in-
dustries and convert them into sales-
people. What works better is to go out
and find a salesperson and train them
in our industry.
MORABITO: We talked a little bit
about access to capital. What is
everybody looking for their bank
or banks to do for them in this up-
coming year? What are your ex-
pectations?
FOSTER: In this environment, the banks
get to determine what you’re going to
do for them, not vice versa. I think
you have to bundle the services you
require and offer that as a package to
the bank and not just view the bank
as a commodity to shop your loan to
the lowest provider. When things get
tough, they’re going to remember that
you treated them as a commodity and
are going to treat you as a commod-
ity.
That’s how I think you can get hurt.
It’s tough to have a long-term banking
relationship. But if you can do that,
it will really pay off as I think a lot of
FOSTER: I think a defense against that
is to have as many points of contact as
possible at the organization. Don’t just
rely on your loan officer since the good
ones get picked off, and you get some-
one reassigned to you. If you can meet
the credit guys, they’re the ones who
really call the balls and strikes.
JONES: But I don’t think it’s as pricing
dependent as relationship dependent,
because rates are relatively low.
BROWN: We’ve had a long-term re-
lationship with our bank and they’ve
been a tremendous market for us over
the years. And we want to keep that
going because they’ve been a source
of capital for us to do several things.
We’re looking for them to be that
source of capital as we grow into the
future and expand in even more cities.
FOSTER: If you think of a life cycle of
a company, you start out and you’re
angel funded and not even bank quali-
fied yet. At some point, maybe you go
public and become an S&P 500 com-
pany. It’s rare to find a single finan-
cial institution that fits your entire life
cycle. You’re going to have several
relationships during the course. And
you could shrink or grow faster than

The fit that’s right.

At PKF Texas, knowing our clients is knowing us.
www.pkftexas.com/testimonials

“Over the last 13 years, we have worked with

Byron to ensure our company makes prudent
financial decisions regardless of the economic
environment.”

In these unprecedented times, you need an unprecedented

relationship that will wear well through time. Someone
who knows you, grows with you and can advise you.
Work with a firm who never left the middle market. Todd Stewart Byron Hebert, CPA, CTP
Vice President Director, Entrepreneurial Advisory Services
The choice is yours. GulfWinds International PKF Texas

Call Byron Hebert or Karen Love of PKF Texas today

at 713.860.1400 or visit us on the Web at www.pkftexas.com
6RR Rebound Roundtable Week of December 18–24, 2009

they’re shrinking or growing and all of discerning.

a sudden it’s just not a good fit. Or you
move internationally and you need FOSTER: I think 2010 will be better than
someone who can service you in Hol- ‘09, and I think each quarter will proba-
land. “I think our opinion is bly get a little bit better. I think it’s go-

MORABITO: What do you antici-

pate will be different in your hir-
ing practices next year? Will you
be cautious? Will you be aggres-
sive knowing that there are a lot
of good people out there in the
marketplace? What are you going
to be looking for in candidates in
2010?
BROWN: It depends on the markets and
situations. We have a very good human
resources department, so we’re going
to continue to use it to find the top tal-
ent across the country. When we find
somebody good, we know in our busi-
ness we can keep them busy. When we
find them, we’ll hire them.
COLE: The wrong person can cost you
a fortune. Our theme and mantra has
been to hire the best and brightest, giv-
en our size and industry. It goes beyond
money because I can’t pay as much as
Shell or Chevron for a certain project
manager, but I can offer things they
can’t.
You can train someone in the specifics
of your industry as long as they have a
broad understanding of their job. An
engineer can be an engineer in lots of
different companies, or a project man-
ager can project manage a high-rise
building, my stuff or somebody else’s.
I’m after that core talent.
FOSTER: With the downturn in Wall
Street, I get these Harvard MBA types
who grew up in New York and want
to come to Houston to work for Main
Street all of a sudden. I’ve got to be
that we are coming out of
the recession and that’s go-
ing to be countrywide, not
just in Houston.”
-Curtis Brown
careful because I can get the most tal-
ented people now for the best price I
ever could and probably ever will. But
I’m not going to keep them. When
things turn around, they’re going to go
back to New York.
Are they going to be a good fit for me
for five or ten years? Once turnover sets
in, it can be pretty toxic if a lot of peo-
ple start leaving.
JONES: I couldn’t agree with you more.
Even if they’re in Houston looking, the
big risk is to hire over-qualified people
who are willing to settle because it’s a
supply-side base. Then they’re going
to turn around and flip on you. The
number two reason businesses fail is
employee turnover.
FOSTER: Not only does it cost to re-
place them, but I’ve given them some
training and more than likely they’re
going to compete with me. I’ve showed
them the secret sauce and they’re leav-
ing with the recipe. My best bet is with
U of H and the honors college. These
people are there for a reason. They’re
going to stay here. It’s a good value
proposition for us.
COLE: I also take a counterview, which
would be for a small to midmarket
company like us. If I can get a talented
project manager from a large compa-
ny who is hard on his luck right now
and if he’s only here for two years, we
could learn a lot from that person in
those two years. So maybe I don’t set
him up as vice president of my compa-
ny because you don’t want to have him
turn in two years. But we could benefit
from the fact that he or she needs a job
at that point. So there’s two sides to
everything in there.
MORABITO: We want you all to tell
us what you think is going to hap-
pen in Houston business in 2010.
JONES: Houston’s been affected across-
the-board by about seven percent or
so. But if you look at the Med Center,
it’s building. The oil patch has been up
and down, and I think everybody is just
a little bit smarter and a little bit more
ing to be a jobless recovery, and that’s
really going to hurt us. Small business
will lead us out, but if we can’t find a
way to get more jobs, it’s going to hurt
construction and real estate, and a lot
of things. The small business sector is
capital starved and I don’t see a way
out right now. So it will be better, but I
don’t think it’s going to be a lot better.
COLE: I agree that small business is
capital starved. From my point of view,
2010 ought to be better. I’m not think-
ing about just our business, but Hous-
ton as a whole. I think 2011 will be a
much better spot to be. There is quite
a bit of the speculative part of the price
of oil right now. If that holds it will
certainly help.
BROWN: I think our opinion is that we
are coming out of the recession and
that’s going to be countrywide, not just
in Houston. But we are coming out of
the recession and that’s going to be
a benefit for all businesses, including
ours. We have offices across the coun-
try and we see things loosening up a lit-
tle bit. We will continue to see growth
for the next couple of years.

The next wave of improvement to your business

There are few things I like about To my clients’ credit, they have Identify from your client base
this recession. Being a proponent made difficult decisions, done your “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”
of perpetual improvement in busi- more with less and kept their busi- customers. What can you do to
nesses, it is hard to get business ness strong. move the “B” and “C” customers
owners to talk about process im- Recently the conversation has to “A” customers? Can you move
provement and waste audits when shifted. You can only cut costs so your unprofitable “D” custom-
top-line revenues are growing, much. The top line of your business ers to your competitors? Have
much less performance-based com- eventually must carry the next wave this discussion at your annual
pensation and accountability of of improvement. New business will workshop. Your sales and busi-
management. I have had several of be harder to come by over the next ness development teams should
those conversations over the past few years. To grow, you will have be familiar with what makes a
12 to 15 months. to take business from your com- good, profitable customer. You
petitors. Now is the time to decide may have too many “D” compa-
I have seen clients: what type of customers you want nies in your client mix.
• Put in place innovative incen- going forward. Not all business is Byron Hebert
tives to remove waste and good business. Think about your As we start to find our way out Director of
produce bottom-line benefits best customers. This is an opportu- of the recession abyss think about Entrepreneurial
twice the cost of incentives. nity for you and your management ways to build your business with Advisory Services
team to develop a list of critical the right kind of customers. Hope- for PKF Texas
• Realize process improvement is factors characterizing a good cus- fully, you will begin to “guard the
necessary until the cost of the tomer for your organization. Client front door” and build a solid busi-
process exceeds the value of selection criteria is important and ness based on an “A” client port-
the improvement. will guide your sales team to ask folio.
the right questions to make sure
• Improve billing processes, reduc- future prospects are “good cus- Byron Hebert, CPA, CTP, is the Di-
ing days sales outstanding by as tomers.” With that information, rector of Entrepreneurial Advisory
much as 11 days for improved you can contact referral sources to Services for PKF Texas. He may be
cash flow of over $500,000. help identify and approach “good contacted at 713-860-1455 or bhe-
customers.” bert@pkftexas.com.
Week of December 18–24, 2009 Rebound Roundtable 7RR

Make a “Top Line” Recovery in 2010.

Review, Re-Rack and Revitalize Your Sales Force
“If you do what you have always
done, you will get what you have
always gotten” is a common business
adage. That may have been true in
the past, but you should only heed
this advice for 2010 if you want 2009
results!
Now is the time to review your
sales process and people. Do you
even have a defined sales process?
When is the last time you evaluated
the skill sets and sales behaviors that
your people possess? This is the time
to implement a sales behavior assess-
ment to evaluate what behaviors you
may need to model or change.
Next re-rack your people. Do you
have the right people in the right
job? Have you promoted your best
sales person to sales manager and
are wondering why your sales fig-
ures have declined? Your sales man-
ager may be yearning to go make
calls and bring in big deals instead
of shuffling papers and listening to
excuses from the sales team.
The hard facts are that the people
who got you to where you are now
may not be the people to get you to
where you want to be in the future.
The “jack of all trades” may have
been a blessing when you started
your business, but with increased op-
erational complexity, that lack of ex-
pertise or specialty may be prevent-
ing progress and growth.
Revitalize your sales team. Hold
them accountable for closing sales or
closing pending files. Give your team
some new skills. Let them start 2010
with some fresh ideas.
Take all of the “I’ll Think it Over”
deals out of your pipeline — chanc-
es are those deals are dead anyway.
Train your people to get a “yes” or
“no” answer from your prospects.
Calculate the ROI of improv-
ing your closing ratios. You
may just be surprised at how
much money you are letting
slip through your fingers.
Need help? Admit it and
find it!
Remember, Einstein said
that the definition of insan-
ity is doing the same thing
over and over again expect-
ing different results.
Mark Miller is the President
of Strategies for Success a li- Mark Miller
cense of Sandler Training and President of
a Silver Fox advisor. He can Strategies
be reached at 713.957.2377 for Success
or Mark@strategiesforsuc-
cessinc.com

Texas Bankers Helping

Texans Prosper
Sterling Bank has been helping Texans prosper for 35 years. We’ve grown
with you to $5 billion in assets and offer 60 banking centers to serve you.

Local bankers are eager to assist you with your comprehensive

personal, commercial and wealth management needs.

713-507-7000
www.b a n k st e r lin g .co m
Member FD IC
8RR Rebound Roundtable Week of December 18–24, 2009

Receive Full Benefit of Economic Recovery Through Advance Planning

The days when recovery from a reces- • Make your banker and vendors aware apply promising
sion guaranteed a recovery for all busi- of how business is going, particularly strategies you had
nesses are long gone. Instead, business when it starts to improve. They will to postpone.
owners need to develop a plan specifically appreciate your continued communica-
designed to take advantage of a recovery. tion with them on business conditions, • Take advantage of
What do you need to consider in develop- and might be able help you step up pro- resources, such as
ing that plan? duction ahead of your competition. the U.S. Small Busi-
ness Administration
• Use the slowdown in business to give • Look for areas of business, products or and one of the 15
you time to take a fresh look at your markets that may improve the quickest. Small Business De-
industry. Talk to customers about how Redeploy assets and staff or otherwise velopment Centers Travis Jaggers
they think the recession has affected position your company to take advan- in the Texas Gulf Coast Executive
your industry or affected how they will tage of improving trends. region. Center con- Vice President
run their business. sultants will work with and Chief
• Watch for changes in customers’ buying established business Lending Officer,
Sterling Bank
• A recovery can take 10-12 months. Con- patterns within your industry. When owners on marketing
tinue to work on improving cash flow the economy starts to improve, custom- and sales, productiv-
by culling out unprofitable products ers might still want to be frugal. They ity, and financial man-
and customers. Keep shedding prod- may not want to pay for new equip- agement. The Service Corps of Retired
ucts that have the lower profit margins. ment, but they will pay for maintenance Executives (SCORE) also offers free con-
Require that customers who have been of current equipment or refurbished sulting services and low-cost seminars
slow to pay continue on a cash-in-ad- equipment. You could discover a new for business owners.
vance basis. line of business for your company.
Travis Jaggers is the Executive Vice Presi-
• Keep in touch with good employees you • Strengthen your marketing operation. dent and Chief Lending Officer of Sterling
had to lay off because of a slow down You spent the recession improving the Bank.
in business. They may be just who you effectiveness and efficiency of your
need to ramp up for a rebound. marketing efforts. Now is the time to

Mark O. Miller,
President
Strategies for
Success, Inc.

Sales Training Programs. The Sandler Selling System.

®

You shouldn’t have to settle for a lemon when you can have lemonade. Sandler® training utilizes continual reinforcement
through ongoing training and individual coaching sessions not only to help you learn but also to ensure your success. With over
200 training centers worldwide to provide support, you won’t fail…because we won’t let you.

Sandler Selling System, S Sandler Training Finding Power In Reinforcement (with design) and Sandler are registered service marks of Sandler Systems, Inc. © 2008 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS, INC.
713-957-2377 • www.strategiesforsuccessinc.com