Remarkable Turnaround – How a Firm Streamlined Operations, Maximized Value, and Transformed Client Relationships  

There were significant hurdles to overcome in this service business.

But our client, a seasoned business owner, was no stranger to adversity.

Their unwavering vision to positively impact their clients’ lives, their resilience, and their keen sense of when to ask for help set the stage for an inspiring one-year transformation.

Here’s the story of our client who recognized the quick need for change to turn things around quickly to inspire the team, rejuvenate the business, and, frankly, save themselves.

 

• A misaligned CEO.
• Inaccurate representation of tasks.
• Integration struggles.
• Ambiguous roles and responsibilities.
• Lack of marketing.
• Unclear succession plan.

 

Initial Challenges

The company and its founder were at a crossroads, confronted by many pressing challenges. They grappled with ineffective communication, which left their team feeling disconnected and demotivated. The weight of inefficiency was overwhelming. Without a strategic focus on immediate improvements, talent development langured and productivity was low. Clients were complaining of lack of service and the business value and profits were declining. It was a pivotal moment that demanded attention and action to turn things around.

 

The Transformation Journey

Fortunately, they reached out to us in time, allowing us to help them turn their situation around. Our strategic guidance impacted every aspect of their business within just one year. We charted a new course through strategic decision-making and decisive actions to revitalize the company’s trajectory and owner. Here are some important highlights about how we lead them through this change.

✅ Leadership Overhaul:

By helping them gracefully offboard the CEO, we prevented a potential 50% loss of the company. This action also prevented additional payouts to the former CEO. We also successfully attracted an experienced professional to support growth and aligned compensation with market rates.

✅ Enhanced Accountability and Reporting:

We created an accountability dashboard and a comprehensive set of reports and KPI measurements in their new CRM, Salesforce XLR8, and eliminated over 500 past-due client servicing tasks. These reports led to productive meetings, identified bottlenecks, and supported collaborative problem-solving.

✅ Streamlined Scheduling Integration:

We convinced them of the benefits of a scheduling tool and protecting their time. This tool opened the doors to automations to reduce the work and hold the team more accountable to standard servicing procedures. They were given more time and, in return, agreed to service clients better.

✅ Optimized Team:

We taught a quick, team-approach to clarifying levels of authority, roles, and responsibilities and how to acknowledge and solve passion and skill gaps. Then, we co-designed and taught a quicker method of creating job descriptions and designed a process to source candidates. Bonus: this helped them avoid a $200,000 mistake in hiring the wrong person.

✅ Company Mission, Values, Goal Alignment:

We introduced the act of presenting the “State of the Company” every 6 months, so the team knew the company’s values, mission, achievements, and strategic vision. This enhanced alignment boosted morale and prevented miscommunication and ensured everyone was on the same page and moving in the same direction.

✅ Succession Planning:

We designed a succession plan that mentally comforted the departing owner and made them feel valued and in control of the quality of the client experience. We matched this plan with projected financials and connections to outside financing so the owner could avoid the risk of self-funding the buyout.

✅ Expanded Presence:

Marketing now includes:

1. Weekly social media posts.
2. A pitch deck for prospects.
3. A monthly newsletter.
4. A brochure for referral sources.
5. Google reviews.
6. LinkedIn profile updates featuring company branding and additional information.
7. Marketing calendar.

✅ Client Experience:

We developed and executed customized lean processes to effectively address a significant backlog of client meetings, which reconnected the team with over 100 clients who had not been met with in over a year. Then we identified deeply discounted clients and raised their fees with no attrition.

 

Jump to Today

Takeaways

Our strategic intervention and guidance helped the company overcome pressing challenges. Through demonstration of effective leadership, streamlined operations, and enhanced client engagement, they leaped from a valuation of $2.1 million to $6.25 million.

With our strategic approach, we can help you unlock your true potential and achieve similar transformative growth.

 

Will You Be Next? 

At My Virtual COO, we help service-based Health, Wealth, and Advocacy business owners optimize talent and systems to accelerate business success by improving the most important parts of the business, including:

1. Growth, Profitability, and Impact Projections
2. Organizational Design
3. Lean Process Design
4. Client Experience Documentation
5. Productive Collaboration and Change Acceleration
6. C-Suite Training

Ready for your own success story? We would love to speak with you.