By Todd Larsen – CEO,  Limitless Technology ~ Cost Reduction Specialists

So, it’s the end of the year…

Not  a bad one. Business has improved, interest rates have remained low, the market has done extremely well, and the economy is slowly recovering. Goods things all in all and you can feel a certain change coming. 

And then you look at your P&L. Does it reflect this years tide? Does the bottom line look as good as it could have or should have? Was there any more that could have been done? Could more have been sold, expenses reduced, delivery made more efficient or products manufactured for less cost? Questions that have been most likely bouncing around in your mind since beginning budget planning for 2014.

Ok…so questions arise to help ensure profits next year soar. Right? Planned for everything, up turn, downturn, right purchased, right trend, right color, right size, right service model, right price….everything. No doubts, no concerns, no worries. Right?

Hmmm…most likely the perfect scenario but, not the most probable one. If you are like the majority of owners and executive leaders, you worry if all the plans are correct and will be executed in a way that ensures the most profitable growth. 

So is there is one thing you can do to ensure higher profits? The answer is yes, lower costs! I am not advocating lowering service quality, or purchasing inferior goods; I am a proponent of lowering the costs of what you already are buying. Sounds simple. Just pick up the phone, call your vendors, and tell them you want the lowest price for the  best product and service. Done. You call, they jump, bring you better products, lower prices and instantaneously you improve profits.  

Unfortunately most likely not, but it’s not for lack or trying. However, do you know how to negotiate the best offering for a particular product or service? Are there questions in your mind like…

– Where do you start? 

– What’s reasonable? 

– What’s good? 

– What price is right?

– What terms are best? 

– Am I protected against business trends? 

– Are my contracts flexible?

Quite honestly there an endless stream of questions and doubts. Ok…so how can I get all the questions answered, and moreover, improve my vendor positioning while improving my price points, flexibility and profitability? The answer is easy, but it’s not. Sorry to be ambiguous but that is the truth. In order to have the best positioning and pricing you will most likely need to look for a resource outside your company which has the skills, knowledge and experience to help you gain this positioning. Ok…now the tough question. Who do you trust? I believe when you can answer that question, you are on your way to having your problem resolved. First lets look at some points you should inspect when selecting a “trusted advisor”.

– Does the firm have inside industry experience?

– Do they have several written testimonials from other companies in your industry?

– Will they quickly provide a list of references?

– Can they show you a proven process to ensure success?

– Do they offer a money back guarantee? 

When you find that trusted resource, which can provide the above answers and position you best with your vendor, the questions will go away and peace of mind will take their place. You will allow them the opportunity to help lower your costs and provide the bottom line results your were looking for at the end of this year, last year and the year before. And this way when you look at next years P&L, you’ll know you could not have done anything more in those areas to be more profitable. 

Now… it’s an end of the year.

www.limitlesstechnology.com

US Based Executives ‘question business value’ of tech spend.

Recently I was exposed to a survey taken by multiple senior finance executives regarding their opinions and facts surrounding the cost of IT and communications. Overall the “gist” of the information gathered clearly shows technology is needed,  but do not believe they are getting the types of info they need, and the spend or “burn rate” was grossly negligent to the ROI.

Below are some of the highlights or the articles finer points.

After reading…what are you opinions or thoughts on high communication spend rates or the mismanagement of technology costs in business?

• Senior finance executives say their companies are weak at converting business spend to technology value.

• Almost none of those surveyed (3%) rate their companies as “excellent”, according to a new survey of more than 150 senior finance executives by CFO Research in collaboration with consultants AlixPartners.

• The survey also finds that more than two-thirds of financial executives (66%) give their companies a “C” or “D” grade when it comes to measuring financial returns from discretionary IT projects, such as big data ones, designed to improve or add to a company’s business and profits. Only 5% gave their companies an “A”.

• Meanwhile, at the other end of the IT spectrum, the survey reveals that “keep-it-running” IT costs – non-discretionary support and maintenance systems – are cannibalizing funds available for business-improving IT.

• A plurality of respondents (49%) estimates that, over the past two years, their company has maintained approximately a 70-30 ratio of keep-it-running to improve-the-business IT spending, and of that amount, a solid majority – 63% – believes that their company’s spending is weighted too heavily toward keep-it-running IT services, and that a greater share should be directed to improve-the-business IT projects.

• The survey goes on to show that, despite massive IT investments in recent years, companies are not getting enough of the kind of information they need to successfully run and grow their businesses.

• “The message from CFOs and other senior finance executives is loud and clear – companies are spending too much on IT, and they’re not getting the business information that they truly need,” said Meade Monger, managing director at AlixPartners and co-lead of the firm’s Information Management Services unit.

By Todd Larsen CEO Limitless Technology~CRS  April, 10th, 2013

Limitless Technology~CRS

Delivering expert results on: telecom auditing, telecom contract management, telecom expense management, and telecom billing optimization services.

www.limitlesstechnology.com

High telecom bills hurting your business? One of the worst mistakes business owners make is trying  to eliminate services your company may need just to save money. You may not know  every service your company has and how much it needs those services until you have “cut” them off and it’s too late.

At Limitless Technology CRS, we make your company more efficient by researching what your company does and does not need and eliminating unnecessary services.  This makes your company’s telecom bills more cost affordable, while never compromising your company’s efficiency or productivity. We know that we can provide your company what it needs without making your company sacrifice, because….

 BOTTOM LINE We Improve BOTTOM LINES.

Piggyback your Data Card on Your Smartphone!

It seems small, but this tip can save you about $10-$20 dollars per month on your employees’ mobile Internet.

Let’s do the math:

You have fifty employees who all need mobile Internet, with an average savings of $15 per month on each of their phones….

$15 x 50 employees = $750/month saved

$750 x 12 months = a yearly savings of 9,000 dollars!

Making this change is simple, all you have to do is call Limitless Technology!

Piggybacking is just one of the many ways we can save your company money.

It is worth your time to give us a call at (866) 504-4050

This is how people often miss out on opportunities. They are too afraid that a potential opportunity will waist time, so the opportunity is abandoned. That is how people miss out on huge benefits to their business.

For instance, say my colleague’s name is Jeff and he owns a medium sized medical facility that has a huge Telecom spend (In other words, large phone and internet bills). If Jeff just runs to “Fast Food Place A”, then he could miss out on what Limitless Technology can offer him.

If he goes to lunch with me, then I would most likely talk about how Limitless Technology audits Phone bills for NO COST (like I usually do), and only takes a percentage of the savings we find him for the first year. Well, because of this lunch, Jeff now knows that he can easily be saving a great deal of money at no cost to him (since he is already spending that money each year).

See how an extra 20 minutes at lunch can go a long way?