Only On-Site Seminars Conducted: Standard or Customized

A two-day market planning, product planning and financial planning seminar. This business seminar is a practical and cost-effective version of the multiple-week, multiple-thousand dollar executive MBA programs offered by some of the major business schools.

We have conducted this seminar on-site for major companies including IBM, Sony, Sharp Electronics, Mentor Graphics, BMC Software and many other companies, both large and small. Consequently, we would be happy to discuss an in-house seminar, either standard or customized, for your company.

We are not affiliated with any university or college. We are a private business consulting company.

The seminar's topics are linked together by two overarching business methodologies:

I. Value-Based Financial Management Methodology

A. To provide a return on investment (ROI) to stockholders, management has to continually increase the value of the business through producing significant profitable annual sales growth that generates a sufficient level of free cash flow.

Although, profitability is the necessary condition of a business or a new product it is not sufficient, because contrary to conventional business wisdom profits are not cash. The necessary and sufficient condition of a successful business or a new product is free cash flow, which is the real measure of generated economic value.

B. In addition, the free cash flow has to be at a sufficient minimum level to cover the weighted average cost of capital, the risk adjusted cost of capital or the opportunity cost of capital. In other words, before a company can generate a satisfactory level of free cash flow to increase the value of the business the company has to invest capital and achieve a ROI greater than the cost of the capital itself.

Hence, looking upon a business as a collection of investment projects, for example, investments in new or existing products, new manufacturing equipment, sales programs, information technology software and systems, etc., the goal has to be to have every investment project generate or save a significant level of free cash flow and thereby achieve a sufficient ROI. Accordingly, every investment project can and has to be measured on a free cash flow basis.

C. To accomplish the above, companies have to measure the correct financial value “drivers” with the correct “tools.” In addition, the companies have to use the same “tools” to measure all the various types of investment projects, as well as, measuring the business as a whole and utilize the identical “tools” employed by professional investors to assist them in making their investment decisions vis-à-vis the company.

Consequently, companies cannot use standard accounting methods to measure ROI like return on equity (ROE) or return on assets (ROA), which measure substandard value producing activities. Additionally, ROE and ROA cannot be used to measure all the various types of investment projects and professional investors cannot use them to make successful debt and/or equity investment decisions.

II. Value-Based Product Marketing and Development Methodology

A. Optimize products and prices between buyers, competitors, and internal financial requirements using an externally driven development process, that is, 1) identify the buyers' problems, needs and/or the benefits required by the buyers; 2) determine the value to be delivered to the buyers with emphasis on incremental value delivered via competitive advantages; 3) set prices based on the value delivered, pricing segments analysis, pricing leverage analysis, pricing strategy and/or the marketing strategy; and 4) determine the product development investment and manufacturing costs that can be justified.

B. Identify the business value creating market segments and the product line development sequencing through the development of a strategic product marketing plan, that identifies the market segments, price segments, optimum prices, product configurations, product development investments, manufacturing costs, targeted marketing and sales programs and unique product positionings.

C. Identify the value delivered to the buyers through price segments identification, pricing leverage analysis, competitive value analysis and classifying features and benefits based on the value they deliver to the buyers, that is, required, persuasive and preemptive features and benefits, and detrimental, dissuasive and preemptively dissuasive features.

Amongst, the specific topics presented are: 1) how to identify the value producing market segments for a product, 2) how to quickly evaluate new product or business opportunities before performing a detailed evaluation, and 3) why you should and how to calculate the free cash flow and the return on investment (ROI) generated from a new or existing product investment, a marketing or sales program, an information technology system or a manufacturing automation investment.

On this site, we list the major product and financial questions answered in the seminar. These questions are especially informative in respect to the overall content presented in the seminar. If you or your associates can answer these questions today don't have us conduct one of our sessions. However, if you or they cannot answer these questions please contact us to schedule a seminar.

This seminar has been extremely well received by over 10,000 professionals from large and small companies. As affirmation, see the letters from Sharp Electronics, Manugistics, Advanced Micro Devices, Verizon, Sony, IBM, Varian Associates, MDL Information Systems, RISE Technology, etc.

In addition, to marketing and product management professionals the seminar attracts scientific, manufacturing and engineering professionals and managers who want to deepen their understanding of the subjects covered. It also helps them to design and manufacture value-producing products and to communicate more effectively with their counterparts in the marketing and financial functions.

The seminar also attracts salespeople and sales managers who want to improve their ability to sell using ROI and financial concepts and analyses. It helps to turn salespeople into business people who sell.

The seminar provides the participants with “real” business skills that can be applied to their everyday work tasks. One of the major skills being the ability to think “concretely” about ROI and to actually calculate it for all types of investments, for example, new or existing products, new manufacturing equipment, sales programs, information technology software and systems, etc.

In addition, although the participants will learn how to evaluate the balance sheet, income and cash flow statements the financial focus is not on “debits and credits” or “accounting mechanics.” The emphasis is on understanding financial objectives and analysis techniques.

If you want to improve your or your people’s ability to think as product marketing savvy and financially adroit business people, then please have us conduct a seminar at your location of choice. Contact us for pricing and scheduling.

We also conduct an all financial version of this seminar called The ROI Seminar. However, we also only conduct this seminar as an on-site session.

Finally, send us an e-mail if you would like us to e-mail you an Adobe Acrobat PDF File containing all the information on this site.