Position: Director of Business Development (For Hire)
Frusterio & Associates, Inc. is a local Residential Design Firm with over 20 years in the industry. Located in Birmingham, AL. Frusterio is the name in high-end luxury homes, lake homes and renovations. After moving to Birmingham to start a consulting firm, I took on Frusterio, Inc. as a client. There was an immediate connection between myself and the CEO. I was offered the keys to the company if I came on staff for a season. It was a place to try out all my ideas and to see if I could REALLY take a company to the promise land.
My Role Has Covered:
Chief Operations Officer
- Establishing a Project Management System
- Modified Compensation Structures
- Created Digital Catalogue System for Blue Prints
- Handled Hiring, Promoting and Training Staff
- Updating HR Processes / Procedures
- Took Company to Flat Leadership Model
- Retrofitted the company with the latest technologies in computers and software
Chief Business Development Officer
- Creating a Sales Team / Sales System (8 Step Methodology)
- Focused on Closed Loop Marketing
- Created Content and Direction for Company Website
- Contributed to and Oversaw Blog
- Booked Speaking Engagements, Created Keynote Presentations for Company
- Oversaw Company Re-Branding
- Grew Network of Builders & Developers
- Negotiated Large Development Deals
- Created Bid Calculators for Sales Team
How I did It:
Spent my first six months focused on my Chief of Op’s role…
- Building a sophisticated CRM (managing sales, project management and marketing)
- Implementing employee management system: Success Factors
- Making key hires & cutting out the fat
- Creating a company culture of excellence and initiative
- Created in-depth reports on income, sales figures and projections
- Delegated to capable people vs. micro-management
- Focused on a leadership model of inclusiveness and team wins vs. individualism
Spent my next six months focused on my Business Development…
- Brining pricing models into proper ratio’s
- Spending weeks and weeks training a sales team that was talented vs. experienced
- Focused on building a strong web presence that made our co. “exclusive”
- Handled negotiations of large developments “with” my sales team
- Consistently held sales meetings covering close rates, pipeline growth, sales method review
Big Wins:
- Developed and implemented a first rate customer service manager
- Took firm from $50,000 months to peaks of over $80,000
- $0.00 in account receivables after collecting nearly $75,000 in outstanding debts
- Created a “paperless” office, taking consultation prep time from 2-4 hours to 30 minutes
- Company turn around time on avg. project went from four months to six weeks
- Raised prices and established sales pro’s, creating a healthy close rate of 25 – 30%