RomanceEverAfter

As you look back on the business plan, how much did you deviate from it?

I didn't really deviate much from it and I still refer back to it to help define each year's operating or strategic plan. The plan was pretty much right-on financially with respect to what defining the capital needs of the company.

How many employees did you start with? Has that number increased over time? 

I started with one employee. Right now we employ about 20 people. Sales volume has grown over the last several years, relative to the addition of employees. 

Have you experienced any "growing pains"? If so, what were they? And, as a relatively new business owner, how have you managed them?

Yes.  We absolutely experienced growing pains! The first was the need to outsource the payroll, accounting, and financial functions. Not fully understanding the mechanics of all the accounting made it a significant challenge and a big headache. Second, finding good employees and creating a stable and secure working environment for them is an ever daunting task. 

How did you recruit employees?

Well, there were some people I knew from my previous work. Outside of that, it was through the Career Builder search engines. I placed ads for people, interviewed them and basically went through the whole hiring process. The next thing I knew, I had 15 good people working for me. 

One thing that all businesses deal with is creation of revenue. Obviously, that's always a concern. What was your strategy for building sales?

My strategy is to be very centered on the customer. At Compliance Team, we focus on building relationships with customers to promote repeat business. We take each customer very seriously. We nurture the established relationship so that we have year to year repeat business. That's the first part of our revenue stream. 

Getting new business is something that we're doing through a number of ways. One is the optimization of our Website to allow people to find us through the search engines. We have a great company, APEX Media Solutions helping to support that work. We're also using telemarketing or phone prospecting, in which we focus on reaching decision makers. Once we reach them, we let them know about our service offerings who we are and suggest ways we can assist them.

How has the phone prospecting worked?

Actually, phone prospecting, has been very effective as it allows you to start the relationship. If there's chemistry, the person on the other end of the phone is open to talking with you. It's effective but extremely time consuming. It's hard work but I believe that's how you find people who have current needs, and making that connection is important for meeting their future needs. The next task is staying on top of that prospect list and making sure that you're there when they need you. 

How competitive is your industry?

The industry is very competitive. Actually, it's now growing into a mature industry. Five to 7 years ago, there were many companies entering the field of validation services because it was easy to enter. Supply and demand was still on the up curve. But there were a lot of companies that lacked the business experience and "know how" to survive over time. Those companies that couldn't run a good business model have fallen to the side. What you're left with is a mature industry with fewer competitors, but the ones that remain are good, polished organizations.

What differentiates your company from other pharmaceutical consulting organizations in this industry?

Before our industry became mature, and frankly, when there were so many bad companies out there, if you could prove you were better than the others, you would probably have a customer for life. Now it's definitely not the same environment. It's hard to break into companies that have worked with a good competitor. 

As I said before, our organization is very customer focused. We make sure that our customers feel our presence. Integrity in the way we deal with people and deliver on our services is critical. It's more than just delivering solutions; it's providing the right people to do the work that we are assigned. It's also managing the relationship and listening carefully to that client because each client is different and unique. So it's really about tuning-in to that and making sure we're living it every day. I feel this is how we're different.

What advice would you offer to anyone considering starting a new business?

It's essential that you're really sure of who you are and what you want to do. If you're not doing something that you're passionate about, you will probably not give the business the time and the focus it needs to succeed. 

Before you get started, know who you are, have a plan and be ready to work it. Don't short change the business plan. Look at that plan as your reality. Of course, there's financial risk, and it's a very real thing that you have to watch closely. You're spending money in order to make money - so you'd better have a good plan that's been prepared as thoroughly as possible.

For more information on Compliance Team Inc., please visit www.complianceteaminc.com.

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