David Keene– Those of you not familiar with Tom Stimson, should be. Tom is the top industry consultant in the U.S. advising live event staging companies on management and profitability issues. He’s a rare commodity in an industry where most MBA’s got their credentials through management by anxiety. His is a bona fide MBA– which would be unimpressive were it not tied to both 25+ years in this industry and a recent stint as President of InfoComm.
Enough flattery– what’s less known is that Stimson is a no-nonsense analyst who knows as much about the systems integration side of the fence and newer markets as he does about the live event market. Including how to get out of your box, and find new sources of revenue– not vague blue-sky stuff about exploring new markets, but real-world advice, on how, for example, to restructure the sales commission structure and the BizDev structure in your company to ensure that new business is brought in, from new places. Digital Signage is an example of where new business is waiting to be found. It won’t be, without first changing the internal structure of your company, Stimson holds. I’ve attended countless seminars over the years, on “new markets”. (If I have to sit through another PowerPoint on the “potential of digital signage”, I’ll scream.) Rarely does a presenter cut the hype and tell you precisely how to retool your own company–processes, not people, thank you– if you want new business and if you want the business you get to be profitable (what a concept).
Check out Tom Stimson’s newsletter and website: http://trstimson.com/
A few of Stimson’s thoughts on 2012:
Business Forecast for 2012
I know some of you are planning your budgets for next year, because I am being asked what I think the 2012 outlook is like. Between the world economic news, an irrational stock market, and an election year in the U.S., I can understand being cautious about 2012. I won't speak to the macro-economic situation but I can tell you what I think are significant trends.
· I am not hearing about any specific industry, channel, or segment that is in a downturn with the exception of K-12 markets.
· I am not hearing of any regions that are still depressed (other than the usual laggards), but I do hear about regional AV companies that are suffering. At the same time I often hear about AV companies that are thriving in the same region. (Not all problems are economic or regional.)
· The capital markets seem to be full of money looking for places to invest.
· Private equity is quietly moving again. M&A activity is up. Right now some private companies are selling because they can't fix their problems by themselves. Soon we should see good mergers showing up (a good merger is 1+1=3). The funding is there, but private equity either wants a bargain or home run.
· We have had a few major bankruptcies and I expect more. Why? Because companies with poor cash flow and unprofitable business models simply can't find any more financing.
· Margins generally remain down especially in the contract bid world where there seems to be no bottom. Some companies are buying revenue at negative returns. Why? I have no idea.
· Direct relationship selling is yielding improving margins, but much of this work is still being shopped around by the customer. Still, the smart money is on enterprise and relationship sales methods.
· Lead times are increasing on low-margin projects and shrinking on others (more time to shop for desperate contractors). Time to make short lead time projects more profitable!
