Homework? But I’m not in school anymore!

Our CFO was in town a couple of weeks ago…I can hear some of you cringing already! In the course of doing the Seminar, I’ve heard horror stories from some of you about your bookkeeper, manager, or CFO.   Actually, I like our CFO!  I was actually looking forward to sitting down with him.

I can hear you now…”are you nuts?”. Well, yes I am, but you already knew that! I am also a loose cannon, and I freely admit it. I have friends around me who’s job (along with simply being my friend) is to be my anchor. They keep me from floating off into the clouds on wings of an idea that won’t work. I highly recommend it for everyone who is an “idea person”. It’s so easy to get so wrapped up in the wonder of a concept that you lose hold of reality in the process. So I welcome the chance to sit down and make sure I’m not going way above and beyond reality.

Kevin asked me to do something that really got me thinking. He asked me to sit down and analyze every show, convention, marketplace, and outside event that I do throughout the course of a year. How much do we pay for dues, registrations, and ancillary costs? And, more importantly, to prioritize the shows by which shows are:

1. Critical/Mandatory/Indispensable [15%] (this activity is directly attributable to the Company’s future success, and it drives revenues in the group area)

2. Required/Obligatory [20%] (In order to continue in our business, this cost must be incorporated into the business plan)

3. Basic Activity/Necessary, but not Vital [30%]

4. Not critical but needed [20%]

5. Not a priority/discretionary/optional [15%]

But it goes a little deeper than that…he also assigned a percentage that each category must fit into (those are the numbers in brackets above). So I can’t just make “my favorite” shows all #1…it must break down against the flow of percentages he outlined. It took several tries at realigning the priorities (and that work will continue, I’m sure), but that’s where the real benefit came in. In order to get the right number, I really had to look at some shows and be brutally honest with myself. Yes, I dearly love the people and the show in X, but how much business comes from it? Would we suffer if we weren’t there?

In the old days, this theatre was EVERYWHERE! We used to joke about Joanie going to every show under the sun…in fact, we used to tell people who asked about any group show anywhere to “go ask Joanie…she’s been there already”. In this day and age of spiraling gas prices and decreasing motorcoach traffic, we just can’t afford to be EVERYWHERE any longer! We have to make certain that the money being spent is money well spent! Does this mean I may not get to go to a show in XX? It just might. But my job is not just to sell seats, but also to be responsible for my spending.

This is a task I would strongly encourage you to do as well! If you need a sample spreadsheet to get you started, let me know, and I’ll send you mine (of course, without my numbers in it!). Sit down and go through your expenses…as I say in the Seminar, if you’re doing a show because it’s in a town you always wanted to visit, you’re doing it for the wrong reason! If you’re doing a show because the ROI is good, you’re on track. But you aren’t going to know if you don’t do this kind of work every once in a while.

Sure, it took me over a week to get it done, since I was working on it between phone calls, seating groups, and other responsibilities, but it was really worth it. I can see re-doing this about every couple of years or so, just as a “mid-course adjustment” tool (of course, I may disagree with myself in three years!).

And imagine the look on your friendly neighborhood business manager’s face when you hand them this analysis…they might even smile at you (for the record, our business manager ALWAYS smiles at us…)!

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