Week Ending 9/12/15

Services, Inc.I n t e r n a t i o n a l

One of the challenges we face in Sales as the economy struggles

to find its footing in the wake of the Great Re-cession is that many small business owners are fearful of taking action to improve their business operations. Being cautious when facing a known risk is prudent. Being cautious simply because one is fearful of what might happen in the coming months can result in poor management deci-sions which threaten bottom line profits. Business owners realize that making a deci-sion carries with it a degree of risk. However, business owners often fail to realize that making no decision also involves even greater risk. If other businesses are moving forward and de-veloping plans to grow, a decision by a business owner to “wait and see” what happens to the economy before making a decision carries with it the risk of falling behind one’s competitors. Most business owners are not aware of the risk which accompanies a “wait and see” at-titude. Let’s take a look at some of the risks associated with making no decision until the economy gets better. When a business owner decides to wait for things to change, he risks failing to see new op-portunities for his business. A decision to wait for the economy to get better is like a decision to unplug your computer from the Internet, turn off the TV, and disengage. Instead of creating fertile soil for new ideas to grow, the business owner just waits for nature to run its course. Instead of being in control, the business owner gives up control. Giving up control is never a good business strategy. When a business owner decides to wait for things to change, he risks failing to plan for the future. Instead of seeking professional advice to help him, he decides there is nothing which can be done. Failing to seek professional ad-vice to solve problems in a business is one of

—Tom Ryan, Director, Marketing

the most common reasons why businesses fail. When a business owner opens his mind to profes-sional help, he has taken the first step toward recovery by seeking out an objective, third-party point of view to expand the solutions which can be implemented by going be-yond what the business owner al-ready knows. When a business owner de-cides to wait for things to change, he is accepting the status quo. Moreover, he fails to take advan-tage of the opportunity which ex-ists for making necessary changes in his business to make it more efficient or productive during the economic slowdown. When a business owner de-cides to wait for things to change, he misses an opportunity to find ways in which he can gain a competitive advan-tage during a market realignment. The challenge facing each Senior Area Man-ager is to show the business owner that waiting for things to change is not an effective busi-ness plan. Being dependent on the economy for one’s business success is a recognition that the business owner has lost control of his own destiny. The pitfall confronting a Senior Area Man-ager is the thinking that he has to have the answers for the business owner before he can close the sale on a business analysis. When the economy was booming, a Senior Area Man-ager could generate sales simply because the business owners were often willing to go for-ward with little certainty of a benefit. They had the money and their curiosity was enough to close the sale. Today, money—even for the limited cost of

the survey—has become a precious resource for the business owner. Only those expen-ditures which are certain to be of value to the business are being made. The path to showing a business owner the value in having a survey run on his business comes from the process it-self. A business owner needs to be convinced that the process will produce a benefit. We can provide the business owner with a professional, third-party review of his business to ensure that his own subjectivity is not stand-ing in the way of the success of the business. By definition, the business owner cannot pro-vide that to himself. If there ever was a time when the benefit of having an outside, profes-sional review of the business operations by a Senior Business Analyst can stand without re-fute, it is surely now. Moreover, we have developed proven solu-tions to help business owners grow their busi-nesses without requiring new investments of

BT & TT Seminar Inside Sales BC

Program ISBC Tax

Alex Seviella

Consultant

Joseph Welsh

Senior Bus. Anayst

Mike Santa

Sr. Area Manager

Cindy Wyatt

Sales Rep

Brian Pratt

IS Sales Rep

Jamie Bardales

Business Coordinator

Matt Kopis

Great weekk!!!

Matt Przybyla

Business Coordinator

Stacy Glorioso

Tax Consultant

Consulting Survey Sales

Thank you for all of your hard work!

Meet WALLY! Wally Burgess is a 7 year old long haired Chihuahua. He was named after the Boston Red Sox mascot, Wally the Green Monster. He has shown incredible patience dealing with the hair pulling and chasing antics of the Burgess children. He is sweet, playful, incredibly adorable, and just loves to lay anywhere with you. All of these qualities make Wally the best dog ever!!!

ALL EMPLOYEES are invited to share their pet photos for The Green Report. Do you have an adorable pet? Submit your photos/introduction for our Pick of the Litter column!

capital, but by utilizing creative compensation plans to increase productivity. The implementation of a “produc-tivity-based excess profit” incentive plan allows a busi-ness owner to incentivize key employees to work harder to increase profits without having to pay out any additional compensation for the work until the extra profits have been realized. It’s the proverbial “carrot” approach to increased production and compensation. Under these dynamic compensation plans, employ-ees who are internally motivated to make more money drive profit-producing activities within the business and are rewarded only when their hard work pays off with increased profits. In other words, if the employee works harder, but the work doesn’t result in any increase in the profitability of the company, then no additional compen-sation is paid. The key to turning these compensation plans into win-win situations for both the owner and the employee is having a professional review of the relationship be-tween activity and costs. Only then can the owner be sure that the plans are financially sound rather than be-ing nothing more than well-intentioned guesswork where payouts are made without the certainty that profitability has been increased. Revealing to the business owner the idea that dur-ing the survey the Senior Business Analyst can review where the implementation of a “productivity-based, ex-cess profit” incentive plan can drive revenue and profit-ability, without increasing the upfront labor costs to pro-duce the benefit, may just be what you need to open the eyes of a business owner to take action now rather than waiting for the economy to turn around. By showing the business owner a tangible benefit with an incentive plan built on the solid foundation of in-creased productivity and profitability, you may find the concept you describe is just what many business owners are waiting to hear.

Sometimes to open a business owner’s eyes, your presentation has to become music to their ears!

Bulletin Board

MEMO From Larry Stolzenberg, SBA to Donna Brewer, Survey Services Director

Here are my summary notes from today and also from when I ran the original survey June 5, 2014. A lot has changed. Tom’s testimonial letter was published in the Green Report and also on our web site and I carry it with me, showed it to him during our late afternoon round table and now told him I can reflect to clients how this man’s life and business has changed from survival to a tax burden. I did sync the STS and the numbers follow the 5 years plan we established and he has perpetuated and if you want to compare with last year you can pull the financial information from my prior visit. Crazy better! It appears he’ll do $1.2M this year as has ytd over $800k with $400K work in process before year end and $400,000 signed agreement to start 2016. His net has gone from breakeven to over 15% and the job estimation system we created takes into consideration his real cost and adds profits. As we discussed his only focus was tax savings as his projection will result in $187K K1 distribution this year plus his W2 $65,000 and wife’s income/pension of $30,000. Nice tax bill and nice problem but he said these are issues that have been on mind and our timing is good. He is interviewing for a new CPA but doesn’t know what to ask and that was the reason we spent a good amount of time talking about Circular 230 and the constraints the IRS has on the people that sign tax returns. We discussed asset protection and entity structure given he has a $3M net worth and only a trust with 3 grown children, no estate plan and a retired wife a few years older and trucks driving on So California roads and owned by the S Corporation plus his own.

Survey Summary 2014

Tom is 62 and married to Christine (65) who is retired and worked for

a Heart MD. She get’s $24K/year social security and they have three

grown children (40, 38 and 34) and no family members involved in the

business. Tom started to go to college (Glendale and Northridge) for music but

never graduated and had a pool service since 1971 to earn money as

he played in a band. In 1979 at age 27 he moved from L.A. to Encini-

tas for his son’s schooling and sold the service part of the pool service.

He was a pool plumber until 1987 when he got his pool contractor’s

license and began to enter to high end design/build market. Basically

he said they are electrician and plumbers and sub out the excavation,

gummite, plaster, masonry, etc. Tom’s business has been based upon

referrals and when the economy turn downward so did his business. I

said it’s like fishing and waiting for the fish to jump in the boat, how’d

that work for all those years?

He says this year he has lots of work with a proposal backlog of

$800K and wins 40% with the average contract being $200k. He cur-

rently has $150K work in process and $132K backlog but not profitable.

He doesn’t understand business and marks up subs and materials by

20-25% and sells labor at $108/hr/2 man crew and thinks his overhead

is 12%. After all these years he has come to realize that “something is

wrong and he wants to go out on his terms and admits he’s lost”. His

music is still an important part of his life as he is classical guitarist and

singer and has a 9 man group. At age 62 with his wife retired, he said

he has to do something NOW.

We discussed the responsibilities of being and owner and busi-

nessman versus a plumber, contractor and entering information into

QuickBooks. He’d like to see sales grow to $1m next year with an 8%

net after he’s paid $1K/week and then $2m with a 12% net in three

years and able to have an absentee option. Only issue is he has no

clue how!!!

Survey Summary 2015I first met Tom on June 5, 2014 and as his testimonial letter which was in the green report and on our web site, says, “I met with the analyst, who showed he through numbers and graphs, just how badly the company was leaking revenue. It was a deciding point for me, I understood that something was wrong but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what the solution would be”. Tom is now 63 and did engage our services.

When I returned today, almost 15 months and after a 180 hour project that ran 224 hours, Tom was very happy to see me. He’s happy and excited about the future, he’s calm and enjoying life and his business. He has continued the work we installed and even has updated the 5 year plan and is following it to the point that sales are up 42% and profit from virtually break-even to over 15% after his salary increased 25% to $65,000. His hours are reduced and he is even taking vacations. Currently he has $400,000 work in process through year end which will put him at $1.22M and an additional $400,000 in contracts for 2016. This was the good news bad news though. As a single entity S corporation with the projected year end net prof-its of $187,000 and $65,000 W2 and $30,000 for your wife plus other income, how does a tax bill sound on $300,000 of income plus the 941’s you’ve already paid. Also now at our age, what does the plan for succession and estate look like given you have a $3M net worth plus the business and 3 grown children, none of which are active and yes co mingled funds. Also now that you’re growing, that increases the need from asset protection with more subcontractors and potential employ-ees and also employee retention and acquisition of future managers.

Road Warriors

1. Be Nice!As the TSA screening protocol has expanded, I’ve found small ways to save time during airport screening; I make sure that metal (watch, keys, change, phone, etc.) is in my computer bag - not on my person. And since airport requirements differ, I always assume the TSA will need to see my boarding pass a second time. Finally, for those wearing dress shoes through airport security, consider trading in your laces for a pair of slip-ons. You never know when you may need those two minutes you’ll save.

Thanks to: Steve Curtin of Steve Curtin LLC.

2. Key to a Great RoomWhen you arrive to check into your hotel, make sure you are up-beat and smiling. Greet the hostess and say, “It has been a very long day. I’m betting that you have a really nice room waiting for me.” Normally, they smile and keep checking you in. At this point, just keep quiet. I am betting you will be very pleased when you open the door to your room. A smile and upbeat personality will get you a long way.

Thanks to: Kathy Condon of Kathy Condon Executive Coach

1. Sleep & Eat FREE!No trick here - use a credit card that gives rewards for your favorite hotel chain and you can sleep and eat (breakfast) for free. We use our Marriott and Hilton credit cards for lots of business expenses and average around 24 free night stays each year - that’s about $4500 worth of Residence Inn, Hampton Inn and breakfasts for two. Better still, use the cards to pay for business expenses and the rewards for personal trips. Pay yourself to take a long weekend off!

Thanks to: Steve Watson of Watson’s Streetworks.

Share your travel stories or tips with the Green Report!Email Jenifer Meyer at jp@abomagazine.com

1. Travel Time, Productive TimI travel for business over 40 weeks a year. My travel time is my most productive time. I write my blog posts on airplanes. I use ho-tel time to write my books -- I’ve written over 15 business books. When I check into a hotel, I always ask for local delivery menus. I order in and get to work.

If I’m going to be away from home, I want to make the most of my time. Local restaurants and bars don’t interest me. Of course, I attend business dinners if that’s what the client wants.

Thanks to: Bud Bilanich of The Common Sense

2. Carry On!I always do carry-on luggage so there is no wait at the airport. I’m at my hotel by the time other travelers are just getting their lug-gage. And to do so, you must be a good packer. Clothes on the bottom; suits separated by plastic from the dry cleaners (so nothing wrinkles), shoes to match all outfits, toiletries on top. Pack clothes a day ahead and put something heavy on top to get the air out so you have room for even more.

Thanks to: Rosanne Dausilio PhD of Human Technologies Global Inc..

1. Stay Packed...I do a lot of back-to-back business travel. To save time, I keep my suitcase partially packed - with a full toiletries kit, basic jewelry, makeup bag, snacks, heels, notebook, pens and business cards always. When I get back from one trip, I repack the basics - paja-mas, under-things. Then, I just have to top it off with some business clothes and I’m out the door every time.

Thanks to: Erin Ferree of BrandStyle Design.

$300 CONTEST

#1 SPOT THE DIFFERENCE - Can you spot the SIX things that are different in these two photos?

$

Send your six answers to jp@abomagazine.com to enter a drawing for a cash prize of $300

Congratulations to last week’s

drawing winner!

Carmen Morales Assistant

won $300 in our Spot the Difference

contest drawing!

There were only 26 entries in this drawing...

YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU DON’T

PLAY!

Get your entry in by noon on

Thursday, September 24th to enter the drawing!

Liza Vitello, Asst. Director BC

John Burgess

Have a fun Selfie? A self taken photo of yourself usually with a cell phone camera with an entertaining or cool background, with family and children or famous people you’ve met--vacation ones are awesome!

Selfies or Shelfies

Craig Karr, Senior Area Manager

Kyle Black, Sales Senex

John Henson, Analyst

Donna Brewer, Survey Senex

Avalon Davis, Inside Sales Jenifer Meyer, Creative, Nicole Beller, HR

Jason Miller, Sales Admin.

Charity Events

The deadline for donations is October 1st.

Donate today at

I am changing the course of cancer!

Any race could be a life-changing event - but my next race will be a lifesaving event. As part of the American Cancer Society DetermiNation team, I am achieving things I never imagined I could accomplish. Yes, train-ing for the Chicago Marathon is tough, but for me the finish line is just the beginning. My race victory will help save lives from every cancer in every community. And I’m hoping you’ll support me in my efforts.

It’s up to us to change the course of cancer - and I be-lieve in the work the American Cancer Society is doing to save lives. Every day, they’re helping people stay well and get well, they’re funding and conducting research to find cures, and they’re rallying communities to join them in fighting back. More than 11 million Americans who have a history of cancer will celebrate another birthday this year. Please support me with a donation so that to-gether, with the American Cancer Society, we can help save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Join Emily Guenther’s fundraiser to fight Cancer!

Emily is a Business Valuation Editor and is running in honor of her cousin who is battling cancer.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=33920135&pg=personal&fr_id=69178&s_locale=en_US&et=lQCEbGRRpY9TFWblS4TDuQ&s_tafId=1661045

List of People Signed Up for

FIGHT CLUB!The only rule of FIGHT CLUB is that we will fight until there is a cure!

Below please find the names of everyone that we have who has signed up for FIGHT CLUB, our corporate team (team captains: Jim Gibson, Carrie Green, Jenifer Meyer and Dawn Siler), to walk/donate or donate only for the ‘Make Strides Against Breast Cancer’ 3.1 mile walk. For those that we know who are only donating, a (D) has been place by your name. Alert us if you only wish to only donate/not walk and it has not been indicated on this list. All walkers should register ASAP online via our team page, so that those who are ‘donate only’ may support those walkers needing to reach their $100 goal (per person) of donations collected. To register (to walk or donate) go to http://ow.ly/PEnme and please note that you do NOT need to donate to sign up to walk. This is also a great time to invite friends or family to register in order to walk with you! The walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 18th, 2015 at 9am at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve, 16400 W. Buckley Road, Libertyville IL. Per request, as the event approaches, we will arrange car pools from our corporate parking lots to take walkers to and from the event (approximately 15 minutes away). If you are able to volun-teer to car pool (mini vans/SUVs are especially welcome), please let us know. Thanks for the amazing turn-out to our launch of FIGHT CLUB, benefiting the American Cancer Society!

Absi, CarlosAldebert, JayB., ChrisBeller, NicoleBerghammer, HildaBiederer, Rick (D)Block, SteveBlouch, AshleyBogard, MelissaBrewer, DonnaBurgess, JohnBurgess, ToniaBurgess, TylerCamarda, SophiaCanady, EdwardChung, MikeCollins, William (D)

Cookbey, MohammedCraigwell, KerryCrymble, SherriCunningham, Sean (D)Damama, Darius (D)Davis, AvalonDavis, HikeshaDemko, MarieDickson, StephenDupuis, CarolEvangelista, Mark (D)Fermazin, KellyFishman, ShawnFullington, Elizabeth Garcia, Milton (D)Goldman, Aaron (D)Gray, Yuliya

Hansen, ScottHaracz, SueTaylor (Robinson), GwendolynHeerhold, DannyHouse, DeNorrisJacobson, JordanJordan, JimKamptner, TinaKhan, NatashaKhawaja, IvyKimmell, RandiKristin, MillerKukral, DavidLane, MershaunLawrence, ReedLewandowski, Karen (D)Lilja, Tim

Link, KeithLittles, KenediLucero, Hugo (D)Marcus, RossMenkhaus, MichelleMiller, JasonMitty, Charles (Chuck)Moore, SamNapoli, PeterOlsen, BreannaPannell, JohnParks, KerriPatrick, YatesPedro, Wonder (D)Perry, MarcPratt, BrianPryputniewicz, BartRenard, Morgan

Rosol, PaulaRush, CourtneySchimenti, EdStewart, TonyStewarts, Robert (D)Taylor, MatthewThurman, AnitaTillotson, JaniceTillotson, KatieValentino, NickWiles, JenniferWilliams, GustaviaWilliams, ReneeWoodford, DebbieWoodford, TomWoods, KimWorth, JoshuaZelaya, Oscar

(D) by the name indicates this person is donating, only, not walking…

Top 26 Ranking

1 Clements, Sean2 Yalda, Anita3 Mock, Michael4 Stafford, Nicholas5 Van Dygriff, Eric6 Kirchner, Matthew7 McAdams, Thomas8 Reed, Lawrence9 Eisner, Jennifer10 Longobardi, Robin11 Simmons, Derrick12 Smith-Ross, Nadia13 Khan, Natasha14 Baltimore, Victor15 Vaskovsky, Raymond16 Ross, Marcus17 Thomas, Markus18 King, Adriene19 Jenkins, Jennifer20 Cookbey, Mohammed21 Jackson, Corieonte22 Morgan, Renard23 Shunnarah, Pauline24 Berghammer, Hilda25 Richards, Candy

Top Cash Collectors

Week Ending 9/12/15

1 Landau, Sharon 2 Dupuis, Carol 3 Yates, Patrick 4 Jablonski, Richard 5 King, Adriene 6 Gipson, Leonard 7 Fortson, Jermaine 8 Dhont, Glenn 9 Morales, Jesus 10 Khan, Natasha

11 McAdams, Thomas 12 Berghammer, Hilda 13 Guerrero Blanco, Mireya 14 Carrabotta, Peter 15 Polinski, Taylor 16 Moore, Samuel 17 Hurckes II, Jeffrey 18 Warren, Kristen 19 Wright, Andrew 20 Morgan, Renard

Kopis, Matthew 8 Mitty, Charles 8Mock, Michael 6 Oza, Dhaval 6 Perkins, Terrence 6 Stafford, Nicholas 6

Landau, Sharon 6 Fenton, Nolan 5 Street, Peter 5 Van Dygriff, Eric 5Clements, Sean 4 Jablonski, Richard 4

Top BC’s/Program Sales(In order) for the week ending 9/12

Hi Roller

Mike Mock

with 6 Sales;

He spun the wheel

for $210

High Volume Hero

Peter Streetwon $50!

Business CoordinationWeek Ending 9/12/15

OTHER NOTABLES

Peter Street

got a $246,800 Tax

GO with his rep

Colleen Crane

OTHER NOTABLES

Kris Warren had a GO

hat trick on 9/9

OTHER NOTABLES

Peter Street &

Jamie Bardales

both had a

$100 mil sale!

business coordination

How do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? Honored, accomplished, and proud of myself.

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stronger BC? Definitely Burt, Marc, Liza and Brian. There are many more, but these people have helped me a lot recently.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? Constant communication. We talk all day, know personal things about each other, and know each others financial goals as well as bills.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? I feel I am already on track. I meet my daily goal everyday which is to do my best and stay dedicated.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? For the income...but the company seemed like a family and were all very encouraging and upbeat. That is why I stayed past my first week.

What is your favorite closing line? Grab a pen, jot down her name.

What did you do in your previous career? Sales and telemarketing What would we be surprised to know about you, person-ally? That me and my kids like to volunteer all the time, help the needy.

Natasha Khan

APRIL

Dewon Howard

MAYHow do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? It’s an honor to be selected out of a group of such talented individuals.

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stronger BC? The list is so long but I have to say that my recent success has come from the help of Lucas, David, Kebeon, and Marc.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? Communication is key! I know a lot about him, his goals, and his family. When I write a lead I make sure to keep those things in mind.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? Improving my Sales to GO ahead ratio. It really helps my bottom line.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? The opportunity is endless! You have no cap on your success here, sky is the limit.

What is your favorite closing line? We work with compa-nies that are looking to grow, drive sales, and penetrate more profitable markets.

What did you do in your previous career? I did loading at Value City warehouse. What would we be surprised to know about you, person-ally? I am a gentle giant.

business coordinationNicholas Stafford

JULYHow do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? Excited and proud!

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stronger BC? The main person would be Sean, he taught me everything. Dhaval and Adam have contributed a good amount as well.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? Communication and trust. I can tell Mike anything and he knows what I’m saying is the absolute truth. He knows I do my job as a BC and I know he does anything I recommend.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? Being EOTM! Plus, being able to consistently cover two SAMs.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? Sean referred me with the promise that if I applied myself I would make good money.

What is your favorite closing line? I’ll have Mike swing by; if you’re not busy putting out a fire or with a client say hello to him and give him five minutes for me.

What did you do in your previous career? Every type of physical labor that you can imagine; construction, landscaping, warehouse work, ect. What would we be surprised to know about you, per-sonally? I was paid to snowboard when I was a teenager and I was sponsored.

JUNE

Sean Clements

How do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? It is a great honor and privilege to be recog-nized for my success.

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stronger BC? Shawn Law, Mark Stuth, and Burt Bucar have been in my corner through thick and thin. They continue to help me grow on and off of the BC floor.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? To me, communication is key in every relationship, espe-cially professional relationships. Steve Burns and I have an (emotional) personal connection with each other that I feel is unmatched by any other BC/Rep combo in the company.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? I graduated a life course that will benefit my life from here on out and finally moved into my own place 2 months ago.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? I was a troubled teenager that had nowhere to turn and Shawn Law pre-sented me with the opportunity to work for this company with a promise that I would make a lot of money!! And I do!!

What is your favorite closing line? We are just looking to develop a relationship with your company for future busi-ness.

What did you do in your previous career? Private con-tractor What would we be surprised to know about you, person-ally? Honestly, my life is an open-book so I don’t feel there is much I could tell anyone here that they don’t already know about me. I’ve been around this company for so long that everyone here is like family to me.

business coordination

SEPTEMBER

Adriene King

How do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? I’m ecstatic about it!

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stron-ger BC? David Soskin, Lucas Neuhaus, Ed Canady, and Alvin Fisher.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? I try to write solid, dependable leads. I also talk to my rep to let him know if there are unique circumstances about the lead he should be aware of.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? Within 2-months, I’ve made Top 25 and employee of the month, which were all unexpected. I come to work to work hard and improve as a BC every day. I’m happy with results.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? I was at the last stages if planning my wedding in June 2015 and was looking for a new job opportunity. An offer to work here happened faster than I expected, but I am happy it did.

What is your favorite closing line? Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you. My Rep is a good & personable person with a lot of years of experience. We look forward to meeting you on (date & time).

What did you do in your previous career? 11 years in the pharma-ceutical industry as a project development team member. What would we be surprised to know about you, personally? I married my college sweetheart two months ago after several years apart. We are now a blended family with his two sons from his previ-ous marriage. Marriage takes a lot of patience, compromise, and hard work but it is worth it!!

Anita Yalda

AUGUSTHow do you feel about being selected as Employee of the Month? I feel hon-ored because after being with the company for over 10 years, it feels exceptional to get the recognition. Also, Burt Bucar gave me this honor and we all know he’s a big deal.

What managers and co-workers have helped you become a stronger BC? There have been many successful people that have encouraged and supported me along the way. Mark Stuth, Dhaval Oza, Michael Chung, Shawn Law, Liza Vitello, Clarissa Hernandez, Heli Modi and most importantly, my rep Mike Santa. I owe all of them much appreciation.

What is your secret to success with your rep match-up? Mike Santa and I have an amazing relationship. Trust and communication play a major role in our success. We have spent time with each other’s family and have become really good friends. We genuinely care about each other’s well being. We set goals together and stop at nothing to reach them as a team.

What goals have you already accomplished this year? I have accomplished a few goals that I have set this year. Getting back together with Mike Santa as a BC/REP match-up after he came in house was a major goal we both reached together. My cash collect has improved dramatically since we started working together. I also have had many weeks as high roller.

Why did you decide to work here at ISI? Wow! Well that was when I was 20 years old. I came across an ad in the paper and decided to give it a shot. I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I have made for myself and my family. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank John and Tyler Burgess for everything that they have done for all of us here at SMS. The both of you have gone above and beyond for your employees. I personally am very appreciative.

What is your favorite closing line? Keep in mind sir we called you, you did not call us. We are not implying or suggesting that you have a need for our services at this time. We just wanted an opportunity to introduce ourselves and hopefully leave you with a good enough impression in hopes that if there is a need you can contact us in the future.

What did you do in your previous career? I worked at a daycare facility for three years prior to answering the ad for SMS. What would we be surprised to know about you, personally? I love to gamble on anything and everything...Tyler knows that very well. I never win, but at least I don’t give up!

Daglis, JohnProvancher, Brian

Sales Department

Top Cash Collect YTD

McFadden, Donna $786,835.00Morris, John $786,606.44Doubleday, Alan $786,093.33Gore, Craig $773,925.18Haass Sr., Robert $703,635.00Willits II, Timothy $700,453.40Borden, Mark $694,285.00Nielsen, Michael $649,830.00Perrilleon, Michael $649,338.00Ingram, Brent $645,662.00

Riedeman, Michael $2,044,906.69Crane, Colleen $1,659,525.00Given, Christopher $1,576,124.00Boyd, Brent $1,410,311.00Charlesworth, Michael $1,196,659.00Santa, Charles $1,111,365.00Haskaj, Veton $978,792.20Caudle, Steven $969,790.33Durham, Sean $828,870.00Karr, Craig $789,699.00

Platinum REPS

AC Burns, SteveAC Durham, SeanAC Oehlke, GreggAC Praileau, MikeAC Tye, GeneC Martin, DouglasC Seon, KenC Westwood, BillMW Bauman, JonMW Morris, JohnMW Santa, MikeNE McCaffer, MattSE Conrad, DavidSE Daglis, JohnSE Gore, CraigSE Ingram, BrentSW Hines, WalterSW Kolb, KerrySW McFadden, DonnaSW Straw, DesW Davidson, MikeW Gerwig,Phil

Platinum CC Reps

AC Given, ChrisAC Crane, ColleenC Tzimas, SteveMW Nielsen, MikeMW Hall, KentMW LaBarbera, JimNE Provancher, BrianSE Butterworth, TerrySE Pizzino, VinnieSW Rakeeb, RockySW Boyd, KevinSW Caudle, SteveSW Shackford, SeanW Sawyer, CiCiW Riedeman, MikeW Karr, CraigW Charlesworth, MikeW Haass, Bob

Sales

8Gore, Craig Bauman, Jon

Biggers, BradfordBorden, MarkConrad, DavidCrane, Colleen

Davidson, MichaelDurham, SeanHenry, DorothyLuevano, Juan

McFadden, DonnaMcLaurin, Raymond

Persaud, JohnPilkington, Timothy

Rakeeb, OmarSacerdote, Joseph

Sawyer, CeciliaShackford, SeanStraw, DeWayne

Trujillo, PedroTye, Gene

Young, Todd

Top sales Reps

Given, Christopher 221Gore, Craig 220Butterworth, Terry 210Provancher, Brian 198Burns, Stephen 175Straw, DeWayne 170Tzimas, Steve 170Praileau, Michael 157Tye, Gene 148Seon, Kenneth 147McCaffer, Matthew 147Haskaj, Veton 144LaBarbera, Jerome 141Kolb, Kerry 135Durham, Sean 135Pizzino, Vincent 129

Daglis, John 126Conrad, David 124Santa, Charles 124Bauman, Jon 121Sawyer, Cecilia 120Charlesworth, Michael 119Gerwig, Philip 118McLaurin, Raymond 111Borden, Mark 109Riedeman, Michael 107Morris, John 106McFadden, Donna 104Davidson, Michael 104Ingram, Brent 103Haass Sr., Robert 97Newman, Laurence 96

Top Sales YTD

Week Ending 9/12/15

Sales

6Sales

2Boyd, KevinHill, Walter

Kurtulus, AhmetSeon, Kenneth

Sales

4

UP & COMERAhmet

Kurtulus

Butterworth, TerryKolb, Kerry

Praileau, Michael

Sales

5

Boerio, JamesBond, Hubert

Burns, StephenCharlesworth, Michael

Chesnut, DavidGiven, ChristopherGriesedieck, AlvinHaight, Stephen

LaBarbera, JeromeLottinger, RyanMartin, DouglasPacker, SeanTzimas, SteveWeber, David

Sales

3

Inside Sales

Marc Perrywas honored last week with83% run rate, 3 GOs!

Top Cash Collect YTD

Bonaguidi, Daniel $121,860.00Burns, Stephen $57,820.00Davis, Avalon $53,290.00Seebauer, Brian $40,830.00Hansen, Scott $10,260.00Jordan, Bryant $5,900.00

Pratt, Brian $2,237,937.40Perry, Marc $2,042,444.83Wilson Jr., Leo $1,748,162.39Goldman, Aaron $953,190.91Kohen, Keith $811,231.96Damania, Darius $696,696.39Malkus, Alan $143,043.30

Week Ending 9/12/15

Pratt, Brian 24Goldman, Aaron 23Kohen, Keith 20Damania, Darius 14Wilson Jr., Leo 11

Perry, Marc 8McConnell, David 7Davis, Avalon 4Seebauer, Brian 4

Sales w/e 9/12/2015

Goldman, Aaron 1103Kohen, Keith 1006Pratt, Brian 782Perry, Marc 635Damania, Darius 424Wilson Jr., Leo 404Davis, Avalon 214Bonaguidi, Daniel 81Hurckes II, Jeffrey 65McConnell, David 54Malkus, Alan 35Seebauer, Brian 33

Sales YTD

“It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done,

compared to what he might have done.”

~Samuel Johnson, in Boswell’s Life of Johnson, 1770”

Klein, David $2,878,240Engelhardt, Patrick $2,788,925Mitchell, Terry $2,609,967Dorney, Carter $2,552,714Tuttle, William $1,856,427Kleinman, Todd $1,785,408Rehak, Maryann $1,776,743Arrieta, Chris $1,467,608Rabinowitz, Michael $1,358,699Fitch, Larry $1,314,572Stanley, Gentry $1,236,812Herb, Ronald $1,191,443Stevens, Brandon $1,181,969Ryan, Joel $1,152,615Henson, John $1,074,905Spicer, Chris $1,072,157Smith, Gregory K $1,054,357Kirk, Bruce $1,038,947Welsh, Joe $1,015,061Parker, James $988,135

Cash Collected YTD

Light, James 56Dorney, J. Carter 44Kleinman, Todd 44Mitchell, Terry 43Blackwell, Reginald 42Tuttle, William 39Engelhardt, Patrick 37Rehak, Mary Ann 36Dennison, Michael 35Klein, David 33Ryan, Joel 33Welsh, Joseph 33Parker, James 32Spicer, Christopher 32Clay, Christopher 31

Rabinowitz, Michael 30Daly, Timothy 29Kelder, Harry 29Joe, David 27Stevens, Brandon 27Kirk, Bruce 26Tubeileh, Tarek 26Herb, Ronald 25Newcom, Guy 25Arrieta, Chris 24Byrne, Philip 24Lehmann, Michael 24Henson III, John 23Corneliusen, Justin 22Smith, Gregory K 22

Top GOs (Net) YTD

Engelhardt, PatrickPineda, DavidKlein, David

Mitchell, TerryStanley, Gentry

Dorney, J. CarterGabor, GeoffreyKleinman, Todd

Herb, RonaldTuttle, William

Henson III, JohnRehak, Mary Ann

Fitch, LarryPrince, Jace

Rabinowitz, MichaelArrieta, Chris

Smith, Gregory KHarris, Sandra

Stevens, BrandonSpicer, Christopher

Top Job Billing Avg.

Survey ServicesWeek Ending 9/12/15

Kleinman, Todd $36,000.00

Arrieta, Chris $33,500.00

Engelhardt, Patrick $29,100.00

Light, James $25,000.00

Rehak, Mary Ann $25,000.00

Moreau, John $21,500.00

Moore, Colin $20,100.00

Byrne, Philip $18,500.00

Stanley, Gentry $18,000.00

Barron, Arthur $18,000.00

Stolzenberg, Larry $18,000.00

Tubeileh, Tarek $17,500.00

Spicer, Christopher $15,500.00

Parker, James $15,500.00

Kleinman, Todd $15,500.00

Klein, David $15,500.00

Prince, Jace $15,500.00

Stevens, Brandon $15,500.00

Tuttle, William $15,500.00

Potts, Tedd $15,500.00

Helmers, Greg $15,500.00

Rehak, Mary Ann $15,000.00

Ryan, Joel $13,500.00

Carter, Dale $13,500.00

Croteau, Randel $13,500.00

GO Busters

Top TAX Dogs

HoursRyan, Joel 425Daly, Timothy 375Spicer, Christopher 355Tubeileh, Tarek 350Gabor, Geoffrey 300Rehak, Mary Ann 300Dorney, J. Carter 300Parker, James 276Kleinman, Todd 220Moore, Colin 210Clay, Christopher 210Klein, David 200Rabinowitz, Michael 200Welsh, Joseph 175Moreau, John 173Prince, Jace 150Azim, Mohammed 150

UP & COMER

Larry

Gildea

CLIENT’S DESK...

“I must say that I was a pretty big skeptic when first approached by your company. I was determined to

give your representative a quick hearing and then scoot himout the door.

But after listening to Mel Saxton for just a few minutes, I began to think that maybe he was the

answer to my problems. Mel talked to me as though he knew my company, as though he understood who I

was, and the struggles I was having. He told me that I was a good candidate for your business services.

Fifteen minutes turned into 30 minutes, and then 30 minutes turned into an hour. Finally Mel asked me

if I would let him schedule a visit from one of your Analysts. I said okay, and retired to my office won-

dering, “What have I done?”

A few days later I met with your Senior Business Analyst, Russ Kruse. Russ, too, was able to spot many

of our vulnerabilities. He suggested that I take the next step and call in a Business Consultant who

would stay with us as long as needed. He stressed that participation in the program could be expensive,

but that if we were willing to change, we could reach the promised 2-·1 return on investment. Russ was

the key to our moving forward . He pointed out that a president’s job was to assure the financial health

of a corporation . We were just barely eking out a profit, and I needed help. Additionally, I was way too

involved in all aspects of the corporation. Russ re-arranged his departure the next day to meet with my

wife and me again, and encouraged us to move forward. Because of Russ, we signed up.

We met Jeff Dickinson along with Bill Molchan 10 days later. Daniel Donze was with them as a member

of STA. Russ had told us we were going to need Daniel’s tax strategies in

future years! I was all in at that point, so I agreed to sign up for STA’s

services as well. Again the promised return on our investment from STA

the 1st year was pivotal.

Three guys in our small office was a lot of people! Dan left in the

afternoon of the 2st day and Bill departed the next day. I questioned

whether our small business was a candidate for such an intensive (and

expensive) program. All three assured me that most of their business

came from small corporations like ours. The key was to be willing to

make changes and to stay with those changes, hard as they might be to

implement. If was co mmitted to change, then success would follow.

Working with Jeff was great! I’m an older guy and we seemed to

click. Jeff early on identified numerous areas where we needed to make

changes. Eventually, they boiled down to the following:

1. Increase Sales

2. Manage Cash Flow

3. Become a functional corporation.

Let me say here that I have learned a lot from Jeff! I don’t know how other business people come by

their acumen, but the knowledge that I gleaned from Jeff has been invaluable. It will be the key to our

success going forward. Our conversations focused on our customer base, how we increase sales to existing

customers, and how we find new sources of sales. I always figured that inventory was money in the bank.

Jeff pointed out otherwise, how excess inventory was draining us of profits.

We implemented a weekly cash management summary, a weekly “dashboard”, and monthly and yearly

sales goals. All of these would make it easier for me to manage the company, even when I was out of

town. (continued next page)

Consulting Services

“Where were you 10 years ago?”

Consulting Services

(continued)

One of the things that I needed to do was to raise prices immediately. We had kept up with vendor

price increases over the years, but our overhead expenses had out-distanced our pricing. I had been

reluctant to make a “global” price increase in the past, but Jeff pointed out how important that was

to our overall profitability. Most of our customers would not even notice, and he was right.

We addressed deficiencies in our Great Plains software program. Jeff referred it to as “Great Pains

... “ I called our software consultants and found that by asking the right questions, we could get the

software to do more of what we wanted. Going forward, we will be able to tier price increases to indi-

vidual stores based on a number of factors, including pre-paid freight options and volume purchases.

We talked about a functioning corporation versus one that wasn’t functional. The light went on in

my mind when he pointed out in a review that corporations were built around positions, not people. As

part of my eventual exit plan, I didn’t know how I would sell the company down the road. Jeff helped

me understand that defining job responsibilities and implementing functional structure would make

that task a lot simpler.

We talked about the “burden of labor” when making a new hire. I knew that the key to future

growth and my eventual departure depended on us hiring an other full-time person to help with in-

side sales and data entry. My GM and I were so involved in the daily details of running the business

that it was hard for us to think about making new sales calls and expanding our internet presence.

Time-off to attend trade shows always resulted in a loss of sales. Jeff helped us to project how much

of a sales increase we would need to make a new hire, and how important that was to accomplishing

our overall business plan.

Finally, we implemented a business incentive plan for our employees and developed

evaluation forms to use in regularly scheduled meetings with our staff. These evalu-

ations will be part of our profit-sharing plan going forward.

Jeff has become a great resource to us and I hope that we can maintain contact in

the future. He has promised to be “just an email away.” I have enjoyed working with

him and consider him a friend. I am amazed at the effort that he has put forth to

understand both our company’s problems and our company’s potential. I always felt

that we could be better than we are now. Jeff’s expertise will help us to be a better,

more profitable company.

Lastly, I asked all of your people at various times, “Where were you 10 years ago?”

Would I have even recognized the need for your services? I don’t know the answer to

that question, but I can say that I’m glad I didn’t have to wait another 5 years for

you to knock on my door.

Your services do not come cheap, and I know nothing about the consulting business

or how it works. But ideas are a valuable commodity, and ones that are tailored to

my specific business are hard to come by. I can read all of the business guides that

come my way, but implementing ideas into action is difficult. Having someone like

Jeff on our premises has been a great benefit. He has been a good sounding board

and a great cheerleader for the changes that we are making.

This has been an exciting experience for me! We will have a better and more prof-

itable business going forward, and I am glad to have participated in the process.

Now let me get back to running my much improved company...

Thomas Elison Henry Lloyd

Thomas Hager Kevin McCullough Andrew Tomlinson

Bruce Fuller Donald Walsh

Jerold Weissberg Alan Coe

Lawrence Guzowski Laura Kelly

Peter Wallace William Molchan George Roller III

Gary Hobbs Dennis Whitcomb

Allan Clark Eric Cox

John Schaefer William Scheyer

TopProject Managers

“I’m glad I didn’t have to wait another 5 years for you to knock on my door.”

Mailbox

CLIENT LETTER:

“This second project with your company has opened the minds of my employees as well as my own. The initial plan was to put together a standard operating proce-dure and implement a marketing plan to ramp up sales revenue. We ended up get-ting more than we bargained for. My teamnow understands not only their roles in the company, but the entire company as a whole and how the machine functions with each moving part. In addition, my people because of their own ideas and suggestions have taken ownership in the business and their responsibilities with a new, fiery attitude. More so than ability, it was the fear of going outside of their comfort zones and trying new things that were a few initial setbacks at the beginning of the project. Once we got everyone to get out of their own way, the results were amaz-ing! With the creation of our SOP, we were now able to flow through a sales order from prospect customer to receiving funds for a completed order without a hiccup. Before, incomplete files were being passed down the line and people were having to chase paperwork. With more accountability in place, the baton is now being passed instead of the buck. The broker team is continuing to increase their sales with a new attitude. Also, having implemented a sales activity tracker, the brokers now know how to measure their efforts. They know when they are or are not doing a good job. With every-one’s continued effort, there is no doubt in my mind that we can reach our goals for 2016 and beyond. Glenn has a coach’s way of getting the best out of his play-ers. I have and will continue to use and recommend the services provided by your company!”

CLIENT LETTER:

“We are very satisfied with the consulting services provided by Howard Rappaport. The experience and knowledge that Howard brought to us was extremely worthwhile and beneficial to my staff. Howard quickly observed, interviewed and identified key factors for improving op-erations and profitability. As President of the Company, I thought I understood my operations but soon realized that as a CEO I truly had inconsistencies in my management abilities. Howard helped me to un-cover these inconsistencies, to identify my weaknesses and how to fix them. Most importantly; he showed us how to set weekly management meetings that hold my staff actountable. I also had quite a few les-sons in what it means to be profitable! The Breakeven analysis exer-cises literally made me think differendy about pricing our product and projects. Along with understanding my GPM on a historical level and fixed costs, it will gready help me to reach target revenue goals because I will. understand my costs and impact on profitability. Gus and I both feel that we reached our expectations for the changes we wanted to make at our Company, and have no regrets for this engagement I feel much more secure in managing challenges we will. face given our new management structure and the key metrics put in place for measuring and managing our business.”

From Michael Rabinowitz

Mark Kiczula, BCRichard McDowell, Sales RepMark O’Leary, Sales SenexBrandon Stevens, AnalystDonna Brewer, Survey SenexDan Schneider, Consulting Dir.Bruce Fuller, Project ManagerHoward Rappaport, Consultant

Leo Wilson, Inside Sales RepKaren Lewandowski, TOJay Aldebert, Survey SenexJace Prince, AnalystDan Schneider, CSDGlenn Swick, Project Manager

Success Story

OUR

CLIENTThe clients who are brothers, own an LLC taxed as a general partnership in Louisiana. It is engaged in industrial, commercial and secondary-framing steel building erection. The company also provides remodeling services and it reported gross sales in excess of $2.5 million and net income of approximately $170,000.

However, the clients also own another LLC engaged in commercial and residential rental which reported total rental income of $850,000. The real estate leasing company’s holdings include strip malls, an industrial park, a four-unit townhouse, and other assets.

CLIENT’S GOALS: 1. Ensure that they are utilizing all applicable strategies to minimize business and per-

sonal taxes;2. Develop an entity structure that will shield business and personal assets from liabilities

that may arise from the companies’ operations;3. Review and recommend estate planning strategies that will minimize estate taxes and

avoid the cost and burden of the probate process;4. Analyze fringe benefit programs for the companies, such as healthcare coverage and

retirement benefits, that will reduce company and employee taxes as well as encour-age employee retention and participation; and

5. Recommend tax sensitive succession strategies so that each of the members can later transition their individual membership interests at some point in the future under their own terms.

HOW STA SURPASSED THE CLIENT’S EXPECTATIONS:STA was concerned that the remodeling company’s depreciable assets and real estate have not been segregated fully. Consequently the assets (including land with a book value of approximately $200,000) were exposed to potential unforeseen future creditors. STA recommended a comprehensive entity structure that would provide a significant layer of protection for the business assets, including its real estate, beyond the level of any liability insurance. Additionally, the recommended entity structure helped generate year one tax savings in excess of $170,000. Beyond asset protection and tax savings, STA also analyzed the clients’ parents’ estate plans. Over a period of three years, the clients’ father transferred large portions of the companies to his children. However, when the father shed his mortal coil, he did not have a fully complete estate plan that would fully protect his surviving spouse and family from additional estate taxes even though he developed a relatively comprehensive arrange-ment. As a result, with the help of Hugo Lucero, Imran Sulaimana, Andrew Patton, Brian Seebauer, and Gentry Stanley, STA was able to ensure that the clients’ were able to focus their efforts in continuing to make the company grow while having the peace of mind that their family’s wealth would not be eroded by unnecessary taxes.

BC: Hugo Lucero

BCT: Sulaimana, Imran

Rep: Andrew Patton

Senex: Mark O’Leary

Senior Business Analyst: Gentry Stanley

Survey Services Director: Jay Aldebert

Project Manager: Thomas Hager

Business Consultant: Leonard Kern

Consulting Services Director: Douglas DeRubeis

Strategic Tax Consultant: Bradford Mazo

Senior Tax Manager: Eric Lee

Tax Services Director: Donald Garner

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!