What are your firms key strategies and objectives?
Colliers’ Enterprise 25 Growth Strategy is built on 6 pillars to augment internal growth with smart acquisitions that expand our service lines and build expertise in areas that matter to our clients.
Build Scale - Growing transactional services, outsourcing & advisory, and Investment Management copiabilities globally
Strategically Acquire - Pursue smart acquisitions that will help gain a market share and expand recurring revenue streams.
Expand Client Relationships - Continue earning trust of our clients by providing expert advice and exceptional service.
Make Culture Count - Attract top talent, engage our people, retain enterprising professionals.
Amplify Our Brand - Leverage marketing expertise to raise brand awareness.
Innovate with Technology - Developing and investing in technology solutions.
What are the different forms of business vehicles?
- Sole Practitioner - An Individual who operates and manages a business or professional practice independently, without partners.
- Partnership - A formal arrangement between two or more parties who come together to manage and operate a business while sharing its profits and liabilities.
- Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) - A flexible legal and tax entity where every partner has limited personal liability for the debts or claims of the partnership.
- Limited Company (Ltd) - A legal structure that is legally separate form its shareholders, has Limited Liability for its shareholders, exclusive rights, provides financial protection, easier financing, tax benefits, and continuity when shareholders retire etc.
- Public Limited Company (PLC) - A type of company in the UK that offers share of stock t the general public. Buyers of the shares have limited liability. PLCs can raise capital by issuing public shares, however requires greater regulation etc.
Why is business planning important?
Helps to inform business decisions and is key to knowing how a business will reach its targets / objectives.
It provides:
1. Clarity and focus
2. Enables strategic decision making
3. Enables efficient resource allocation
4. Risk management
5. Attracts investors and lenders.
6. Enables measurement of progress
7. Communication tool.
What are your firms core values?
Be enterprising
Collaborate
Invest in relationships
Be experts
Do what’s right for our clients, people, and communities.
How is your team’s performance measured?
Fee targets at the beginning of the financial year, weekly/monthly/quarterly WIP or business meetings to track progress.
Financial metrics = revenue, profit margins, Return on Investment, cash flow.
Operational Metrics = efficiency metrics (time allocation), productivity metrics, customer satisfaction (NPS scores), employee engagement.
What is the different between Limited company’s and partnerships?
The key difference is the liability. In a partnership, owners are liable for the company’s debts. In a limited company, directors are not personably liable, for debts.
What is a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique used to help guide strategies, risk management, and decision making.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
What issues would a company experience with a high staff turnover?
- Increased recruitment costs
- Increased training costs
- Inconsistent production / performance
- Poor staff morale
- Lower customer satisfaction / reputational damage
- Loss of customers / repeat business
- Higher operational expenditure
- Reduced profitability.
What’s the difference between fee earners vs non-fee earners?
Fee earners include CRE consultants, valuers, quantity surveyors, project managers, building surveyors etc.
Non-fee earners include administration staff, business development managers, and IT support staff.
What components would you identify within a business plan?
- Executive summary
- Market strategy
- Vision and mission statements
- Products and services
- Management team and organisation structure
- Financial forecasts
- Responsibilities and targets
- SWOT analysis.
- PEST analysis
What is a business model?
It is a strategy implemented by an organisation to generate revenue and make profit from its operations.
Business models may detail:
o Products / services being offered to the client base.
o Business niche or sector being operated in.
o Target clients / customers
o Route to market entry including costs associated with bringing the product / service to the target market.
What is a business strategy?
Outlines the actions and decisions a company plans to take to reach its goals and objectives.
Strategy will guide top level executives as well as departments and what activities should and shouldn’t be undertaken to execute the business goals and objectives.
How does your firm market it’s business over the short, medium and long-term?
Short = pitching directly on sales
Medium = Promotion of the business e.g. through social media
Long = Meeting and nurturing client relationships
How can a business monitor performance and use management tools to track progress?
- A SWOT analysis can be a useful tool to use – understand its merits and opportunities and risks of the business and the resources required to service clients
- The use of fee forecasts is crucial to plan future business activities and ensure attainment of a desired minimum profit margin
- Budgets, cash flows and financial/audit controls are important to ensure the correct allocation of resources and expenditure
How would a business plan alter for individual, departmental and company? As well as for different forms of business vehicle?
Individual = specific to the person, e.g. fees, referrals etc.
Departmental = needs to reflect the department and consider wider costs and pressures e.g. across sectors - e.g. targeting profit over a quarter
Company wide = again, encapsulate wider factors that are impacting all service lines, wider issues – could target profit say over the year
sole practitioner, partnership, LLP, limited company and PLC – similar scale as above
