In the News

Full Sail Partners, a Deltek Premier Partner, announces that Michael Kessler has joined the firm as a Principal Consultant. Mr. Kessler’s hire bolsters the Full Sail Partners’ team to 25 professionals focused on accounting and technology solutions. Michael’s extensive knowledge of the Deltek product set and proven consulting expertise will be an ideal match to help clients streamline business processes and achieve greater efficiency from their Deltek Vision ERP system.

As Principal Consultant, Michael brings 30 years of experience working in and around project-based accounting in both the Government Contracting and Professional Services industry. His extensive background includes overseeing accounting, auditing and finance operations.

“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work with such a diverse set of clients,” said Michael Kessler. “I have a passion for helping finance departments utilize Deltek Vision and Resource Planning to their fullest capabilities to reach maximum productivity. I believe that processes designed under the guide of best practices, which work in tandem with system configuration, result in meaningful reporting and the ability to evaluate key performance indicators.”

Michael Kessler has spent the past nine years actively involved in the Deltek community as a member of the Deltek Direct team where he assisted hundreds of US and international clients with system implementations and application support. His keen understanding of the Deltek Vision product, previous industry experience, and his passion for helping clients brings a strong player to the Full Sail Partners consulting arsenal.

“We are honored to have Michael join the Full Sail Partners’ team,” said Scott Seal, Full Sail Partners’ Vice President of Consulting. “Michael’s vast knowledge of Deltek Vision ERP and Resource Planning adds additional depth and expertise to our collaborative Consulting Team. Michael has a proven track record with offering exceptional client services and we are excited to have him help our clients better leverage their Deltek Vision systems.”

For more information, please email Full Sail Partners’ Marketing Communications Department. Interested in learning more about the Full Sail Partners' team? Check out our crew!

With Deltek Touch CRM for Vision, Deltek Vision CRM customers have access to the critical business information they need, through their iOS or Android devices — anywhere, anytime! See how Touch CRM gives your firm the strategic advantage to do more.

Deltek Touch CRM: 3 Strategic Advantages

1) Access to Crucial Information While On-The-Go

Deltek Touch CRM provides out of office employees with immediate access to important information such as account history, contact information and much more!

Just a few short years ago, being away from the office meant being completely blocked out from your company’s competitive intelligence. Not anymore! With Deltek Touch CRM your employees have full access to your Deltek Vision CRM system from their mobile device. Boost your road-warrior’s productivity by providing them with the tools needed to keep in touch with a higher number of prospects

2) Collect Information at the Source

Deltek Touch CRM is designed to help your employees gather information at the source. Improve data accuracy by giving your out-of-office team the ability to instantly update Vision data from a mobile device, anywhere in the world!

3) Improve Company Insight

Deltek Touch CRM allows all of your employees access to the most up-to-date real-time information. Have you ever reached out to a customer, only to find out that one of your co-workers had already spoken with them the day before? This situation is not only embarrassing, but it makes your entire organization appear inept. Reduce the amount of information lag in your organization by enabling mobile CRM.

Instead of waiting for weekly, monthly or quarterly reports, decision makers can access on-demand information and address any problems before they arise.

Mobile CRM is No Longer Optional

You already take your smart phone everywhere, so why not take your Vision data with you? Today’s market place is a dog-eat-dog world, and you need every competitive advantage you can get. See how your firm can start doing more with Deltek Touch CRM:

Ultimately, when push comes to shove, there are really only 3 ways to increase profits:  Sell more, improve margins or decrease overhead costs. While these principals may sound simple on paper they are often difficult to execute in the real world. But have you ever thought about the role client feedback plays in your firm profits? Perception is reality and understanding how your clients perceive you can uniquely position your firm to fuel the bottom line and increase profits.

The Breakdown: 3 Ways for Increase Profits

Sell More | Simply put, there are only two ways to sell more: Add new customers and increase sales to existing customers. In my experience, sales discussions tend to focus on adding new customers. But research has shown that it costs at least 8 times more to sell to a new customer versus an existing client. Ideally we want to ensure long term stability with existing relationship and leverage those relationships to win new work.

Tip for selling more:

• Avoid losing your least expensive prospects – existing customers. The best way to ensure long and meaningful relationships with clients is to (gasp!) create real relationships. Developing a client feedback process allows your firm to build trust between you and your clients, continuously strengthening your relationships and building client loyalty.

Improving Margins | The Pareto Principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Consequently, many businesses have glaring opportunities for improvements to their bottom line by simply eliminating or refocusing areas of their business that do not fit company goals. Regardless of the area of business you target, strong client relationships are proven to make a positive impact to your bottom line.

Tip for improving margins:

• All opportunities are not created equal. It’s a dog eat dog world and as clients are receiving more proposals than ever, identifying strategies to increase your win rate becomes increasingly important. Successful professional services firms are implementing tools and processes to create an RFP feedback strategy.

Decrease Overhead Costs | While expense management is an important element to every successful business, it is imperative to understand where to cut costs in your business. Is re-work eating away at your profit margins? Are your project managers delivering more than the scope of work in the contract to try and ensure their clients are satisfied? By using client feedback to guide these decisions we are able to cut fat from our budget – without cutting bone!

Tip for decreasing overhead costs:

• Develop a corporate culture that embraces automation. Although automating processes and procedures sounds like something only for Fortune 500 companies, automation is actually perfectly suited for  small- to medium-sized businesses where the focus is on being lean and mean. Start decreasing your overhead costs by focusing automation on processes and tasks that are menial and time intensive. Doing so will free up your employees to focus on tasks and assignments better suited for humans such as responding, tweaking, evaluating and navigating complex social issues. 

So Where’s the Magic Template? 

Ultimately there is no golden brush for improving profits. Your firm needs to make decisions based on your own set of criteria. However, as you look to continue to set yourself apart and differentiate from your competition, consider the value of keeping your clients at the center of everything you do. Many firms claim to be client-centric, but do words often meet reality? The Client Feedback Tool can help you integrate a proven process into your project delivery system to keep your clients at the center of your business and give your firm the winning hand. 
 

Full Sail Partners, a Client Feedback Tool and Deltek Premier Partner, recently announced it has earned a spot on Accounting Today’s 2015 Top Value-Added Reseller (VAR) List. Accounting Today is a leading provider of online business news for the tax and accounting community, offering breaking news, in-depth features, insightful editorial analysis, and a host of web-related resources and services.

Each year a select group of 100 organizations are honored for their accomplishments as VARs. The top VARs are selected from organizations focused on sales and implementation of accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Criteria used to determine the winners include 2014 revenue, number of offices, and staff size.

According to Seth Fineberg, Technology Editor of Accounting Today, “The Accounting Today VAR 100 list is comprised of top accounting and ERP software resellers throughout the country, ranked by revenue. This select group represents those in the world of accounting software resellers that are truly ahead of the pack and we are pleased to honor them in this special report.”

Full Sail Partners provides on-premise and cloud-based solutions for architects and engineers, energy and environmental consultants, and professional service firms across the United States. Full Sail Partners' team, collectively, brings more than 200 years of experience with Deltek solutions. The firm represents unique technology solutions that integrate with Deltek Vision including Deltek’s Kona social collaboration platform, the Client Feedback Tool, and Vision Unleashed.

"Last year Full Sail Partners was listed as one of the VARs to watch and we are extremely honored to make our return to the Value-Added Reseller Top 100 List," said Sarah Gonnella, Vice President of Marketing and Sales of Full Sail Partners. "Our firm continues to deepen our bench strength with Deltek Vision experts, allowing us to be the go-to firm for consulting, customization and integration. Jumping to number 85 in Accounting Today’s Top 100 Value Added Reseller list is a great accomplishment and demonstrates our ability to engage our existing client base, as well as, target new project-based firms beyond the AEC industry.”
 

Deltek Touch Time and Expense for Vision provides flexibility for employees to easily capture, track and manage expense reports on-the-go. A Recent Aberdeen Group study shows the following research concerning mobile-enabled expense programs:

• Visibility is a prime concern for the majority of organizations in regards to travel and expense management.
• Mobile applications and technology are considered a ‘link to the future’ and will help business travelers and executives enact key expense management processes via smartphones or tablet devices.
• Analytics is a prime means of enhancing travel and expense management visibility, gaining intelligence into the ROI of business.

Deltek Touch Time and Expense for Vision enables your firm to operate as a Best-in-Class organization and operate at the forefront of the industry. Enabling mobile expense reporting in your organization will allow users to: 

• Document transaction data at the time the expense is incurred
• Quickly add cash expenses (such as tips) to an expense report
• Capture receipt images with a smart phone’s camera
• Provide historical back-up data on-demand, in real time

Watch the below video and take a tour of Deltek Touch Time and Expense. See how quick and easy creating expense reports on the go should be. Never miss another expense again by shedding the old restrictions of a desk and going mobile with your expense reports! 

Marketing is tough. Marketers are expected to be jacks of all trades:  Brand manager, technology expert,social butterfly and head collaborator. Yet at the end of the day marketing is often a thankless job. However, the fruits of our labors are often six degrees of separation removed from our actual efforts. We do not directly sell and there is no physical doo-dad at the end of the day that we can point to in order to justify our existence. Enter the world of ‘marketing analytics.’

What the heck are marketing analytics? Marketing analytics are the lifeblood of your efforts. You spend countless hours working on integrated marketing content – blogs, newsletters, infographics, proposals and much more! Yet at the end of the day can you honestly claim to understand the impact of these efforts? Marketing analytics are not only the indicators of our successes but the learning blocks of our mistakes.

Don’t fool yourself! Know what marketing analytics are worth tracking.

Like many things in life, we can often get caught focusing too much on the nice-pretty red herring rather than digging deep and identifying what truly matters. Metrics are no different! Marketers often get caught looking at superficial statistics rather than focusing in on metrics strengthen our business case. To better understand what kind of metrics you should focus on let’s identify the two main data types:

Vanity Metrics | these metrics often look good – and make you feel good – at first glance. Unfortunately, vanity metrics focus on pumping up our ego – not our business. I often equate these metrics to a high school popularity contest: All that matters is how many people sign my yearbook. But don’t be fooled, these metrics are not your friends. So what are some examples of these metrics?

• Total website visits
• Page views
• Number of subscribers or followers

As you can see, these metrics look good at first. But do they actually provide actionable data that allows you to drive your business case forward? The ambiguity of these analytics leaves your marketing efforts reactive rather than proactive.

Action Metrics | meaningful metrics are the bread and butter of your efforts. To be able to leverage marketing analytics to improve your marketing campaigns you must be able to understand the customer behavior represented by these metrics. Using the above high school analogy, these action metrics are representative of the number of people that invite you to their party. These metrics do not only want to know you – they want to hang out with you! Examples include:

• Site behaviors – what are people actually viewing and consuming on your website
• Who is converting; is there a common buyer persona?
• Customer acquisition costs

These metrics actually mean something to your business. They are not only indicative of your efforts, but reflective of your results.

How do we track marketing analytics?

So now that we understand what we want to track we must figure out how to track our desired marketing analytics. Luckily for you, there are hundreds of tools out there. Highlighted below are examples of each type of tool you will want to add to your marketing arsenal.

Content Management System (CMS) | a content management system will allow you to seamlessly optimize all of your integrated marketing efforts within your website. Gone are the days of fumbling with html and css codes. While in the day-to-day trenches of marketing you need the ability to quickly and easily access the living data regarding your marketing campaigns – and this is precisely what a CMS allows you to do.

Examples of CMS include:

• Act-On
• Hubspot
• Marketo

Whatever CMS you decide is right for you, make sure that it integrated with all of your other business systems and processes to provide you with maximum visibility.

Web Analytics Platform | integrating your website with a Web analytics platform is essential for taking the step from analytics-shmoe to analytics-pro. Yes, you already get analytics from your CMS. However, think of a CMS as fast food and a full Web analytics platform as a five-course meal. Your Web analytics platform is your go-to asset when you need the full meat and potatoes of reporting.

Examples of Web analytics platforms include:

• Google analytics
• Mixpanel
• Webtrends

Understanding a full Web analytics platform can be intimidating. Luckily you can often find free training. For example, Google offers a free analytics certification course that you can complete at your own leisure!

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System | what good are all of these marketing analytics if you can’t actually do anything with them? A CRM system will allow you to better understand your leads, holistically track your marketing campaigns and most importantly provide you with the tools needed to build meaningful relationships. Our CRM recommendation for professional services firms is Deltek Vision.

Go forth and spread your analytical marketing wings!

Gone are the days where you fear that your marketing efforts will be glossed over. You now have the tools and knowledge needed to go out and make something of your marketing campaigns! We hope that you take this new found knowledge and prove your resolve by becoming an analytical marketing guru!