dci-solutions-2

When “Free” Advice Costs You $1.5 Million in Healthcare Spend

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:53:02 GMT

For many businesses, healthcare is one of the largest and fastest-growing expenses on the balance sheet. Yet the way most companies manage it hasn’t changed in decades.

A recent case we worked on highlights just how costly that can be.

The Situation

A company with 290 employees received their renewal from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The projected increase: 16.99%

That pushed their expected annual healthcare spend to approximately:

�� $5.5 million

For a group of this size, that number should raise eyebrows.

But unfortunately, it’s becoming more common, not less.

Why This Keeps Happening

Most employers rely on their broker to:

Shop the market
Negotiate rates
Present plan options

And to be fair, most brokers are doing those things.

The issue is how they’re doing them.

In a traditional fully insured model, “shopping” typically means moving between the same handful of carriers:

Blue Cross Blue Shield
UnitedHealthcare
Aetna
Cigna

Each year becomes a cycle:

Receive a large increase
Shop the market
Shift carriers or adjust plans
Repeat next year

This approach may create the appearance of cost control, but it rarely produces meaningful, long-term savings.

The Real Problem: A Reactive Strategy

The traditional model is reactive by design.

Employers are:

Responding to renewals instead of controlling them
Accepting trend increases as unavoidable
Operating with limited visibility into what’s driving costs

Without transparency and a proactive strategy, costs will continue to rise, regardless of how often the plan is “shopped.”

A Different Approach

Instead of simply remarketing the plan, we helped this client rethink their healthcare strategy entirely.

By implementing a more strategic and data-driven approach, we were able to:

�� Reduce total annual healthcare spend from $5.5 million to $4 million

That’s a $1.5 million reduction, achieved without cutting benefits or shifting additional burden to employees.

So… Is Your Broker Really “Free”?

Many employers believe their broker services come at no cost.

Technically, that’s true; there’s no direct invoice.

But broker compensation is typically built into your premiums.

Which means:

If your current approach results in millions of dollars in unnecessary spend…

you’re still paying for it, just indirectly.

The Cost of Staying the Same

If your organization is:

Experiencing annual increases of 10% or more
Remaining fully insured without exploring alternatives
Relying solely on market “shopping”

There’s a strong chance you’re overpaying for healthcare.

And over time, those incremental increases compound into millions.

A Better Question to Ask

Instead of asking:

“Did we shop the market this year?”

Consider asking:

“Do we have a strategy to control our healthcare costs long-term?”

That shift in thinking is where real savings begin.

A Final Thought

Healthcare costs don’t rise because employers aren’t trying hard enough.

They rise because most are operating within a system that wasn’t designed to control them.

If your projected spend is approaching $5M+ for a 300-employee group , it may be time to rethink the strategy, not just the carrier.

Let's Talk

At DCI Solutions, we help companies take a more strategic approach to healthcare — one that prioritizes transparency, control, and measurable savings.

If you’re questioning your current trajectory, we’re happy to have a conversation.

Please feel free to contact us here: info@dcisolutions.net | 760-809-8734 or set up a meeting here .

Sufficiently Engaged Employees

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 15:02:50 GMT

Employee engagement determines a company’s health and profitability. Across a wide number of companies, Gallup reports that the level of employee engagement follows a “1/6 : 2/6 : 3/6” ratio.

1 out of 6 employees (including management) resist the ownership’s goals and vision.
2 out of 6 support the ownership’s goals and vision.
3 out of 6 are “neutral.” They can be swayed by either the “resisters” or the “supporters.”

Owners and executives should understand that they are competing every day with the “resisting “1 /6” to win over the neutral “3 / 6” and to sustain supportive engagement from the “2/6.”

To improve the chances of winning this competition, leaders should recognize and avoid two common flaws:

FLAW #1: CRITICAL LEADERSHIP

“Critical Leadership” results in staff feeling less than fully appreciated if not rewarded for taking informed but unrequired risks that could be in the best interest of the company’s ownership.

Example: The CFO and the controller of a privately held company understood how a specialized tax credit and cost review would recover substantial amounts of cash. “The problem,” he said behind closed doors, “is the owner of this company would criticize us for not being able to find this money all by ourselves without you. We can’t have that.”

In this example, the company owners and all of the “stakeholders” lose valuable cash because an “Insufficiently Engaged Employee” didn’t want to accept what was misperceived as personal risk.

FLAW #2: REMOTE LEADERSHIP

The best leadership is close enough to offer clear guidance, incentives and accountability to ensure the organization’s health and profitability. When personal attention is too remote for too long a period of time, the important opportunities that should be first brought to the owner/CEO for an informed decision and then implemented by the staff are ignored or blocked. Instead, those opportunities are left for the staff to review and pursue or ignore according to their “personal perspective” and desire to avoid “personal risk.” This “Abdelegation” (combination of delegation mixed with abdication) is why too many great decisions and gains don’t get made in time, if ever.

Example: For the last few years, an AP audit/recovery service recovered millions for a Fortune 1000 company. In response to a corporate directive to cut costs, the accounting department either had to let go of a well-liked staff member or discontinue the AP audit/recovery service, which was paying for itself many times over. The department discontinued the service. The company is now in worse financial condition than when the accounting department was asked to cut costs. Penny-wise and pound-foolish? Obviously, YES! But when given the opportunity to save jobs, many people will do so – even when it hurts the company and the common good.

In both cases the decisions made by executives and staff were inline chiefly with the best interests of the company’s management personnel rather than the company or the company’s owner(s). The alternative is to replace the perspective of being overbearing and remote bosses to apply a leadership practice that causes employees to perceive them not as bosses, but as “Fully Engaged Employee-Centered Leaders.”

To lead better, an owner/CEO should start with the assumption that the employer’s profitability is still secondary to other work-related priorities held by his VPs and department heads. Their priorities include: job security, career advancement, autonomy, peace, compensation (pay benefits, flex time), recognition (office relationships, peer respect, recognition from superiors), personal development, and the avoidance of more stress/work for which there is no extra reward.

One simple improvement leaders can use to improve employee engagement and corporate profits simultaneously is DCI’s “3-A Communication.” The 3-A’s are:

Align. Show how your decisions/goals align with employee well being and with the big picture.
Affirm. Show respect and care for those touched by your decisions.
Assign. Clarify roles, expectations and rewards for people carrying out your decisions.

As an example, clients of DCI use this memo which incorporates “3-A Leadership” principles:

Our executive team is committed to continually improving our employee well being with cost structure and financial health without reducing the quality of the services we give or the services we deliver to our consumers.

To achieve these goals, we have engaged DCI Solutions to identify opportunities within our tax and overhead structure for additional discounts, credits, and refunds. Their mandate is to help us see worthwhile recoveries and cost savings without creating any risk for or unreasonable burdens on our staff.

At some point DCI may request your time or input in order to expedite a savings for the good of our company. Your cooperation in this matter is necessary and appreciated. The resulting success reflects well on each department and person involved. The more effective DCI is in saving money for the company, the more profits we will have to grow our business and bonus our people.

If you have any questions, concerns, or needs that cannot best be addressed by DCI Solutions directly, please feel free to contact us: info@dcisolutions.net | 760-809-8734

Becoming Elite with Healthcare

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:52:41 GMT

If you could see a ranking of business owners and executives who best control healthcare costs and then designate the “top 1%,” you would have to include Susan, the owner of a retail chain in the Midwest.

Susan is a “one percenter” in controlling healthcare costs for three reasons:

1) She commits to thinking rationally about healthcare.

100% of rational, fact-driven business owners and executives tend not to view healthcare costs with the same rational approach they apply to other significant expenses.

Unlike other expenses, health insurance directly affects employees who are seldom educated adequately on how win/win scenarios can benefit both employee and employer at the same time. Usually, the employee expects the employer to have the best answers but the employer is under-resourced and assumes that a commissioned salesperson, the health insurance broker, will be able to figure it out with input from the HR department. The HR department is motivated to have all employees happy and not complaining. HR is also motivated to show that costs are not escalating dramatically year over year. All brokers want to keep the client and most want to keep the current level of commission – a motivation that too often automatically separates the broker’s interests from the client’s.

“Some owners see a broker the way tribal villagers see the village shaman,” Susan shared with me. “He’s the guy who interprets the dark secrets, and saves the employees who wholly trust him alone to deal with the things they don’t understand. This gives employees a sense of safety and security.” After gaining a full understanding of healthcare costs without the “help” of her previous retail broker, Susan had an interesting way of dealing with that broker. “I threw him off the porch,” she said.

2) She has owner/HR alignment.
Both Susan and her HR department must: a) share an objective understanding of all healthcare cost drivers, and b) master the best alternatives for reducing costs. Their ability to be fully engaged and aligned, which is more than mere agreement, is the second factor that makes Susan a member of the one percent. We aren’t suggesting they must do all of this on their own. They can rely on the truly UNBIASED insight and ongoing support of DCI.

3) Her total cost puts her in the one percent.
The total cost of healthcare is more than just the premium amounts. The true cost of healthcare is:

TOTAL PREMIUMS FOR THE EMPLOYEE ONLY (EMPLOYER & EMPLOYEE SHARE)

PLUS

ALL ADDITIONAL PREMIUMS PAID BY EMPLOYEE OR EMPLOYER TO COVER DEPENDENTS

PLUS

ALL DEDUCTIBLES AND COPAYS PAID BY THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE.

Add up those three component numbers then divide the sum by the total number of employees in your
plan. What do you get?

For companies in the bottom 50% of cost-efficiency, this number will be greater than $12,000 per employee per year (PEPY) .

For companies in the top 50%, this number may be closer to $8,000 PEPY.

One percenters like Susan are well under $5,000 PEPY.

If you don’t already know your full cost on a PEPY basis, do the math yourself now or call DCI to perform the math with zero bias. It might be true that no one besides your retail broker could possibly reduce costs any lower and without sacrificing quality, but why risk it?

Before your company commits to another year of unnecessarily high costs, contact DCI. Our solutions and strategies do not require you to switch brokers or networks and you don’t have to reduce coverage or increase employee deductibles. Our analyses give you the insight and power to be a one percenter!

info@dcisolutions.net | 760-809-8734

Cash Flow with NO LAYOFFS and NO SACRIFICE

kconole@dcisolutions.net (Kirk Conole) — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:35:54 GMT

When it comes to SEO, there isn't a magic formula to instantly send your site off to the #1 search result on Google.
But there are some basic principles you should follow for a wonderful starting point.

Here are the top 5 SEO practices to start with:

#1 Write for people, not for search engines
Always write original, interesting, high quality site content that's error free and relevant to your site.

Search engines like Google can easily detect content that is duplicated from elsewhere online, that contains grammatical errors, or that is stuffed with keywords.

#2 Add a blog to your site and use rich media
To engage your site visitors and blog readers, create posts that include non-textual media like photos, videos, or original visualizations (infographics). Having that extra content (especially if it's captivating) will increase the time users spend on your site as well as the likelihood they will share your site with their own community.

#3 Offer a positive user experience throughout your site
Google will know if you're using your site to aggressively advertise your service, or if you're being too pushy. Always aim to offer site visitors a pleasant experience on your site. That means clear content, support when needed, and always an option to go back.

#4 Create a network of internal links (but don't overdo it)

Add links between different pages of your site and your blog, but try to follow a process that feels organic rather than heavy linking meant just for search engine crawlers. Link between pages that make sense, for example, on your services page, link a certain industry specific term, and link it to a blog post you wrote about it, that gives more information on that term.

#5 Always check your site's Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a standard site performance standard initially created by Google. The report shows site owners how their site pages perform 'for real,' how long it takes for site visitors to load site pages, and it offers ways to fix issues, if there are any.

Do I Need a Fractional CFO?

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 18:23:26 GMT

Trying to grow into the middle market? Many business owners make the mistake of giving the “CFO” title to the overworked, under-equipped accounting manager.

When a loyal, affordable accounting manager who lacks the ability to forecast future performance and resource requirements is made the CFO you might see these warning signs:

WARNING SIGNS:

Closings are consistently late and you don’t know why.
Your bank covenants are never on time and you have a hard time getting funding.
Your business valuation is below average for your market.
Your repeatedly have unexpected cash shortages.
You don’t really understand your financial statements.
You don’t know what results to expect in the next 6-12 months.

Employers with less than $10MM revenue who want to triple revenues should get high-level, strategic CFO guidance, even if part time. The right CFO talent will pay for the added salary cost many times over.

The Fractional CFO

The most cost-efficient way for many medium sized businesses to grow into the middle market is to deploy a top talent CFO on a part-time basis.

How do you know when you’ve chosen the right fractional CFO? The first way you know is that the six warning signs disappear.

The other way you know is when you say to your fractional CFO: “Ever since you came onboard, I know more about my business than I ever did!”

WHEN TO CONSIDER A FULL-TIME CFO

Business owners who want to further increase their cost efficiency use DCI’s Cost Efficiency dashboard. To learn how this increases profit and market value up to 10%, contact DCI Solutions at: info@dcisolutions.net | 760-809-8734

Improve Productivity with NO LAYOFFS and NO SACRIFICE

kconole@dcisolutions.net (Kirk Conole) — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:34:11 GMT

Optimize productivity and cash position and cash flow:

When your business takes payment by credit card, the transaction fees that you pay might be as high as 4%.

This means if your company has $10MM in card transactions, you pay $200,000-$400,000 in fees unless you offset those fees (which you can do all the way to zero in some cases).

If your company takes payment by credit card from other companies, the interchange rate for B2B transactions automatically jumps even higher (an extra 1% sometimes) if you do not enter the additional data mandated by the card brands.

That increase means if you have $10 MM in B2B card transactions, you could be paying up to $450,000 in total fees.

Working remotely, you can get a lot of that money back. Sometimes all of it.

Step 1 – You eliminate that B2B interchange penalty if you manually populate all the requested fields or, better yet, just authorize the integration of an automated workaround.

Step 2 – You begin reducing your fees by sending a letter like the one below, including an independent analysis (see example below) and, if you like, a competing proposal.

Dear Bank/Card Processor,

We are evaluating our costs, including our costs for card processing as you can see in the attached fee analysis.

We also have received this proposal you see attached for month-to-month service with competitive terms and no exit penalties.

Could you please respond with a competitive bid and send it to me at your soonest? Our company would like to activate these savings quickly.

Thank you

We offer advisors a true win-win solution that really moves the needle for their clients and we build great relationships with any trusted advisor who would like to bring this kind of added value to their client base. To learn more, contact DCI at info@dcisolutions.net or (888) 395-0809

Best Practices to Improve Cash Flow and Productivity with a Virtual IT Model

kconole@dcisolutions.net (Kirk Conole) — Thu, 01 May 2025 13:34:11 GMT

Uses a Virtual IT Model.

– Cuts electricity costs up to $2K/yr. per server.

– Cuts external support costs up to 90%.

– Increases employee autonomy and productivity.

Two breakthroughs in 2006 allow the advantages of a Virtual IT model:

1. Google released cloud-based G-Suite which eliminated the need for servers.

2. MIT released Meraki which eliminated the need for on-site tech support.

Virtual IT support makes your company more nimble, more productive and more capable of surviving the economic downturn.

Increase Workforce Productivity with a Virtual IT Model

CEOs use virtual IT support to see higher productivity and large, immediate savings.

Traditional IT Model
Employees depend on techs
Employees need to be on site
Expensive, on-site servers and services
Emphasis on “fixing problems”

Virtual IT Model
Employees more autonomous
Employees productive when mobile
Costs drop ($1K/xx per year)
Emphasis on productivity

Two breakthroughs in 2006 made the advantages of a Virtual IT model possible:

1. Google released cloud-based G-Suite which eliminated the need for servers.

2. MIT released Meraki which eliminated the need for on-site tech support.

“If this is so great why am I just now learning about it?”

• Old business models and ways of thinking die hard.
• Virtual IT model threatens the relevance and revenue of most MSP and IT people.

Deploying G-suite and Meraki means

1. Up to 75% lower computer hardware costs
2. Lower electricity costs (up to $2K/yr. per server)
3. Up to 90% lower support costs
4. Increasing employee autonomy and productivity dramatically
5. Joining a growing list of nimble companies with success testimonials

The CEO’s Confidential evaluation requires:

• Copy of current IT service contract
• 12 months of IT service invoice
• Tally of computer-using managers, employees, computers and servers
•. IT Dept’s fully burdened annual cost (payroll + benefits _ taxes)

Episode 003: 20% Growth Using Fractional CFOs

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 23:14:38 GMT

In this episode, we meet Jim Downes, an expert fractional CFO.

Kirk and Jim explore the advantages companies get using fractional CFOs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS from 20% growth using fractional CFO’s episode:

01:37 At what point do you need a fractional CFO?
03:35 There are two types of CFOs.
05:48 What a good CFO looks at.
07:02 20% growth when using a good fractional CFO.
10:22 The importance of having a clear written plan.
11:15 The unique advantage of a part-time outsider.

Episode 002: Your Unseen Liabilities in your 401k Plan

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 23:10:19 GMT

In this episode, we meet Maribel Larios, an expert in 401k plans and 457s who consistently shows business owners how to reduce their personal liability and costs in their retirement plans.

Kirk and Maribel explore how to help companies and governments get more money out of their retirement plans.

KEY TAKEAWAYS from Your Unseen Liabilities in Your 401k Plan episode:

00:46 When is it wise to combine your benefit plans?
04:26 Reducing multiple-providers without sacrificing.
08:26 Protect yourself by knowing your vendor’s conflicts of interest.
11:41 What hides in expense ratios?
18:09 For best pricing DO NOT ask your provider for better pricing.
20:53 You seldom get what you pay for.
21:50 Fiduciaries reduce your personal risk at no additional cost.
25:08 What it means if you’ve been paying a “broker deal”.
26:35 The TWO question CEOs must get answered…
30:16 Get someone else to be the bad guy.
33:37 CEO’s personal liability…
36:22 Don’t rely on record keepers for advice.

Episode 001: eChecks Cut Waste 80%

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 22:57:04 GMT

Truly great ideas are ones you couldn’t have imagined before, and can’t imagine going without now. PJ Gupta has that kind of idea for you.

In this episode, we meet PJ, an expert in electronic payments.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

00:27 eCheck payments increase productivity, reduce risk, and save significant money
03:31 All it takes to send money is a name and an email address. No codes, logins passwords, routing numbers, or account numbers
04:17 Simplicity goes up and check fraud goes down
05:59 Self onboarding Easy enough for SMB; sophisticated enough for enterprise
08:40 Lower processing costs, fewer chargebacks, less time lost in support calls
09:17 Typical cost of handling exceptions per 100 paper check exceptions is $100 to $300
10:36 Source IP address, timestamp, and the browser = proof of received payment
12:48 Cost of sending a paper check = $5 to $10 (Goldman Sachs study)
13:10 Why should companies using card payments for airline miles pay by eCheck?
21:46 International payments and payroll payments made easy
25:38 Solving two problems: Immediate availability of funds, paying the underbanked
29:42 Instant pay is instant and worldwide (enter 16 + 4 digits). ACH set up and receipt takes multiple days.
32:40 How payment fraud is reduced and mitigated

PJ Gupta is the founder at Checkbook. Please visit www.checkbook.io

Employee Retention Credit (ERC) up to $33,000 per EE

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 20:47:09 GMT

The CARES Act Employee Retention Credit (ERC) gives up to $33,000 per employee to eligible employers.

Examples:

60-employee Hotel Group – $1.5 Million
75-employee Nursing Home – $1.75 Million
7-employee Not for Profit – $200,000
33-employee Appliance Distributor – $745,000

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) experts at DCI Solutions help you

Establish your ERC claim. Every DCI client sees tax savings using DCI’s expertise, including those who thought they weren’t eligible for ERC.
Maximize your ERC claim. Your success requires we maximize the money you are eligible for and leave nothing on the table.
Document your ERC claim. It’s not enough to qualify you must have your ERC claim documented thoroughly in the event of an audit

DCI can add additional tax incentives and grants to make your financial gain even larger.

Call for a FREE consultation today!
info@dcisolutions.net
We’ll explain everything simply and give you a forecast so you know what to expect.

Q: What is the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)?

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a CARES ACT incentive that gives special funds to eligible businesses who keep some or most of their employees on payroll.

Q: How much money can I get back from the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)?

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) provides business owners up to

$5,000 per full-time employee retained between Oct 1, 2020 and De 31, 2020.
$28,000 per full-time employee retained between Jan 1, 2021 and Dec 31, 2021.
$33,000 Maximum Credit per Employee

Example: Employer with 31 employees could get over $1 Million! (31 EE X $33,000 per EE = $1,023,000)

Q: How do I qualify for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)?

There are many ways to qualify and many companies that could qualify unknowingly fail to pursue or maximize the ERC money owed to them. Two of the many ways to qualify are:

Have a significant disruption in supply chain.
Have a 20% reduction in gross receipts in 2021 compared to 2019.

Q: Can I become eligible if I got a PPP loan?

Companies which received PPP loans can also be eligible for ERC $. The amount of your PPP loan will be deducted from the amount of your ERC funds if you are eligible.

Q: Do Not-for-profits qualify?

YES.

Q: Will the IRS audit my taxes if I get money with the Employee Retention Credit?

Probably. The IRS may audit every business who files for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). It is critical you use the expertise of specialists who are familiar with the process to ensure your audit file is bullet-proof. You want to maximize your funds in the smartest, most prudent way.

Q: Where can I file the forms for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)?

DCI Solutions will make all the necessary filings as part of our service offering to help you maximize the money you get from the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).

Book a free consultation today!
info@dcisolutions.net
to see if your business qualifies and how much the IRS owes you.

Avoid three big mistakes business owners make with ERC money:

“I’m not eligible because ________.” (I got a PPP, I laid off people, revenue didn’t drop. etc.)
“My CPA does that for me.” (CPAs and bookkeepers refer ERC to tax credit specialty firms like DCI. It is not recommended to use bookkeeper or accountant for these credits as they do not have the expertise to correctly maximize your funds or to protect you in the event of an audit.)
“Maybe I’ll figure it out myself.” (With all your free time?! You’re running a company!)

Check the IRS Regulations
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-employee-retention-credit-under-the-cares-act

DCI has generated millions in ERC claims for our clients. Many are businesses with fewer than 20 employees .

Our Streamlined Process

Contact DCI Solutions for a FREE consultation.
Send a completed questionnaire, payroll data, and 941 returns.
DCI reviews with you your credit calculations and 941-X amended payroll returns.
Receive payment from the Treasury Department in 3-5 months.

Disclaimer: This information should not be construed as legal, accounting or tax advice or opinion and may not be applicable to the reader’s specific circumstances, and may require consideration of non-tax and other tax factors. The reader should contact DCI Solutions for a consultation in all cases. DCI Solutions is not obligated to post any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect the information already posted.

Stopping The Crocodiles: Profit Growth Without Risk

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:37:06 GMT

Do you remember how those “nature programs” you watched growing up always featured the “water hole scene?”

It’s the scene where the hungry crocodiles waited in the water to seize the zebras who got too close.

Believe it or not, that describes your situation as a company leader who has to grow profits without risk.

“Stopping the Crocodiles – Profit Improvement without Risk” helps you distill, illustrate, and communicate what you want your people to know in a fresh, new way so that they better align with your priorities of profit expansion and risk elimination.

When was the last time you were given something that you could immediately use to teach and lead your company?

This is the perfect presentation for your next meeting!

“Stopping the Crocs” is one of many tools that DCI offers leaders like you to inspire clear and creative thinking.

Kirk Conole

DCI Solutions

info@dcisolutions.net

DCI Solutions, a merger of specialized tax credit and overhead cost analysts, was founded to bring millions to our clients’ cash flow, profit, and equity value that they otherwise wouldn’t receive.

Requiring no capital investment from our clients, we share in the substantial, verified value we create for them and offer true, win-win relationships to the elite executives and advisors who refer us.

Sometimes Being a ‘Trusted Advisor’ Requires a Little Nudge…

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 22:27:05 GMT

A trusted business advisor does more than “answer questions,” he/she takes the initiative to communicate the wisest questions to clients clearly and effectively. This helps stretch the imagination of the client so they easily recognize new ways to prosper and live a more balanced fulfilling life. This includes removing misperceptions and unrealistic expectations that hinder healthy growth.

CPAs, attorneys, M&A specialists, bankers, exit planners, financial planners, and insurance brokers who cherish the role of trusted business advisor should be aware of one unrealistic expectation their clients have that consistently hinders the clients’ profitability. It is the belief that each department head should possess, without any outside professional assistance, the ability to not just stay within budget, but run their department at 100% cost efficiency.

Key Insight: Most departments operate within budget. No department runs at 100% cost efficiency 100% of the time across all points of responsibility or accountability. This fact can open the door for YOU to identify and BRING value that none of your competitors offer!

Example: The owner/CEO of a company should expect his logistics department to get product to market on time and within budget. This is a healthy expectation. But what if an outside specialist finds that the freight costs are only at 70% cost efficiency and that getting freight rates to 100% cost efficiency will save the company substantial amounts of actual cash?” YOU could play the role of HERO that improves cash flow by $500,000 per year. Thus also increasing equity value by as much as $3,000,000 to $4,500,000! How many of your competitors can DO that?

There are two responses the owner/CEO can offer:
a. Unhealthy: “I pay the VP of Logistics to get the best rates, so it’s bad if an outside audit discovers that we’re in budget but not at 100% cost efficiency.”
b. Healthy: “If we can learn more and be more profitable with an audit that shows where we can be most cost efficient, that’s good for the VP of Logistics and me and the company.”

Set Expectations and Know When to Nudge
If you are a trusted advisor, you may agree with this thinking but how well and how consistently do you “Deliver Such Actionable Wisdom” to your clients? Do not assume that your clients automatically have a healthy mindset or 100% “cost effective” business. The advisors who teach this distinguish themselves from all the others who just assume the owner/CEO already thinks and behaves this way.

For trusted business advisors who want to rise above all others, consider this script:

STEP ONE: Summarize the concept in 1-2 sentences: “Joe, there’s a consulting firm I want you to meet that audits cost efficiencies in a company to find rebates and refunds, including tax refunds and specialized tax credits. This is not redundant to work that your staff* already does, it’s specialized audits and the savings can be large and it’s worth the attention of any owner who wants to grow cash flow, net profit, and equity value.”

STEP TWO: Anticipate misperceptions . “Yes, Joe, I know you run lean and you pay staff to keep an eye on costs but this is the kind of audit work that really requires specialization. That’s why the savings can be so large and needs to be entertained by you, the person who is the unbiased and direct beneficiary of the savings.”

STEP THREE: Nudge (gently). The best advisors know that a gentle but persuasive nudge is needed to overcome the number one enemy of growth: the current inertia of the status quo. Those who dare to look beyond the status quo can gain more results and more trust than those who are “stuck” in the status quo. That same nudging skill is going to be needed every time misperceptions threaten to cloud the owner’s judgment.

When the CEO misperceives (over estimates) his staff’s capabilities, it’s the job of the best advisors, to restate reality.

Example:
Owner: “Saving money on utilities is the job of my VP of Facilities.”
Advisor: “The primary mission of facilities is to ensure the operating costs of your facility are within budget. His specialty isn’t going to be utility tariff analysis, is it? There is zero cost or risk to find out if savings can be gained.”

Owner: “Reducing cost of health insurance is the job of my HR Director/VP.”
Advisor: “The primary mission of HR is to keep company staffed with quality employees within the budget assigned. It’s not realistic to think you’ve got everything perfectly covered already. There is zero risk or cost to find out if you can gain something here.”

Setting the Follow-up Expectation

Once money shows up, there is a tendency to fall back to “Why didn’t we think of this ourselves?!” This is a destructive question that induces fear and makes executive staff apprehensive about further cost savings. For this reason, the wisest, most effective advisors continue to help the owner stay in a positive, realistic mindset that welcomes progress rather than questioning, or even impugning efforts prior to the audit.

There is a No-Cost, No-Risk Way to Optimize Your Client’s Results and for You to Gain and Retain the Heroic Advisor Position

Here is what you can say to your clients to get results

“DCI Solutions operates on win/win relationships and outcomes. They don’t believe in charging fees without enriching clients with lucrative results first. This approach has meant millions of “found” dollars in credits and savings for their clients that they otherwise would not have realized.”

Kirk Conole

DCI Solutions

info@dcisolutions.net

Pam the Powerful

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 21:14:59 GMT

Because human nature is a constant in life, it’s a constant in every business and optimizing your company’s success requires that you and your leaders understand and account for it.

Helping us understand human nature accurately and in all its hilarious glory is the massively successful show, “The Office.”

In the cold open to season five’s eighteenth episode, “Blood Drive,” the show’s most likeable character, “Pam,” who is kind, responsible, and (like all of us) somewhat insecure, prevents a phone system salesman from meeting her boss. A modern phone system would make her office more efficient but Pam intentionally blocks that simple innovation because she believes a phone system would make her role as the receptionist and router of office calls obsolete. Although her behavior isn’t acceptable, it is true to life and demonstrates this inviolate truth of human nature: even great employees will resist and thwart any beneficial idea or profitable innovation if they believe it poses some inconvenience or disadvantage to their personal interests.

Put simply, each one of your employees, including your top executives, is, to some degree, just like Pam. This type of “Pam behavior” commonly impedes the ideal business culture CEO’s want to create in their companies so two questions must be addressed:

The wise CEO must ask, “How do I show that our company’s successes contribute to Pam’s own best interests so she will not, for personal reasons, neglect, resist or obstruct worthwhile innovations, profitable opportunities and best practices?” and “How do I create an Ideal Business Culture which enhances an employee’s “Enlightened Self Interest” – so that employees feel that their personal interests are met as they seek best practices, shareholders interests, and the customers’ positive experience?”

There are two ways you can answer those questions successfully: Be absolutely brilliant at dealing with human nature already OR learn from those who are. As your brilliance grows, your Ideal Business Culture emerges.

IDEAL BUSINESS CULTURE

Your “IBC” should be a safe haven for your people to transcend all kinds of challenges, from issues with their family to traffic on the way to work and even the grind of office politics. It extends employee loyalty in every direction. Such a culture invites employees to actuate their imaginations in ways that can actually make the company more profitable and a more enjoyable place to work.

In his marvelous business manifesto, “Heroic Entrepreneurs and Innovative Leaders in Action” Volume 1, Bruce Raymond Wright writes of the need to transcend conventional incentive plans. He writes about the “Onus Bonus”, a term I coined in one of our conversations, as a systematic, scalable approach that CEOs use to help employees and executives be HEROES, on purpose and by design.

Your employees will not seek extraordinary results and the bonus that might be attached if they do not have a crystal clear, how-to-do-it path and feel SAFE when they offer ideas outside of the status quo. Here is how Dr. Mark Goulston put it:

Some people say “Where there is a will, there is a way.” But success will come faster and easier for you when you show people the way. Once your people see ‘the way,’ they can find the will to implement ‘the way.’

As the company leader, you show the way using these three elements:

ALIGN: Skillfully communicating the company’s vision, execution, and way of thinking in a way that resonates with your employees will help them align their purposes with yours. Greater alignment means more loyalty, personal satisfaction, and sense of significance. In that way of BEING, they will be more energized, engaged, and effective.
AFFIRM: As your people align with the vision, their needs (the needs we all have as human beings) must be affirmed according to the needs of each individual:

Security – Are certain work expectations and requirements creating anxiety or unduly impinging on an employee’s needs for security in his job, finances, and personal life?
Advancement – Are merit, productivity, and innovation met with promotions and better assignments?
Autonomy – Do I focus on outcomes or processes? Do I entrust people to attain great outcomes in any legal/ethical way they can? Do I recognize initiative? Do I give them opportunities to be heroes?
Recognition – Do I sincerely and specifically affirm those who hit targets and advance the mission?
Peace – Do we plan and work efficiently so needless frustration, wasted effort and avoidable scrambling are minimized?
Compensation – Does the bonus fit the onus? Is superior performance rewarded proportionate to each one’s contribution

The ideal assignment uses language which emboldens:

“Jill, this project needs to be done and I want you to be the hero and chief advocate for it. If nothing comes of it, you still get kudos for trying and if it does succeed like I believe it can, there will be more than kudos for you. Do you want to be the person I choose to lead this?”

The hero role assigned by the leader imparts a compelling reason to transcend whatever baggage and insecurities the employee might have. Great leaders exemplify how to lead others by lifting others, specifically those around them. As Bruce Raymond Wright so aptly put it:

“The greatest leaders are elevators and accelerators. They are not walls, floors or obstructions to innovation or to their people.”

Leaders don’t impede their people and are not impeded by their people, either. They look into their companies and say, “My company is filled with “Pams” whom I can systematically encourage, guide, and elevate to embrace new ideas and acts of heroism.”

This is what the uncommonly wise leaders do. They do it by design, on purpose, and with scalable systems that help people find and actuate the heroic leader residing within each of us. I invite you to discuss this with me, leader to leader.

Kirk Conole

DCI Solutions

info@dcisolutions.net

Huge Tax Savings in California (and Everywhere Else)

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:38:10 GMT

Your window to apply for these tax credits opens January 2, 2019 and closes January 23, 2019.

Does your company plan to hire more people or buy equipment in 2019?

Do you want to reduce the high tax burden you pay in California?

The Cal Competes tax credit is awarded to California companies that plan to expand in California.

Companies that win usually have these characteristics:

1) They Pay Well

The size of the credit is based on the size of the salaries you pay. Winning companies generally offer salaries more than $40,000 per year. The higher the average salaries are, the higher your tax credit will be if you win. Low salary employers can win, but only if they have other factors in their favor.

2) Manufacturers and Technology

Manufacturers and technology companies (especially tech manufacturers), who plan to expand, have an advantage over other companies. For example, if your company develops software, fabricates and/or assembles products, or produces food, you have an advantage that other companies don’t.

3) Economically Distressed Area

If you’re located in an economically depressed area (ie: Stockton, Imperial Valley, San Bernardino, Central San Joaquin Valley), you have an advantage over companies in more robust economic areas. Companies in economically depressed areas often pay employees less than $40K/year, but given the alternatives, the state can still view these as “good salaries.” DCI won a large tax credit for a company paying low wages because the company was in an economically distressed area.

4) Unique for California

Your company’s uniqueness improves the probability of your success. If your company’s competitors are outside the state or outside the nation, then its unique status in California will increase the odds of your receiving an award.

5) Don’t Ask for Too Much

Companies that ask for too much tax credit don’t get a “counter-offer.” They simply get refused. You also don’t want to ask for too little and leave money on the table – a common mistake for companies that do win. If this sounds like “The Price is Right,” then you’ve got the right idea.

6) Use a Pro

Over 90% of Cal Competes applicants are rejected and many of those rejected could have been awarded tax credit if they used a firm with expertise and success in winning large amounts of Cal Competes credits. If you are assigning this important project to someone with little or no previous success in it, you could be robbing yourself of the expertise your company requires to gain the largest tax award. The paperwork is confusing and the multiple deadlines are so rushed that you are more likely to forfeit some or all of the money that a Cal Competes expert could produce.

Look for experts who don’t charge by the hour, since this will leave you financially out-of-pocket and upside down if you are in the majority of companies that receive no tax credit.

With DCI, there is no risk, or lost money and time, because fees are strictly based on successfully getting awarded the credit.

7) Get the Timing Right

You cannot get the tax credit retroactively for expansion you’ve already paid for. You have to be awarded credit first and then all the hiring you do and the equipment and buildings you buy thereafter can count towards your credit if you win.

There are just a few windows in the year when you can apply. If you miss the January window you miss out on thousands of dollars in tax credit for every single employee you hire in January, February, etc. until the next window opens. Successfully gaining this credit requires timely, focused attention.

Don’t Miss the January Deadline! The window to apply opens January 2, 2019 and the window closes January 23, 2019.

Contact DCI Solutions info@dcisolutions.net to discuss how this and many other specialized tax credits could add millions to your cash flow and long-term corporate value.

Expanding in California? Get Tax Credits Now!

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 22:36:55 GMT

Your window to apply for these tax credits opens January 2, 2019 and closes January 23, 2019.

Does your company plan to hire more people or buy equipment in 2019?

Do you want to reduce the high tax burden you pay in California?

The Cal Competes tax credit is awarded to California companies that plan to expand in California.

Companies that win usually have these characteristics:

1) They Pay Well

2) Manufacturers and Technology

3) Economically Distressed Area

4) Unique for California

5) Don’t Ask for Too Much

6) Use a Pro

Look for experts who don’t charge by the hour, since this will leave you financially out-of-pocket and upside down if you are in the majority of companies that receive no tax credit.

With DCI, there is no risk, or lost money and time, because fees are strictly based on successfully getting awarded the credit.

7) Get the Timing Right

Don’t Miss the January Deadline! The window to apply opens January 2, 2019 and the window closes January 23, 2019. Contact DCI Solutions info@dcisolutions.net to discuss how this and many other specialized tax credits could add millions to your cash flow and long-term corporate value.

How One Percenters Control Healthcare Costs

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 22:18:44 GMT

If you could see a ranking of business owners and executives who best control healthcare costs and then designate the “top 1%,” you would have to include David, the owner of a retail chain in the Midwest.

David is a “one percenter” in controlling healthcare costs for three reasons:

1) He commits to thinking rationally about healthcare. 100% of rational, fact-driven business owners and executives tend not to view healthcare costs with the same rational approach they apply to other significant expenses.

Unlike other expenses, health insurance directly affects employees who are seldom educated adequately on how win/win scenarios can benefit both employee and employer at the same time. Usually the employee expects the employer to have the best answers but the employer is under-resourced and assumes that a commissioned sales person, the health insurance broker, will be able to figure it out with input from the HR department. The HR department is motivated to have all employees happy and not complaining. HR is also motivated to show costs are not escalating dramatically year over year. All brokers want to keep the client and most want to keep the current level of commission – a motivation that automatically separates the broker’s interests from the client’s.

“Some owners see a broker the way tribal villagers see the village shaman,” David shared with me. “He’s the guy who interprets the dark secrets, and saves the villagers who wholly trust him alone to deal with the things they don’t understand. This gives them security.” After gaining a full understanding of healthcare costs without the help of his previous retail broker, David had an interesting way of dealing with that broker. “I threw him off the porch,” he said.

2) He has owner/HR alignment. Both David and his HR department must: a) share an objective understanding of all healthcare cost drivers, and b) master the best alternatives for reducing costs. Their ability to be fully engaged and aligned, which is more than mere agreement, is the second factor that makes David a member of the one percent.

3) His total cost puts him in the one percent. The total cost of healthcare is more than just the premium amounts. The true cost of healthcare is:

TOTAL PREMIUMS FOR THE EMPLOYEE ONLY (EMPLOYER & EMPLOYEE SHARE)

PLUS

ALL ADDITIONAL PREMIUMS PAID BY EMPLOEE OR EMPLOYER TO COVER DEPENDENTS

PLUS

ALL DEDUCTIBLES AND COPAYS PAID BY THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE.

Add up those three component numbers then divide the sum by the total number of employees in your plan. What do you get?

For companies in the bottom 50% of cost-efficiency, this number will be greater than $12,000 per employee per year (PEPY).

For companies in the top 50%, this number may be closer to $8,000 PEPY .

One percenters like David are well under $5,000 PEPY.

If you don’t already know your full cost on a PEPY basis, do the math now. It might be true that no one besides your retail broker could possibly reduce costs any lower and without sacrificing quality, but why risk it?

Be the Quarterback of Your Insurance Strategy!

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 22:04:33 GMT

I sat in the office of a man overseeing operations for one of the nation’s largest insurance brokers and asked the secret to their success. He laughed, “We get to know the client really well. When the client’s wife goes shopping, the broker’s wife takes her and pays for everything on our corporate card. If he ever ended his relationship with us, his wife would divorce him!” If you don’t believe anything else about property and casualty brokers, know this: insurance brokers are relationship experts. Could this be a problem?

A powerful web of conflicting interests is spun when 93% of the USA’s $900 billion property and casualty insurance premiums passes through the hands of brokers who work for both the carrier and premium payer. You might be the hapless prey caught in this web until you use a strategy that gives you the insight, power and control to free yourself and drive down your costs substantially!

Why not try DCI’s “3-Step Strategy”?

See each broker as a receiver and see yourself as the star quarterback.
Spread the field.
Throw a better “Football” (the submission package).

#1. As Quarterback, you should have 3-5 great receivers (brokers) to pass to.

Every broker wants to be the quarterback. “I’ll take charge of everything and run the plays,” he assures you, “I have access to all markets.” The problem is access doesn’t guarantee success any more than calling (202) 456-1111 guarantees you’ll reach the President of the United States. Success requires that you have clout. With “direct writer” carriers who pay no broker commissions – your broker has no clout and no interest. Brokers have their greatest influence with a handful of carriers who get the bulk of their business. When a broker solicits multiple carriers and certain ones “decline to bid,” the carrier isn’t necessarily declining you. The might just be declining your broker. This is why you need 3-5 brokers to access 10-20 markets with maximum success.

Great brokers working their best markets are like receivers running their routes and not crossing into another’s. Whoever can create the greatest gain (price plus service) is the one who receives the business for that year.

#2 Throw to a wider field – Not just brokers/carriers in your city.

Though insurance carriers in different cities go by the same name, some function better than others and all run as independent profit silos. Knowing where best to enter the market is critical. Often it’s not the region where you’re headquartered. An oil company working in California’s San Joaquin Valley discovered that his carrier’s Houston office was more proficient and cost effective than its west coast office. There are analysts with databases identifying the best carriers in various cities throughout the nation, and the top performing brokers who are aligned strongly with them.

#3. Use a better football – Improve your submission package.

Can you imagine being the quarterback in an NFL game and having your center snap you a Nerf Football? Every time the typical broker volunteers to write the submission package by putting together a few pages here and there, you end up playing with a Nerf Football. The submission package is your football, the document each broker uses to command best pricing from his preferred insurance carriers. Do not assume your awesome broker creates an awesome submission package. Brokers are relationship experts but a thoroughly prepared submission package that can be used to drive down premiums 20% is not his core expertise. When you play with “Nerf” submission packages, there will be gaps in the narrative and the underwriter will compensate by hedging the premium upward. That hurts you.

The quality of your quotes requires a thorough, precise, and independently developed submission package written by a 3rd-party analyst specializing in writing submission packages. The expert:

Conducts interviews to thoroughly understand your operations.
Prepares a uniform bid document (RFP).
Verifies technical accuracy of all your contract terms/conditions/endorsements, etc.

(In one case, the analyst found a gap and advised coverage where the broker had not seen any gap. Months later, there was $600,000 loss, which, because the client took action on the analysis was completely covered, but just in the nick of time.)

All responding brokers are given a certain date to bring you their best quote and answer your questions regarding their servicing capabilities. When you, the newly empowered star quarterback, are empowered with the three-step strategy you’ll be throwing touchdowns every play.

Can you keep your current broker? That’s up to you, the quarterback. If your broker is your close friend, you can always remain friends, and with your saved money you can write your friend a check to make him/her whole on any lost commission. You’d still have so much saved money leftover you could send all your employees and their spouses on a shopping spree! We invite you to take the field and use DCI to win every game from here-on-out.

Interested in what DCI’s 3 Step Strategy to reduce insurance premiums can do for you? Email us at info@dcisolutions.net for a no-cost analysis