'Fix My Biz' gives funeral services business a new lease on life

Maluleka Brokers and Funeral Services was established by Kenny Maluleke in 2005 with the initial aim of selling life insurance policies, but demand from clients for assistance with burials saw the addition of a funeral parlour and a comprehensive range of funeral services to its client proposition. While the business had achieved success, Kenny believed it could achieve more if he was better able to promote the comprehensive funeral services offer and the policy sales side of the business to potential markets in order to grow his enterprise.

So he turned to Fix My Biz - a new reality series premiering on etv 15 September, that documents the challenges facing a number of small businesses, and through the expert knowledge of consultants and Nedbank Small Business Services, provides entrepreneurs with practical advice to set them up for long term growth and sustainable success.

The show's Marketing and Sales expert, Bill Gibson, immediately set to work identifying key issues that could help promote Maluleka's funeral and life assurance sales businesses while impacting positively on the future growth of the business.

According to Gibson, many of the challenges facing Maluleka Brokers and Funeral Services had their roots in a relatively poor image and lack of focused and effective sales and marketing. For this reason, much of the initial focus was on effectively upgrading the image of the business and raising awareness of what it offers.

Gibson advised the following, which was duly implemented by the Fix My Biz team

· improved signage on buildings and vehicles,

· a general upgrade of the premises, achieved by a new coat of paint and clever decor

· a clear promotional strategy supported appropriate promotional material and endorsements by satisfied clients.

This can be achieved through a number of basic business principles that, according to Gibson, can be applied to any small business seeking sustainable growth. These include:

· Business promotion - There is fierce competition in the funerals industry, and Maluleka's continued growth depends on Kenny’s ability to position the business top of mind amongst its target market. A simple way to do this is by means of professional promotional material – such as flyers and business cards, which Kenny could distribute at funeral services, for example, to target

the much needed cash market, meaning those with disposable income over and above the current client base who hold burial policies.

· Growth in sales - Managing a growing business doesn't allow much time for sales, and Kenny is trying to do both. In order to grow his life and funeral policy business, he was advised to appoint a Sales Director and Sales Agents to build up a sales force with a strategy to create a dominant presence for the policy sales side of the business in high-potential markets.

Finances

Thayn Niemand Financial Planner and Business Consultant, Maluleka's potential success is also being severely limited by a lack of long-term financial planning and effective financial management and administration. To correct this, he worked with Kenny to formalise a number of essential business requirements, including:

• providing employment contracts and disciplinary and grievance procedure templates for Kenny to draw up employment contracts and follow the required disciplinary and grievance procedures when required.

Niemand also identified serious pitfalls in the financial management of the business when he noticed that much of the profit and short-term cashflow was going towards purchasing long-termassets like vehicles and premises. This, Niemand advised, was eroding the available cashflow and thus the growth of the business does not match the profit made. Kenny was advised to formalise his finances and investigate ways of using finance structures available to fund long term assets, rather than depleting essential cash resources. Nedbank Small Business Services advised on the appropriate use of finance for his fleet of vehicles in this way alleviating his cash flow.

Niemand says that the continuity of the business was also an important financial issue that needed to be addressed. ‘Kenny Maluleka is Maluleka Brokers and Funeral Services,’ he explains, ‘and the continuity of the business depends on him as an individual.’ Kenny was advised to seek the assistance of a professional in order to manage the risk of continuity. To get him started, Nedbank Small Business Services provided Financial Planning assistance in terms of key man insurance and a will.

Kenny is confident that the assistance he received as a participant on Fix My Biz has positioned his business for significant growth going forward. 'By implementing just a few of the suggestions from the Fix My Biz team, I can already see a difference in my business. And as I put the other advice into practice, I'm sure Maluleka Brokers and Funeral Services will keep growing profitably,' he says.