Every company, no matter how successful, has areas of operation in which it can improve.

For Hardeman Cordell, president of Central Oil & Supply, a regional lubricants and fuel wholesaler and distributor in Monroe, La., one of the areas that had been most problematic for him and his company was supplier negotiations. Realizing that status quo wasn’t OK, Cordell turned to Meridian Associates and its new industry-first “Hidden Profits Coaching Club.”

“I became familiar with Meridian Associates 10 years ago when we were heavily involved in retail and did several seminars through the years with them,” said Cordell. “The opportunity to join the Coaching Club was presented to us earlier this year and I thought it was a good idea. You can get information overload at seminars and a lot of times the follow-through doesn’t meet expectations. The Coaching Club solves the implementation problem because Meridian breaks their information down into action steps spread out over a period of time so each success builds on the one before it. Of course, there’s also the accountability component. As a whole, it’s been a great return on investment so far.” 

The results have been almost immediate for Central Oil. In just over four months, as members of the Coaching Club, with an initial focus on improving supplier negotiations, the company has realized more than $800,000 in cash savings with more to come as other strategies and tactics are utilized.

“Every company has that little piece, that Achilles’ heel, that isn’t performing up to par. After 16 years and 2,500 companies under our belt, we know where to look and can find several such underperforming assets in even the most well run companies,” explained Betsi Bixby, president of Meridian Associates. “That should actually be good news as each Achilles’ heel represents an opportunity for any petro business to realize a windfall of cash and profits.”

To qualify for Meridian’s Hidden Profits Coaching Club, “operators must be serious about growing and increasing the market value of their company, and participate in the once a month coaching/consulting call session,” said Bixby. “The real key to this is that we try to be selective in the people we’re taking into the Coaching Club because it does take work. It is coaching and guys like Hardeman, who are open-minded and progressive and want to make change to their business, are the ones who benefit the most.”

Plus, if accepted, participants are given a money-back guarantee the program will add at least $50,000 cash to the bottom line.

“That makes it a no-brainer for potential members to apply and we don’t lose any sleep since most of our members will easily add more–lots more than $50,000–to their bottom line during their participation in our program,” Bixby said.

What separates this program from other forms of consulting or training is the emphasis on implementation. Ideas and strategies are presented in a “paint-by-the-numbers” fashion making it easy for members and their staff to get results even in the busiest environments. There is no limit to the number of employees from Coaching Club-member companies that can take advantage of working directly with the Meridian Team.

Two weeks after a session, a follow-up phone call from Meridian personnel addresses any issues that may have arisen since the coaching session was completed. Participating companies also receive additional perks with their Coaching Club membership: an accurate pre-coaching business valuation and market worth; a total of 12 coaching calls; ways to use freed-up cash to pay down debt and reduce interest carry; bulletproof financing techniques; inventory tips designed to drop cash directly to the bottom line; ways to plug hidden cash leaks; and a second valuation at the end of implementation that will express the exact amount of market value gained.

In addition, as soon as Coaching Club members reach $1 million in extra cash and profits they will be automatically included in Meridian’s exclusive club. For a limited time, the Hidden Profits Coaching Club program is accepting new members. To get an application or for more information on the Hidden Profits Coaching Club, contact Meridian Associates Inc. at (800) 728-9005 to speak with a membership consultant or visit www.askmeridian.com.