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How did you connect with Businessolver?

When I was in Des Moines in the past, I had Holmes Murphy (& Associates Inc.) as a client and I had met Jon Shanahan way back when. And Rae Shanahan (Businessolver’s vice president of client services) actually worked for me at ADP at one point in time, and I’ve done some consulting work for them over the years.

Is this similar to what you were doing with ADP?

Yes and no. I think the fundamental blocking and tackling is the same – building a sales force and getting the sales force to focus on the best opportunities and ensuring we can meet those so we deliver a happy client to our implementation service group so they maintain our reputation in the marketplace. What’s different is that it’s a very fragmented market, and Businessolver, like everyone else, has a very small market share, so there’s tremendous opportunity out there.

What’s your market niche?

In benefits administration, the target market is really 1,000 lives and above. Those organizations have the needs and the volume to really take advantage of the services that we offer.

Is your hiring a reflection of the company’s growth?

Most definitely. We’ve built a great reputation of delivering a superior service to the marketplace, and we’ve increased our capacity to ensure that we can maintain that reputation and that our clients don’t feel that growth. Now it’s time to accelerate the growth by increasing the focus that we put into sales and marketing.

How has the recession affected Businessolver’s growth?

The growth really hasn’t been hurt much by the recession. As organizations look at ways to reduce costs, they’ve reduced some of their back-office operations, and that’s included reducing some of the HR department staff and automating and the outsourcing of benefits administration processes.

Tell me about your family.

I’m married and have three children. I have a daughter who’s going to college in Minneapolis this fall, and a 13-year-old son and 10-year-old son who will be attending school at Des Moines Christian School. My wife works in (benefits) implementation, and she will actually be joining Businessolver as well. Part of our strategy was to get our two younger kids into a smaller school so they could actively participate in a lot of extracurricular activities, and also get closer to family in Minnesota.

What are some of your favorite activities?

I’m finishing up my M.B.A. so that’s certainly taking up a lot of my spare time. I love to exercise; it’s a great stress reliever but it’s also a great way to find extra energy. My kids are very active in sports, and I’m active in coaching as well.

What business philosophies do you find particularly useful?

From a sales perspective, there are two philosophies that I really practice. The first is situational leadership, which is a coaching process that can be used in any situation when you’re trying to help someone learn a new task. The second is strategic selling. I think sometimes organizations get so focused on their sales process that they forget that they’re selling to people. And in our world today, you’re not selling to one person; you’re selling to committees.