Delivering the Architecture For Sustainable Growth

experience the results

Profitable and sustainable results are achieved through a winning combination of efforts — the right approach, effective execution, and an energized team.Perhaps you look proudly upon your accomplishments, believe

everything is under control, and feel good about the future. If you

are like most, however, you are concerned about the future and

perplexed about maintaining growth and profit.

Cutting-edge leaders look back, analyzing actions and decisions

that could or should have been more effective. These leaders realize

that improvements would deliver more profitable results if all areas

of the business were truly scrutinized, not just those assumed to

be problematic by management. An outside-in perspective helps

leaders balance the information received.

If you find yourself thinking about how to grow revenue, now is the

time to look for a trusted third party with the knowledge, resources

and expertise to guide you through the rough times and lead you

to top-notch business practices with sustainable growth and profit.

Experience the Northpoint ResultsNorthpoint can align your entire organization for sustainable growth,

vertically from the executive team through to the customer-facing

ranks, and horizontally across the functions that create and sustain

value for your customers.

Our projects range from small to large. We analyze your entire

organizational structure top-to-bottom and functions right-to-

left. We learn your business, absorb your culture, appreciate your

values and augment your direction and implementation. During the

engagement process, we adapt our style to meet your unique and

specific needs.

We typically enter a company at the leadership level. However,

we’re proud of the strong relationships and respect that we

foster at all layers within the organization. The engagement

process is something we do day-in and day-out, year-after-year,

and have consistently helped our clients find new sources of

sustainable growth.

Having Northpoint on board to help drive our major change program made the initiative a lot easier. I found it tremendously helpful to rely on a senior consultant to guide us through the process. It enabled my team to stay focused on the day-to-day issues. Northpoint delivered tenfold .

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Northpoint’s ability to work with many team players proved critical. Richard (Dick) Van Belzen, Northpoint Managing Director, provided great oversight.

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Northpoint managed our internal project traffic, ensuring our planning and strategic focus were synchronized. Everyone was on the same page. Northpoint became a major part of it and meshed very well with our management team.

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The Northpoint ApproachMany consultants are narrowly focused on one specific area of your

business, such as pricing. Our perspective is broader, our approach

is systematic, our goal is to drive top-line growth and our results are

improved gross profit.

Many Northpoint clients view us as “Revenue Growth Coaches” —

experts at diagnosing the root causes of revenue shortfalls,

developing a path through the challenges and guiding our clients to

sustained growth. Because we find that 75% of growth projects fail

due to an inaccurate identification of the real problem, we pay close

attention to getting the diagnosis right. We understand the costs

and risks of change, therefore making prescriptive recommendations

and we are surgical at making the needed changes. We implement

practical, achievable programs that leverage your strengths and only

set out to fix the core drivers of growth.

We have the framework, skills, and experience to analyze your

system for growth and make sound, fact-based recommendations

for change. Simply put, after implementing our recommendations,

our clients are more successful and perform at the top of their peer

group. Our clients view Northpoint engagements as a high-yielding

investment, not an expense.

We research your industry inside and out, understand your products

and utilize the best minds in the industry to determine the best

results. Northpoint explores all possible drivers for revenue growth,

organic and inorganic.

Organic Growth: We are experienced in all elements of organic

growth and capable of supporting all that apply, or diving into the

one specific area that requires the most help for your organization.

Key organic growth areas include the following:

•Innovationstrategyandproduct/offeringmanagement

•Valuepropositiondevelopmentandmarketsegmentation

•Marketattackstrategy

•Marketaccessandsaleschannelstrategy

If we had tried to change our brand-ing and go-to-market strategy on our own, we would have struggled to deliver on time ... Northpoint is a key reason we were successful.

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Northpoint approached our Strategic Plan with a specific understanding of our company. They told us exactly what the plan would look like, and delivered. They did their homework and really understood our industry model.

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The benefit we found working with Northpoint was their ability to help us reframe our original request before launching headlong into the project. They had the breadth and depth we needed. We thought we had a channels problem, when in reality, several of our offerings weren’t resonating with our customers.

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Inorganic Growth projects help you access new markets, identify

and evaluate market-entry strategies, and select and engage

prospective targets. Once a merger or acquisition is executed,

Northpoint helps orchestrate the on-boarding and integration

process to drive full realization of the potential value. Key inorganic

growth areas include the following:

•Valuechainassessment

•Identificationofmarketadjacency

•Targetingacquisitionsofcompanies,technology,and

channels

•Developmentofbusinessalliances

Invest in the Value Stack™ Northpoint helps clients grow by improving their ability to create

value.WeusetheValueStackasourguideposttothekeydriversfor

valuecreation.TheValueStackisNorthpoint’suniqueandproven

approach for focusing on and framing value-driven practices that

propel revenue growth.

Most companies are familiar with the concept of a “technology

stack” or the layered set of technology capabilities: applications

sit on top, followed by software services and operating systems in

the middle, and hardware at the bottom.

Northpoint’s research indicates a number of factors with a primary cost stack orientation:

• Thecoststackreceives10times the human resources of the value stack

• Utilizesmoreofthefact-based analytical talent

• Obtainsthebulkofinvestments made with consultants

• Thecoststacktakesthefrontseat while the value stack offers more opportunity for sustainable growth.

The Cost and Value Stacks

CoststaCk ValuestaCk

Northpoint has the knowledge, expertise, and resources needed in every layer of the Value Stack. They have helped us balance our cost and value investments with dynamic results.

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Many companies emphasize the “cost stack” in managing their

enterprises — that is, they focus on understanding and tightly

managing the activities that reduce the cost of delivering products

or services in an attempt to maintain a competitive advantage.

Often neglected, however, is the “value stack”. A value-based

management approach aims for the maximum price-value for

offer ings and intends to gain market share by providing

confidence and establishing a difference to valued customers.

Value-focused management helps companies connect with

customers, understand core product and service value, increase

market share, and build a competitive advantage based on

differentiation and loyalty rather than one-dimensional cost

savings. In essence, value stack components help to build

sustainable engines of growth. Northpoint has the tools, framework,

experienceandsuccesswitheverylayeroftheValueStack.

Accelerate your business with QuickLift™Value creation does not need to be a long-term, capital-intensive

activity. Northpoint can help drive sustainable growth in short

periods of time by deploying tested value-creation tools and

methodologies.

QuickLift is our business acceleration practice that provides fresh

ideasandperspectivesthroughrigorousmarketresearchandVoice

of the Customer investigations. QuickLift implementations focus on

delivering practical, actionable solutions with immediate results.

In challenging economic times, nimble companies that focus on

business intensification — even with a limited time-line — can

realize an immediate revenue lift.

The ingredients to drive rapid-response growth in a challenging

business environment include the following:

1. Deep experience in managing through downturns and

crisis. The project leader must be able to make sense of

problems quantitatively and creatively, and possess the vision

to focus solely on activities that deliver the largest and fastest

return on investment.

Northpoint knew just how to reach all the key stakeholders in our business — and make each one feel that they were a major part of the process.

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With Northpoint’s help we learned that 87% of our spending was directed at a low growth business area. We realigned the R&D spending to realize double-digit growth markets ... Thank you Northpoint.

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I have worked with a lot of consultants, and many of them design very intelligent but ultimately impractical solutions —I don’t have to worry about that with Northpoint.

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Northpoint was integral to our study of market adjacencies. We trusted their well-developed insights. Their ability to dig deep and provide insights, not easily found is unique to them vs. the other firms we had do similar work.

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2. A well-tested por tfolio of investigative tools and

methodologies. Driving immediate business growth

requires a highly-tuned set of tools to uncover hidden

opportunities and value.

3. A balance of creative and quantitative skills. Value

creation is too often assigned to creative marketing roles, when,

in fact, deep quantitative and analytical skills are needed to

drive decision-making.

4. A commitment to rapid deployment. Too many market

investigations fail to limit focus to the most critical and

effective activities. Business acceleration activities should

drive results in as soon as 90 days.

5. Entrepreneurial energy and a commitment to drive change.

More often than not, an objective, skilled, and trusted third

partyisneededtorefocusenergyanddrivechange.Veryfew

management positions are accountable for growth, and

many managers don’t have the attention or bandwidth to

contribute substantially to a growth initiative.

Shifting From Short- to Long-Term Value CreationOpportunities for short-term revenue growth exist for companies

with the right skills and approaches. This is accomplished by

investinginthevaluestackandstaffingitwithanalytical/quantitative

talent. For organizations that compete through customer intimacy

or product leadership, value stacks are a key method to achieving

a leadership position. For companies that compete through

operational excellence, value stacks are essential in holding and

realizing excellent margins.

Companies that invest in value creation — especially in challenging

economies — are realizing significant levels of growth in revenue

and profit.

Ididn’thavetotouch70%oftheitems that came across my desk because Northpoint was able to manage them for me. Having them here allowed me to do my job and actually gave me more bandwidth.

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Simply put, they are smart, have the best insights, offer great advice and are really easy to have around. Nobody ever asks me why I brought them on board.

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They are unassuming game-changers. Just don’t tell my competitors.

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AstheCTO,Ineededtoconducta stealth study of various technology acquisition options to enhance our platform. Northpoint was able to identify several hard-to-find opportunities from around the world and were instrumental in bringing a winning technology to our corporation.

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Typical projecTs

• DevelopStrategicPlanning processes that enable growth.

• Turbocharged a business unit, acceleratinggrowthfrom12%to 40%overfiveyears.

• Builtanewchanneltoincrease market access.

• Used“SimulatedSalesCall”ona medical device to test pricing, positioning, and value proposition.

• Revisedthebusinessmodeland market approach plan for a solar company.

• Studiedmarketadjacencyinthe water infrastructure market.

• SupportedCEOduringastrategic planning process.

• Successfullyon-boardedan acquisition, beating the expected profit plan by 8%.

• DroveaplantoachieveahighROI yield from R&D in a life sciences company.

• Developedcompetitiveintelligence for a medical device company that yielded key insights.

• Conductedasensecheckofan internal study for an electronics company.

• Ledbrandingexerciseand developed a go-to market plan for a security systems provider.

The Northpoint AdvantageNorthpoint has fresh ideas, perspectives, and history with tribal

knowledge. We inject energy and support your teams, set you on

the right path, and have a history of successful results.

When should you invest in a Growth Coach?You have a great team and a solid approach for the future, but the

current approach isn’t delivering what you need to grow revenue

and profit. Now is the time to look to a third party that will examine

every aspect of your business, and design a change program that will

deliver an architecture for sustainable growth.

We’ve worked with Northpoint for several years and I’m constantly impressed with their ability to diagnose problem areas and offer fresh ideas. Their knowledge of all areas affecting my top-line and level of acceptance within my organization are equally impressive. With Northpoint, I see an excellent balance between the art and science of business practices — a value we’ve found extremely successful.

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19 Sylvan Glen, Suite 300 Fairport, NY 14450 585.233.6707

Web: www.northpointadvisors.com Blog: www.fearlessgrowth.biz

About NorthpointNorthpoint’s expertise is in varied markets including, but not limited to, medical devices,

building systems, high-tech manufacturing, water and energy infrastructure, and renewable

energy.

We are lean and agile, and experts at creating high-performance, on-demand teams. Once

your project needs are identified, we’ll deploy a crew of professionals with the highest level

of experience. Our company is made up of direct employees, dozens of associates, and over

50 top-level authorities in varying business fields. This offers you a focused, high-value,

high-performing group dedicated to your specific needs.

Northpoint maintains close ties with thought leaders, industry analysts, technologists,

researchers, regulators, and key executives at leading market firms. We ramp-up quickly and

get expert answers and insights fast. Our “outside-in” perspective extends beyond our

organization to assure all perspectives are vetted and sound before they reach your team.

The Northpoint CommitmentYou may be concerned about group think and need a fresh set of eyes to look at your project.

Maybe you have a critical project but don’t have enough bandwidth on your team to get

started. Or maybe you’re stuck on a tough problem and can’t sort it out. In any case, Northpoint

can help. We can be your trusted advisor, and help you and your team achieve successful

results ... fast. That is the Northpoint promise.

experience the results