We started as a few guys who knew how to do one thing well and opened our business. To a company that knows proper bookkeeping, policy building, creating and measuring KPls, calendar building, budget setting, leadership skills, and importantly, communication skills amongst partners.
I would like to take a moment and share with you our experience with Cogent Analytics.
Our process began with a cold call from Brent to set up an appointment and show us who
Cogent was and what you offered small business owners. Catching my partner Devin at the
right time he reluctantly agreed to an appointment. I joined the appointment because I love
all things sales, and I am always up to hear someone’s sales pitch. Little did I know how
much this appointment would impact our lives.
After a short visit with Brent and key points highlighted, we agreed to have Chris
come and d o an analysis of our company. We like the idea that he would dive into our
company’s financials and our business model, then present his findings to us in areas where we
have growth. We especially liked the promise that if we saw no value in Chris’s analysis, we
were not obligated to pay for his time. Two months later and working in a high-intensity
phase, I think it is safe to say we found enormous value in Chris’s work.
Phil Athens joined our team the following week as our project director, and we
began Allied Exteriors’ high-intensity phase. I can personally say that we have worked
harder these past 6 weeks than we have since first opening the company and struggling to
get cash flow. From day one, Phil identified major issues with our bookkeeping process. As
we began to dive deeper into our financials, we realized that Allied was in a downward
trend.
Phil immediately took action and began showing us our trend and the corrective steps
to solve our issues. I know that working with a client such as myself can be difficult. I am
not one to accept an answer at face value. I need to have every reasoning explained and
justified before I get on board with change. My attitude never slowed Phil down. Though I
could imagine his frustration at times, being challenged every step of the way. Phil did not give up on us or dismiss us as a client unwilling to change. Instead, as a leader, Phil showed great empathy and patience. He brought in other team members who specialized in specific departments to address our needs, and he encouraged us to ask more questions and challenge what we were unsure of, all with great character. Phil even admitted that his original plan needed to be changed. This demonstrated to us that Phil genuinely valued our opinion. If he did not have our buy-in on suggested changes, Phil insisted we talked everything out to make sure everyone was happy and on the same page.
For these reasons specifically, I would recommend Cogent Analytics to other
business owners. I understand that working with Cogent Analytics is a major investment for
any business owner and one that should be considered cautiously. However, I can say (and
my partners agree) our business, leadership, and financial knowledge has tremendously
increased since we started with Cogent. We started as a few guys who knew how to do one
thing well and opened our business. To a company that knows proper bookkeeping, policy
building, creating and measuring KPls, calendar building, budget setting, leadership skills,
and importantly, communication skills amongst partners. I would like to sincerely thank
Phill, Ryland, Chris, and all the Cogent team for everything they have done for us here at
Allied Exteriors.
Very Respectfully,
Armando Larranaga
Managing Partner
Allied Exteriors