sstratton – Calgary, Alberta
Shawn Stratton
Business Optimization Specialist
Roy Barroso
Business Optimization Specialist
I've spent my career becoming an expedition leader, international leadership consultant, professional speaker, and bestselling author.
I am the founder of the International Vegan Film Festival and World Tour, where we inspire, educate, and entertain audiences with vegan-themed films worldwide. In 2022, I joined the Planted Expo as an account manager, overseeing vendor and sponsor relations for Planted's Toronto Expo, helping to maximize service quality while minimizing spend.
This is what led me to my current role as a Business Optimization Specialist at Schooley Mitchell. I'm now combining my prior leadership development, strategic sales knowledge, and consulting experience into a role where I'm able to directly impact business's bottom lines. Here’s how we do it:
Strategic Negotiation
Leveraging proprietary tools and industry knowledge, we benchmark your expenses against the market to find the best prices without compromising service quality.
Service Audit
We identify any services you’re being overcharged for but don’t need or use. We provide comprehensive reports based on your business' expense configuration and usage. Handling the implementation, we ensure that your vendors only charge you for what you need.
Billing Audit
We ensure your invoices for services like shipping, waste, and payment processing have been error-free. We track vendor deadlines and diligently go to bat for our clients who deserve refunds before windows close.
What do our clients love about us?
Our fees are funded through the savings we find for our clients—we can only make your business more profitable. Schooley Mitchell’s core values resonate with clients because it frees up money to improve their business and give back to their people.
Plus, we’re completely vendor-agnostic, meaning we will always choose the best option for our clients and receive absolutely no kickbacks. Our priority is finding the best deal for our clients, and in 85% of cases, our clients save money without changing vendors.
I believe every business should pay the right rates, receive the right services, and have the peace of mind from knowing your business is running as efficiently as possible. Give me a call and let's make it happen!
mgriesser – MedSpa Savings
Waste
How predictable is your waste every month?
Variability in your waste from month-to-month makes a big difference to certain service providers.
Is your container size and collection frequency optimized?
Finding a provider that is both cost effective and meets your needs can be challenging.
Are your waste disposal fees changing frequently over the course of the year?
A professional audit of your expenses can get to the bottom of it.
Merchant Services
Do you reference the "effective rate" to evaluate how competitive your processing fees are?
A blended pricing structure makes it more difficult to fully understand all the factors impacting your fees.
Do you know how your current processing environment impacts your processing fees?
How you process payments and capture data can have a big impact on your monthly fees.
Have you asked your processor to provide you an "interchange-plus pricing" quote?
This pricing structure is often the least expensive and most transparent option.
Telecom
Have you conducted a recent usage audit across your telecommunications system?
In many cases, we find inefficiencies and redundancies in the number of lines and features.
Have you considered moving to a Voice over IP platform?
Cloud based telecommunications systems typically provide unique features at lower costs.
Do you know when your current plan automatically renews?
Companies typically only have a 30-day window to make changes to their current contract.
Facility Supplies
Are you over or undersupplied?
We audit your invoices to ensure optimal delivery schedules.
Are you splitting hairs with multiple vendors?
We look at all supplies invoices, across all vendors, to make sure everything you need is being ordered, delivered, and replenished effectively.
Do you require specific product quality or other specifications?
Schooley Mitchell helps you find the solutions that bet fit your business.
Mary Griesser
Strategic-Partner
niponneil – Hotel Savings
We've spent the last years helping hotels become financially aware of their vendor relationships. In other words, we balance the power dynamic between hotels and their vendors. Here are our results:
Client A is multi location hotel company, with 30 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. Schooley Mitchell did an analysis of it's merchant service spend:
- Merchant Annual Spend = $509,201.40
- Merchant Annual Savings = $39,037.25
Client B is cottage rental company in Southern Ontario, with twenty properties, each supplying propane tanks. SM analyzed it's compressed gas expenses:
- Total Annual Spend = $113,623.08
- Total Annual Savings = $21,346.80
Client C is an amusement park offering on-premise accommodations, dining experiences, and outdoor events in West Springfield, MA.
- Merchant Service Annual Spend = $212,117.28
- Merchant Service Annual Savings = $130,123.08
- Telecom Annual Spend = $35,871.48
- Telecom Annual Savings = $6,938.16
In total, Schooley Mitchell saved $137,061.24 in annual expenses for the client, reducing the costs by more than 55% without reducing the quality of services.
1. Discovery Phase
- A signed service agreement gets us started.
- A signed letter of authorization allows us to access the information we need.
2. Negotiation Phase
- We gather your invoices to begin our analysis.
- Our analysts at Head Office dig into the details, contact vendors, and prepare value reports.
3. Implementation Phase
- After presenting savings, we will handle any planning and implementation required.
- We only implement recommendations approved by you.
- We monitor your expenses on an ongoing basis.
Merchant Services
Do you reference the "effective rate" to evaluate how competitive your processing fees are?
A blended pricing structure makes it more difficult to fully understand all the factors impacting your fees.
Do you know how your current processing environment impacts your processing fees?
How you process payments and capture data can have a big impact on your monthly fees.
Have you asked your processor to provide you an "interchange-plus pricing" quote?
This pricing structure is often the least expensive and most transparent option.
Telecom
Have you conducted a recent usage audit across your telecommunications system?
In many cases, we find inefficiencies and redundancies in the number of lines and features.
Have you considered moving to a Voice over IP platform?
Cloud based telecommunications systems typically provide unique features at lower costs.
Do you know when your current plan automatically renews?
Companies typically only have a 30-day window to make changes to their current contract.
Compressed Gases
Have you conducted a “lease versus own” analysis of your storage tanks?
Different vendors offer very different pricing structures.
Are you paying too much for your specific delivery times?
Being more flexible on delivery times can significantly reduce your costs.
Do you review your monthly statements to ensure the correct charge codes are used?
Charge codes can be confusing and require a review to ensure you are being charged correctly.
Larry Nipon
Strategic-Partner
Michael Neil
Strategic-Partner
