Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival. One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, […]
Selling Value Is Always Valuable
Looking at the title of this column, you might be saying to yourself, “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” but stop and think for a minute. What can you offer that goes way beyond the product itself? What can you offer that will get your customer thinking beyond price issues? What do you have to offer that […]
The Incredible Exploding Email!
Has this ever happened to you? You start off an email to a co-worker warning her about this customer of yours who is a real jerk and outlining a potential problem they are about to cause for no good reason but that he is a jerk who likes to push people around and if you […]
What Customers Really Want
When it comes to what customers really want there is one big secret. They think that they want our products or services. They think that they want us to deliver good products on time. They think that they want good quality. They think that they want a great price (or “great value” as they would […]
5 Things We Should Be Doing And Aren’t
Dare to be great We are all so busy running our businesses that we seldom have time to do what really needs to be done to move our businesses forward, to take them from “good to great” to use that old but true cliché. I know that all of my friends who own board shops […]
If You Are Not Growing Your Business, You Are Killing Your Business
Sometimes playing it safe is the most dangerous thing you can do. In fact, I view business like this: If you are not growing, you are dying. If you are not constantly trying to find ways to make your company more attractive to your customers, you will die. I personally know of some companies who […]
A Lousy Trade Show Is No One’s Fault But Yours
Talking to people at IPC Apex Expo a couple of weeks ago, I came to realize that there are two kinds of people: those who just come here, set up their booth and expect things to happen and then blame the show organizers when nothing does, and those who make things happen and who now […]
It’s In Your Hands
No matter what happens in the world, success is up to you There are about 230 boards shops left in North America and out of those about 175 of them are at $10 Million or less and out of those about a 100 are at $5 Million or less and out of those 25 are […]
When A Customer Says Your Price Is Too High
Why does it seem that most of our customers pride themselves on their ability to find the cheapest products in the world to put into their products, which they also claim are the best in the world? How exactly does that work? Does a great chef search the world for the cheapest ingredients he can […]
How To Interview Potential Sales Reps
The problem with finding and hiring the right sales person is that, well they are sales people, they know how to sell, they know how to talk a good game, in fact so good a game that it’s hard to figure out if they are in fact really good or just great talkers! So you […]