You have to earn loyalty every day with every delivery By Dan Beaulieu Let’s cut through the fairy tale. Your customers are not loyal. They never were. They are loyal only until the next late delivery, the next missed deadline, the next quality failure. Loyalty in business is as fragile as glass—and it will shatter […]
Marketing Isn’t Fluff — It’s Ammunition
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone in our industry dismiss marketing as “fluff.” You know the tone — a little smirk, a little condescension, and the implication that “real companies” don’t need marketing. They say: “We make a great product. Our work speaks for itself.” No, it doesn’t. Not anymore. […]
Your Biggest Competitor Is Complacency
I’ve been around this industry long enough to hear every excuse under the sun: “We can’t grow because of the economy.” “Our competition is too cheap.” “The big guys have all the advantages.” Nonsense. Most of the time, you’re not losing to anyone else—you’re losing to yourself. That’s right. Your biggest competitor isn’t the shop […]
The Phone Is Still Mightier Than the Keyboard
There’s a dangerous myth floating around in business today: that the keyboard is mightier than the phone. That if you blast enough cold emails, send enough LinkedIn connection requests, and fire off enough proposals by PDF, customers will eventually roll over and buy from you. Let me set the record straight: cold emails don’t close […]
Stop Whining About the Market — Outwork It
Every time the market hiccups, every time the industry cycle dips, I hear the same tired chorus: “The market is down. Customers aren’t buying. What can we do? We just have to wait it out.” Nonsense. The market doesn’t owe you a thing. Never has, never will. If you think that by showing up, opening […]
Pricing PCBs? It’s All in Their Heads
Let’s talk about pricing — not the math, not the spreadsheets, not the cost-plus formula your finance guy loves — but the real game: perception. Because in the world of printed circuit boards, just like in every other business, customers don’t buy the cheapest. They buy what they can justify. That’s right — nobody brags […]
Navigating the Remote Work Landscape: Sales Strategies for a Virtual World
Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: remote selling isn’t a temporary inconvenience. It’s not a “phase” that’s going to magically disappear if you just hold your breath long enough. It’s the new normal. It’s the new playing field. And if you want to win, you better start learning how to hit […]
Storytelling That Sells: Stop Pitching, Start Painting Pictures
Let me tell you something that most salespeople — even the ones flashing Rolexes and bragging about crushing their quotas — still haven’t figured out: facts don’t close deals. Stories do. You can walk into a meeting loaded for bear — binders full of data, PowerPoints thicker than a New York phone book, rattling off […]
From Cold Calls to Warm Leads: The Evolution of Prospecting
Let’s get something straight right out of the gate: Cold calling isn’t dead. I don’t care what the LinkedIn gurus or the TikTok “sales coaches” say. Picking up the phone and talking to another human being is still one of the fastest ways to grow your business. But (And it’s a big but.) Cold calling […]
The Silent Salesperson: Leveraging AI in Modern Sales
Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further: AI isn’t here to replace you. It’s here to make you smarter and faster. I know, I know. Every time a new tool shows up, half the sales floor panics like the sky is falling. “They’re going to automate us out of a job!” they […]