Do you ever feel you are barking up that proverbial wrong tree? Do you keep seeing the same people and getting nowhere? Do you sometimes wonder if you are in the right state never mind the right company with the right person? Scary thoughts aren’t they? Especially if any of them apply to you. In […]
Sometimes You Just Get Lucky
An oldie worth repeating: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Being successful in sales takes a lot of hard work, dedication and downright stubbornness. It takes working long hours, and being prepared, after all nothing good just falls into your lap…or does it? I am about to tell you a true story. Yes, […]
Finding Salespeople For Contract Manufacturers
We talked last week about how contract manufacturers need sales and marketing So, being a big proponent of the putting your money where your mouth is school of thought, this week we’re going to talk about finding and hiring the right salespeople to sell your services. “Aren’t sales people alike?” I hear you asking. Yes, […]
No Willie Lomans Please!
Reinventing yourself Okay, you have been at this a long time, maybe too long, heck twenty, thirty, or even forty years, and now you’re getting a bit, shall we say, long in the tooth and somewhat tired. But you still love the business, and kind of, still like what you do. You like it enough […]
Contract Manufacturers Are Not Exempt From Needing Sales And Marketing
For many years now, too many that I want to count, I have been a real pain in the neck advocating that all board shops need marketing, they need to advertise, send out newsletters, hire and manage, measure, and motivate sales people, create forecasts, and account plans and pay attention to their customers’ needs. Interestingly […]
Getting The Kids Into Manufacturing
Let me tell you about my son Damon. From the time he was thirteen years old he has been fascinated with everything Japanese. I’m not sure how that started, maybe the video games? Anyway, when we moved to Maine in 2012 and he was about to enter his Freshmen year in high school, he asked […]
Stop Procrastinating And Start Prospecting
I know you hate to prospect and you hate to make cold calls, so this is what we have to talk about today. Whether you like it or not. To help us, there is a great book by Mark Hunter called High-Profit Prospecting a trade paperback published by Amacom. This book is a first rate […]
Getting The Most From Walking IPC Apex 2019!
With IPC Apex Expo 2019 coming up next week, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of my ideas for helping visitors who are not exhibiting, but are attending the show. Obviously, we have talked a great deal about how to get the most of your dollars when you exhibit […]
Nurturing Your PCB Talent
There is no doubt there is a shortage of young people in our business. As we all get older, the challenge of finding young people to replace us is getting more severe. So, I thought it only appropriate that this week we would talk about that nurturing process, training them to become not only viable, […]
A Word From The Future: Some Notable Highlights From CES 2019
No, I didn’t go, sorry, I still have to spend my time earning a living and working with my favorite people, my customers. Many of my friends though, did get a chance to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week and here are some of the more impressive peeks into our […]