I have written in the past about the pride some of our customers have in buying the cheapest products available on the market today, and we talked about how for some reason some companies feel that they can buy the cheapest parts they can get their hands on and then turn around and tell their […]
Create A Simple Plan And Just Be Tenacious
It’s amazing how much can get done when you decide to stick with it Another year another strategic plan…or worse yet another month another strategic plan. Does this sound familiar to you? Well it does to me. The most difficult thing to do when you’re a strategic consultant like I am is to make sure […]
Do You Tell Your Customers You Buy The Cheapest Parts Possible?
It always amazes me that the same people who claim to be building the best products on the market today are also the ones who want to buy the cheapest ingredients they can. Think of your customers, how many of them have told you this… “We are building the best Missile, MRI, Automobile, Computer than […]
We Have To Work Together Or Else!
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 […]