A wise man once advised me not to let small failures become big ones. He meant that failure is a valuable component of life and business. The characteristic of a great golfer is how he bounces back on the next hole after having a bad one. The same applies to anyone who is striving for […]
Great Customer Service Stories
Okay I can’t help myself when it comes to customer service. Great customer service. I love to hear examples of when a company went the extra mile to help a customer out. There are so many examples of poor to terrible customer service that it is aways so much more meaningful to hear about some […]
Planning: How To Find What You Do And How To Be Outstanding
What do you do? What is your niche? The old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” and it can apply to business in many ways, the first being that there is no such thing as a business that can do everything. Like the saying goes, if you do everything then you are […]
What Do Reps Want?
Continuing our series on closing the gap between independent sales reps and their principals I thought the next step would be to talk about what reps are looking for in an ideal rep-principal partnership. As I talk to reps, and yes I talk to a lot of them, one of the issues they always have […]
Be A Connoisseur Of Talent
Tom Peters still has it. In doing research for the best way to hire good and talented individuals in these tough times, I went to my library and found a copy of Tom Peters’ book Professional Service 50 published over twenty years ago in 1999. Even now twenty-three years later Peters still has it right. […]
IPC Apex Expo Is Done. Now What?
So, you spent last week in San Diego attending the IPC Apex Expo. You made a lot of good contacts. You talked to a lot of people. You spent time with potential customers trying to convince them to buy your goods and services. You spent time with the right vendors checking out their products and […]
The Profit’s 11 Rules for Success
While other people are watching The Voice or Game of Thrones. I am always watching business shows. Okay call me a nerd, but hey it’s a passion, okay? One of my favorites is The Profit where serial entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis invests his own money” into businesses that need his help. I love this show […]
People Hate Being Sold. So Don’t Sell Them
People hate being sold. Of course, people want things. If they are in the business of buying and using PCBs for example, they need to buy them. But they want to feel they are in control. They want to “decide” on their own, (or so they think) without someone chattering in their ear about how […]
10 Ways To Bring PCB Business Back To America
The winds of globalism seem to be blowing in our direction; and I see indicators that we can bring at least a significant portion of the PCB market back to America in the next few years. That is if we stick together and do things right. Here are 10 ways we can bring the PCB […]
Trains, Planes, and Automobiles
As we do every year on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving we watch the old classic Trains, Planes and Automobiles starring Steve Martin and John Candy, and just like we do every year we all end up shouting suggestions at the characters, ideas for making better choices. This movie came out in the late […]