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 […]
20 Lessons in 20 Years — A Career in Common Sense
By Dan Beaulieu, for the 1000th edition of “It’s Only Common Sense” The Long Game of Weekly Truth-Telling One thousand columns. 20 years. The first edition of It’s Only Common Sense was published on September 5, 2005- Twenty years ago the first 10 columns were monthly. But then on July 31st, 2006, the column went […]
Why Failure is an Opportunity for Growth
It’s only common sense that failure, as painful as it may be, is one of the best teachers in life. Whether you’re running a business, managing a team, or navigating your personal journey, failure offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn, grow, and emerge stronger. If you’re not failing now and then, you’re likely not trying […]
Stop Chasing New Customers and Start Keeping the Ones You’ve Got
Come on, I get it! Customer retention is not glamorous. It doesn’t have a flashy ad campaign. It’s not going viral on social media. And nobody’s handing out “Best in Retention” awards at trade shows. But if you’re running a real business — not a popularity contest — then customer retention is where your real […]