This column is meant for those companies who need printed circuit boards but don’t want to communicate with the PCB shops directly. It’s meant for those customers who believe that a PCB is just a thin piece of green plastic that anyone can build. This is for those companies who feel that the board shops […]
The Right Way To Brand Your Company
There is more marketing in our industry right now than there has ever been before. More companies are spending time, creativity, and money on getting their message out to the market. This is a vast improvement over the way it used to be when people in our industry viewed marketing as some sort of mumbo-jumbo […]
Interviewing A Sales Person
The most difficult part of a sales manager’s job. Without a doubt the most challenging part of being a sales manager is finding the right sales people to make up your sales team. It’s vitally important to find the right people because as a sales manager you live and die with your team. If you […]
Building A Great Reputation
When you’re in sales, the most important thing you have is your reputation. It’s all about what people think of you that will determine whether or not you will be successful. And of course, how many people know who you are. This is why you have to have a personal marketing plan built on your […]
The High Cost Of Buying Cheap
A few weeks ago, I talked about the pride some of our customers have in buying the cheapest products available on the market today. 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 customers that their […]
Sales Management: Focus On What Is Important
(Inspired by the book Sales Management Made Simple by Mike Weinberg) A sales manager should be doing everything she can to focus on her sales team. Getting them to perform at maximum proficiency at all times. Making sure that they are focused on all the right things. It is recommended that good sales managers spend […]
It Takes Patience To Be A Great Sales Manager
I once worked with a company president who hired a salesperson in a new territory on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and fired him before the Fourth of July weekend. Befuddled, I asked him why. He told me, “Look, the guy had not brought in a single order.” I asked if he had brought […]
It’s All About The Content!
The better the content, the better the story, the more provocative the message, the more successful your marketing and branding will be. But as we all know writing great content is not always as easy as it seems. Especially, if you want to write authentic content with stories that are actually true, instead of lifted […]
It’s Time To Rethink The Whole Rep Thing
For years now I have been working with reps acting as the liaison between them and the circuit board shops I work with. During that time I have seen the interest those reps have in working with board shops diminish as quickly as the market for fax machines. Most reps seem to have lost it […]
A Great Relationship With Your Sales Reps
One of the most important aspects of my business is helping companies with their relationships with their reps. Certainly it’s no secret that the rep/principal relationship is one of the most challenging that industry faces. This relationship is particularly challenging in the PC board industry with its’ tremendous ups and downs and its’ consistent struggles […]