Simply put, getting reps to sell printed circuit boards is getting harder all the time. Too many have been burned, the competition is too stiff, performance is not up to par, blah, blah, blah, a million reasons why not to sell boards. Don’t get me wrong there some happy reps out there. But, interestingly enough […]
Buying Cheap PCBs? Good Luck With That
This column is meant for those customers 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 […]
Why Are You Going To That Trade Show?
As we turn into 2019 and head towards trade show season, I thought it would be interesting to discuss trade shows, and some of the best ways to get the most use from your hard-earned, trade show spending. First of all, regardless of what everyone seems to think trades shows are not for selling. I’d […]
The Best Companies Command The Best Prices
Being the best will get you the best prices. You have to be better than everyone else. You have to be better than everyone else to win the business; not only win it, but keep it. If you are good, very good, you can be good enough to get past the price issue. If your […]
How Do You Know Your Board Shop Is A Good One?
Characteristics of a great board shop I have worked with well over one hundred PCB shops over my twenty years as a sales and marketing consultant. Some have been well run while others, well not so much. But, over that time I have been able to observe and differentiate the great ones from the ones […]
Getting Your Salespeople to Act As A Team
For the most part sales people are lone wolves. One of the reasons they choose to be sales people is the independence, they like to run their own race. I have found that the best sales people are truly the loners. Think of Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glenn Ross. While all the other sales people […]
What The Heck Is SEO?
Ever wonder what it takes to get to the top of a Google Page? Did you ever think about why some companies always seem to have all the business they need; and they don’t even have any outside sales people? How are these companies doing this? It seems to be some kind of black magic […]
This Is Not Rocket Science: Give Your Customers What They Need
To succeed in business today especially a custom business where you’re making products based on not your designs but the customers’ designs you have to be flexible. You have to listen to what your customers want today and what they are going to need tomorrow and customize your offerings to meet those needs. This concept […]
The World’s Worst Sales Person
Stay away from this person at all costs! During the course of writing this column I have always focused on great sales people. What their characteristics are; what it takes to find great sales people; how to incentivize them, how to keep them motivated and how to make sure they are kept happy, inspired and […]
A Small Rant: Get Over Yourself And Hire Some Salespeople
Man, how many times I am going to have to say this? For those of you loyal readers who have been checking out this column for years I apologize in advance and won’t blame you if you want to sit this one out because you’ve read it all before right here and yes too many […]