Did you ever live through something that was so insane, and so stupid that you couldn’t believe it was happening right before your very eyes? I have, and many times. But I’m no different from anyone who has sold PCBs, or anyone who’s spent years in our industry, for that matter. Then, late at night […]
Think Different
Remember when Steve Jobs came back to save Apple from the brink of disaster, and the first thing he did was launch an ad campaign that featured people who changed the world by thinking differently? He featured famous people from Bob Dylan to Albert Einstein to John Lennon and many others all of them bright, […]
8 Ways To Prospect For New Accounts
We all know that companies must grow or they will die. The same thing applies to rep firms. You must keep growing your business, adding new customers, and increasing your sales, or you too will die. Too many times reps will find three or four major customers and then rely on them for their income […]
There Is Only One Way To Succeed And That Is To Always Give It Your Best
One of my favorite sayings is “when you wake up in the morning if you are not ready to change the world, then don’t bother to get out of bed.” Do you ever think about changing the world? Do you ever think about being the best you can be…the best in the business? This kind […]
7 Ways To Make Your Principals Brag About You
If you’re a rep the best way to be successful is to have your principals love you. Sad as it may seem I almost never hear principals bragging about having a great rep. In fact, instead, I hear horror story after horror story about how reps aren’t doing anything, they are not bringing in the […]
Remember Who Is Really Doing The Work
Those of us who have spent our lives in sales, sometimes forget who really matters. As we pursue those elusive orders or solve problems, meet challenges, and soothe angry customers, it is easy for us to forget those who are really doing the work. The ones who are back at the shop, sweating it out […]
Why PCB Shops Can’t Get Good Reps
For the past couple of years now I’ve noticed that it is much more difficult to get independent sales reps interested in selling for board shops. One of my offerings, one that is becoming my least favorite by the way, is trying to find reps for shops. My fee for this is getting higher every […]
What Makes A Great Leader?
There is an old axiom that goes behind every messed-up company is a messed-up leader, the real version is somewhat more graphic, but this is a g-rated rated publication and I respect that, heck you never know when a six your old might want to read this column. Anyway, any version you use of this saying it’s […]
Book Recommendation: Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants
A book recommendation from Dan Beaulieu: Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants By Paul Cherry Copyright 2018 Amacon Price $ 17.95 Pages: 227 and Index The one book to read and study if you truly want to know who your customer is. This is a great book to help […]
Marketing Your Rep Firm
Who are you and what are you doing here? If you want to stand out as a rep company, you have to get your name out there. And that means getting involved in some good old marketing and branding. The good news, is that there are practically no rep companies paying any attention to marketing […]