The great companies always pay attention to detail. I have read numerous times that Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ives would spend hours working on the boxes their products came in. They would hold the cover of an I-Pod box over the bottom of the box and just drop it seeing how long and how elegantly […]
Looking Into The Future
Have you thought about this autonomous vehicle thing? I mean really done some deep thinking about what it will mean to all of us, how it will change the world in ways we have not even thought of yet? Here is some insight into what is called “Level 5 of autonomy” and what that will […]
10 Ways To Get Going Again (and Beat Those Summertime Blues)
Ever have one of those days when you just can’t get going? Nothing seems to work. No matter how hard you try you just can’t get out of the parking lot both proverbially and literally! You try calling prospects, all you get is voice mail; you try to write some sales emails and you just […]
What Will Life Be Like In The Year….2020.5?
Okay, the very near future. Like in the next few months, what will life be like in our factories and offices? One thing is for sure and that is that we will not be going back to the way things were before Covid-19. Now that we have had a chance to realize how really vulnerable […]
7 Ways To Choose The Right Business Partner
Finding The Right Partner When you struck out on your own and started your rep firm you had to decide just how large you wanted to firm to be. Many people just strike out on their own and go solo for a while. After a time once the company has successfully launched they might want […]
What The Heck Is Wrong With PCB Shops Making Money?
In a recent column I talked about board shops making money and how upset our customers were at the very thought of their board shop vendors making money. Many times over the years I have heard our customers complaining bitterly about how much money we make. They seem to think that all the shops […]
Prospecting Is Mandatory
Get out there and do it now! I know you hate to prospect and you hate to make cold calls, so this is what we have to talk about today. Whether you like it or not. There is a great book by Mark Hunter called High-Profit Prospecting, a trade paperback published by Amacom. This book is […]
Don’t Give Your PCBs Away!
Look I know getting business is hard. I know that you’re biggest problem is always having enough business and I certainly know that most of our customers pride themselves in buying the cheapest circuit board that money can buy. But still that is no excuse to give away your boards. You have got to make […]
Customer Service Starts At The Top
All customer service starts at the top. It’s a cultural thing. To have great customer service you have to have respect for your customers, everyone in the company has to respect the customer not just the customer service people. Look, it’s pretty easy to pass everything along to the customer service people (by the way […]
What Goes Around…
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 […]