It’s hard to believe, but we’re in the second half of 2024. Many of us do end-of-year reviews of our business goals and accomplishments, but how many of us stop to do those things mid-year? As basic as this sounds, most people don’t. But those who achieve their goals often do. Highly goal-oriented people tend…
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Sales can seem difficult and out of control unless you know the keys to making the sales process easy. Always be in control. Here are the 3 keys: 1. On every sales call, before the call is over, you must agree on next steps. You can never assume your prospect will follow up. You must discuss…
Read MoreLooking to boost your sales in 2024? Ask yourself if there is any low-hanging fruit you might have missed. “Low-hanging fruit” refers to those easy sales that are no-brainers. Once identified, they are common-sense opportunities that are easily recognized by distributor and customer alike—and there might be more of them than you might think. One…
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Recently I had a great conversation with a very successful distributor owner. He is only in his 50s, but is ready to sell his business. He has made great money in his years in the business. No doubt he could make much more. When I asked why he does not keep growing the business and…
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Three true stories… No. 1 A car salesman is working at the Cadillac dealership on a Saturday afternoon. In walks a man who looks like he just fell off a turnip truck: The man is older, diminutive at about 5’5” and both his overalls and hands are filthy, caked with dirt. The rep thinks, “Well, Pigpen is here. Where are the rest of the Peanuts characters?” before going back to his newspaper. The man circles a few Caddies, looks around, and leaves the showroom. The sales rep watches as he…
Read MoreA while back I asked if it was time to re-think the structure of your sales and client facing teams. Maybe you’ve had some reservations about how to make the transition. If you’re like many company owners, you’ve got an experienced group of sales folks who’ve been selling for years and have some great accounts. They undoubtedly have been with you for years and are great people. They provide the service your clients expect and that has helped to build your company to what it is today. Your frustration though…
Read MoreMy daughter turned me on to Lenny’s Podcast. Lenny Rachitsky has the #1 business newsletter on Substack and is a quiet, unassuming model of what a podcast host should be. He interviews “world-class product leaders and growth experts,” blah, blah, blah. Anywho… One podcast featured an Etsy exec name Tim Holley. Listening while mowing the lawn, I heard Tim say, “We are constantly trying new features. Our failure rate is 80%.” I smiled. That number gave me great comfort. The hardest part about being a sales trainer is coming up…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: How can I see what the total amount of sales I have made to a customer last year? Answer: QuickBooks has a great deal of information available to you in report form if you just know where to look. In QB Premier, go to: “Reports” (at top) > “Sales” > “Sales…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: There are lots on ins and outs in software, and the percentage that any user knows about is likely very small. I was working with a distributor, and he pointed out a shortcut with which I was not familiar. I have shared it below. Answer: In QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier, or…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: I have several sales orders for one client, but my client wants just one invoice. Can I do that in QB Premier? Answer: Yes, you can. When you are ready to create one invoice for multiple sales orders already created in Premier, go to “Create Invoices” on the Home Page and…
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