Marketing and Sales Archives - Page 3 of 44

Three Cautionary Tales About Three Sales Fails

November 1, 2023February 16, 2024 Bill Farquharson

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…

Client Retention and Acquisition: A Parallel Path

October 16, 2023 Mike Philie

A 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…

How to Avoid the Price Objection with Clients: Keep Bringing New Ideas and Don’t Let Failure Discourage You

October 11, 2023 Bill Farquharson

My 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…

How to See Total Sales for One Customer in a Year

August 25, 2023May 8, 2024 Harriet Gatter

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…

QuickBooks Shortcuts You Might Not Know

July 28, 2023May 8, 2024 Harriet Gatter

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…

How to Turn Multiple Orders Into One Invoice

March 17, 2023May 8, 2024 Harriet Gatter

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…

The Life-Saving Solution: A Conversation with LifeVac Founder

March 6, 2023May 8, 2024 Greg Muzzillo

Being an entrepreneur isn’t always about making money. For LifeVac founder Arthur Lih, it’s about making a difference. What if you had already built a successful business, sold it for millions of dollars, then on the cusp of retirement, you realized you could create something that wouldn’t just change someone’s life, but it could save…

FONO (Muzzillo Dictionary of Terms)

February 20, 2023May 8, 2024 Greg Muzzillo

We’ve all heard about FOMO, “Fear of Missing Out.” But FONO is a different fear. FONO is “Fear of No.” FONO is the No. 1 reason most people never get wealthy in this business. It’s the No. 1 reason why some people fail in this business. The “fear of no” creates call reluctance…

Million Dollar Mindset: I Will Call You

February 6, 2023May 8, 2024 Greg Muzzillo

We have all heard prospects and customers tell us “I will call you.” Let me tell you the definition of “I will call you.” “I will call you” equals “I will never call you.” In 1978 when I started Proforma, all I had was some business cards and an answering machine. My answering machine was…

Frustration to Action: How Calloway Cook Revolutionized the Supplement Industry

February 6, 2023May 8, 2024 Greg Muzzillo

Imagine quitting your job and risking it all to raise money, build a business plan on the fly, and create a company you believe can make a difference in people’s lives. Sound crazy? Well, that’s exactly what the bold entrepreneur Calloway Cook did when he founded Illuminate Labs. The founder and active president of this…