Question: Is there one screen in QuickBooks Premier where I can look at my open sales orders and invoices? Answer: Yes, QuickBooks has a feature called “Income Tracker” that does just that. Go to “Customers,” then “Income Tracker.” The dashboard shows a current accounting of various income segments. At the top, you will see totals…
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In my last blog article, I discussed the fact that most distributors don’t really own a business, but rather, they own a job. The test to determine if you own your own business is if you can fly to Hawaii for three months and tell someone else where to send your check. The key words…
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Question: What do you know about buying groups? Answer: There are variations of buying groups in our industry—from a couple of distributors banding together loosely to companies that offer other services and approaches. To answer this question fully, I went to Jamie Coggeshall, president of AIMastermind (AIM), a group that purely is a buying group.…
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And just like that, many of my current team members and I have been together here at Print+Promo and Promo Marketing for more than a decade. We have grown up together in a sense, celebrating some of life’s major milestones. There have been marriages, babies and other “life stuff”—the good and the bad. I honestly…
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A few years ago, I downloaded a free Sudoku app called Sudoku Joy. I had not played Sudoku before this app and I was not sure I would like Sudoku. In fact, I was pretty sure I would not like Sudoku. Turns out, I was wrong. I like Sudoku quite a bit, and this app…
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In my last article, I discussed the importance of gratitude. Today, I would like to talk about the two most powerful words in the English language. If I asked you, “Who are you?” your answer would start with two words: “I am.” I am. The two most powerful words in the English language. Don’t believe me?…
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Where’s your focus? It seems like all the glamour and excitement in sales and marketing focuses on account acquisition. Everyone loves the “rainmaker,” the professional who reels in the big fish and new, headliner clients. We spend our time, our resources and our money on carefully crafted marketing plans. We think through objectives, strategies and…
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If you are going to thrive in any economy, you must commit yourself to a laser-like focus on doing first-things first and a ferocious understanding of what you are not going to do. For me, having a “stop-doing list” has become more important than my to-do list. Here’s what works for me: After 23 years of…
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If you want to become a business partner who matters, you need to get to know your customers. Go deep. Study their companies every way and every where you can. Start on your computer. Google the companies. Read articles about them. Set up Google Alerts to get trending articles about them. Study their industries. Read…
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People are much smarter than puppies, but raising a puppy can teach you a lot about how to manage people. I know this because with Tiffany, my family’s first puppy 25-plus years ago, I did everything wrong. Tiffany was never potty trained, constantly barked at nothing and, essentially,…
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