Buy a mirror. There are two kinds of people in the world. And you can learn a great deal by their responses to handling a misstep. Let’s say you are going on a walk and trip on a crack in the sidewalk. The first kind of person gets critical of the homeowner with the crack…
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I started Proforma. I grew Proforma. But the story of Proforma’s success must be shared with many people that mentored me over the years. Do you have a mentor? Do you have anyone who has been over the speed bumps you are going through and the speed bumps that lie ahead of you? Fortunately, I…
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In business we must continually plan, execute and evaluate. 1. Plan: Most business folks have some sort of plan. Some have long-range plans. Some have annual plans. Most have at least a “to do” list to help plan their day. 2. Execute: Most business folks also execute. The key to good execution is good planning.…
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Most of my articles for “Million Dollar Mindset” are about creating financial wealth. But having just attended the funeral and celebration of life for a good friend of mine, and a good friend to the entire industry, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the wealth that really matters. It seems to me that…
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Failure is a part of success. Sometimes failure can be the key to your fortune. You may have heard the story of how an engineer at 3M was trying to invent a super strong adhesive, but came up with a super weak one instead. That weak adhesive he invented became the secret to 3M Post-it…
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Back in the early days of building my original Proforma distributorship, I had an appointment with the owner of a furniture store chain. I was on time. He was not. After waiting for half an hour, I asked the receptionist if the owner knew I was there. She informed me that he was filming a…
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Over the years I have developed what I call the “Muzzillo 10 Percent Rule.” Simply stated, the rule is that, at any point in time, only about 10 percent of folks are dissatisfied enough with their current situation that they are wide open for change. This is true for end-user customers. Only about 10 percent…
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Back when I was growing my original Proforma distributorship, I was teaching one of our newer sales reps how to conduct field calls. In my view, field calling is a lost skill. Sadly, in this day of email and voicemail, salespeople think they don’t need to get out and do field calls. I strongly disagree…
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About 25 years ago, we purchased a great 30,000 square foot office building on a beautiful eight-acre campus. Soon after, I met with the signage company to finalize the wording for our sign. At first it seemed like a no brainer that the sign should read “Proforma Headquarters,” but that wording didn’t align with the…
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Early on in building my distributorship to $20 million (I sold that business in the early ’90s to focus on our franchise model), I realized there were only four activities that would make me wealthy. Today at Proforma we call these the 4 Pillars of Success. Earn new customers. Sell more to current customers. Hire…
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