Ask the Accountant… Question: How do I see a list of entries in QuickBooks? Answer: You didn’t say which QuickBooks you use, but these reports are available in both QB Desktop (Pro, Premier, and Enterprise) and QuickBooks Online (QBO). In QBO, go to “Reports” (on left side of screen), select the “Standard” Tab, scroll down…
Last month, the newly formed Congressional Printing Caucus was announced, marking a “first-of-its kind bipartisan Caucus dedicated to advancing a public policy agenda that benefits and protects America’s printing industry and its rich, diverse, and varied communities,” according to a press release. “The Caucus will provide the Alliance with regular opportunities to educate a core group of lawmakers and their staff about the issues, legislation, and regulations that have a potential effect on the printing industry,” the release continued. But what is a Printing Caucus and what does it mean…
As a distributor, you are looking to be a problem-solver for your clients. If you can come up with a solution, you become the hero and deepen your relationship with the account. Since we know that a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to 25% to 95% increase in profitability (Bain & Co.), these…
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…
We have all heard the saying that “experience is the best teacher.” While sometimes it may be true, I believe that far more often experience is not the best teacher. First, I’ve met thousands of distributors and sales reps whose sales are very low. Sometimes they will tell me that they have been in the…
In her best-selling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” author Marie Kondo identifies high levels of clarity and focus that result from eliminating unnecessary items from our personal and professional lives. Removing “clutter” brings with it an almost overwhelming sense of relief and an ability to spend more time and attention on the things that matter most. The same principal can be applied to our quest to make more efficient use of our time. To “de-clutter,” we must first identify and yes, write down how we spend our time…
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…
The Washington Times recently featured an opinion piece by an advocate for the plastics industry that included multiple unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper-based packaging. Two Sides North America submitted the following letter to the editors in response. To the editors: Why is it that whenever someone wants to extoll the sustainability benefits of plastic packaging products, they feel compelled to claim that plastics have “a lower environmental impact” than paper-based packaging (America succumbs to plastic paranoia, September 26) instead of simply making a fact-based environmental case? Could it be because…
Ask the Accountant… Question: If I use SAGE for my presentations and orders, why do I need QuickBooks? Answer: SAGE Online has a comprehensive system with search, presentation, CRM, project, and order management system capabilities, to name a few. They are not, nor do they want to be, an accounting system. You will not be…
In our previous post, we looked at reasons for distributors to sell industrial labels. Unlike many other products, industrial labels are highly repeatable. They offer recurring revenue (“print annuities”), they are sticky, and more. But what exactly are industrial labels? How do they differ from prime labels that most distributors are familiar with? Industrial labels…