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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Tag Archives: small business advice
No instant replay in small business
There was a great play in the Yankees-Angels game last night. I’m not a huge baseball fan, so relax, this is really about business. Alex Rodriguez rounded third on a base hit and headed for home. The throw beat him … Continue Reading
Here’s an exercise
Nothing fancy. Just presume, for a second, that my last post was substantially right. We will have a technical recovery from an economic perspective, but it won’t feel anything like prosperity. Ask yourself two questions: 1. What will my business … Continue Reading
The Triple Threat: Phase II
Okay, I’m stepping away from the sales compensation series for a day, and admitting something to everyone. I’ve been writing the blogs on sales comp in order to duck the one I didn’t want to write. I am by nature … Continue Reading
Sales Comp II: Are You a Supplier or a Vendor?
The next question to consider when you are designing sales compensation is: “Are we a supplier or a vendor?” Without wasting time on the differences or similarities of the dictionary definitions, here are mine: A supplier provides goods or services … Continue Reading
The Rhythm of the Sales Process
With so many of our clients trying to boost sales in a tough environment, we’ve been having lots of discussions about sales incentives. It’s surprising to me how many business owners create incentives that don’t fit their business, simply because … Continue Reading
Another Swimming Metaphor
“Only when the tide goes out, do you discover who has been swimming naked.” This classic bromide by Warren Buffett has come to mind several times in the last few weeks. As the economy hits dead low tide (coming back … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Sales
Tagged business ownership, economy, entrepreneurship, sales, sales management, small business advice
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“Only Dead Fish Go with the Flow.”
That quote, by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, is one of the best I’ve heard in a while. While she wasn’t commenting on entrepreneurs at the time, she hit the nail on the head regarding small business success. There are times … Continue Reading
The Buck Stops Here
This isn’t a political blog, but I’m cursed (or blessed) to see everything in terms of business. The current administration in the Oval Office isn’t my favorite from a policy standpoint, but it is the tell-tale clues of a leadership … Continue Reading
Tough Times Call for Tough Tactics
My motto for this recession, quoted previously in this space, is “You don’t have to outrun the bear.” As the recession lingers, and the slow, jobless recovery trickles in with a whimper, my clients are finding it both tiresome and … Continue Reading
‘A Recovery Only a Statistician Can Love’
This editorial, from the The Washington Post talks about some of the same things I am concerned about going into 2010. While we will get some positive GDP numbers, perhaps as soon as this quarter, it won’t feel much like … Continue Reading
Cabin Fever
My mom lives in New Jersey. Around February or March of every year she gets cabin fever. Too many cold and miserable days spent indoors, and she starts climbing the walls. It’s August in San Antonio, and we are in … Continue Reading
You can’t keep a good saying down.
“There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” It’s a great saying, and in the USA is typically attributed to Mark Twain. He, in turn, attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli. That credit is undocumented. What is certain is that it was … Continue Reading