Nestled snugly in his Florida retirement digs old Soapy was kind of oblivious to just how close Christmas was. As anyone who ever met him knew he sure wasn’t a Scrooge when it came to giving and sharing holiday cheer. But after two years of retirement he’d finally gotten into his new lifestyle (where every […]
Starting strong…Especially up front Ten or fifteen seconds can be the difference between welcome or dismissal in that cold call. Here’s what we know: Waste those precious introductory minutes on some nebulous statement and you’ll likely get the second one. But if you can propose a thought that appeals to that prospect’s real interests, you […]
Time and territory…efficiency and stress We generally all agree it’s a great idea, but just as generally we often don’t do it. The reasons are varied. Like … “It won’t really work for me” or “I don’t have the time to do it”, or “It’d be good for other territories, but not mine”. That “thing” […]
Thanking our customers for their business is something we probably do less often than we should. Most users of any product or service appreciate a sincerely expressed acknowledgement of their patronage even more than we might imagine. For both good and bad we’re prone to focus that sort of expression on the Christmas season. But […]
Information and …Hitting the ball When we pitch service as our greatest strength does that impress that prospect? When we mention that we only live fifteen minutes away insuring quick response time for emergencies, does he care? If we say that we’ll deliver sparkling tableware or white, bright great smelling linens is that a winning […]
Tariffs, inflation and…Adjusting your prices Okay so we’re not importers who’re directly impacted by tariff costs. But the cost of doing business has probably increased since you last adjusted your prices. The result has almost certainly been real erosion of your bottom line. Over the last couple of years we’ve seen all manner of our […]
What to offer…vs. what we’d take So you’re in a unique position. An attractive four unit nursing home prospect has put their business up for bid. Luckily you just happen to have a friend on the inside who’s provided you with the incumbent’s pricing. And to your glee, you find it’s ten percent above what […]
Hot, hot and…Not so hot So how hot does that final rinse really have to be? Of course we understand that public health standards require 180F. But we also know that occasionally that temperature can aggravate conditions like water with high total dissolved solids. There the rapid flash drying it allows can cause the solids […]
Bananas and…Pealing challenges So your nursing home chain just announced they’re opening up their business for bid. They say it’s got nothing to do with dissatisfaction with you – they just want to be sure they’re getting the best deal available. And the buyer even says they hope your proposal will top any others. So […]
Our angels and…Listening to them While it’s certainly not a regular occurrence, once in a while we have the pleasure of experiencing an account we lost a few months ago coming back hat in hand. The question is how to handle it. It’s certainly understandable that with our still raw feelings our darker angel side […]