Two key factors that affect your gross margin
I believe it is the job of a building supply business’ sales team to sell the operational capacity of the company they represent. When...
Celebrate “Breakeven Day”
For a moment, think about the benefits of knowing how much sales volume at what level of gross margin your business needs to breakeven...
Getting more mileage from company services
In seminar programs I present I am almost always asked questions about service. From the feedback I receive, it seems virtually every company in...
When hiring, experience can be overrated
The highest odds of hiring a highly productive salesperson is to hire a person with the raw talent to do the job, someone who...
Service: To market it, it’s best to measure it
I have never met a salesperson who didn’t claim that his company had terrific service. And by the same token I have never met...
Beware of copouts that stifle profits
Avoid denial. Managers who expect to grow and prosper must look at their businesses as objectively as would an outside analyst, so beware of...
Five steps to managing material returns
Many building supply businesses I visit have a sacred burial ground someplace on the yard or in a warehouse resulting in tens of thousands...
Where does the buck stop in your organization?
Although he did not coin the statement, President Harry S. Truman from the state of Missouri is given credit for popularizing the phrase “The...
What does “professional” mean in your organization?
Is “professionalism” something that is in the eye of the beholder or are there basics that all professionally managed organizations have in common?
I believe...
Guidelines for incentive compensation in 2018
There is no topic I receive more calls about than that of incentive compensation. Here are just a few examples of questions that lead...