Is Your Dealership Sexy? Be Physically Attractive

Is Your Dealership Sexy? Be Physically Attractive

If your business were able to look in a mirror, would it like what it saw? Would it be able to truthfully look at itself both physically and internally and say to itself, “Dang, I look good”?  Do others seem to be attracted to your business? And, how does...
It’s About More than Just Clean Water

It’s About More than Just Clean Water

800 million people live without clean water every day. Thousands of children die due to waterborne diseases every day. Children are taken out of school to fetch water with their mothers every day. Providing clean water for villagesthat don’t have access to any can...
Is Your Dealership Sexy? Be Helpful – Part 1

Is Your Dealership Sexy? Be Helpful – Part 1

Would you consider your dealership or remodeling business to be sexy?  It probably isn’t on most business owner’s agendas to strive for this designation, but we’re here to argue that it should be. Now, we’re not talking about hiring attractive people or setting...
Have You Heard About the New Catalog Creator Tool?

Have You Heard About the New Catalog Creator Tool?

This past weekend, 20+ new features were unveiled in the Fall release of Equilibrium Operational Management software, including the highly requested catalog creation tool. Equilibrium’s new Catalog Creator allows users to create catalogs for any product or service...
Push vs. Pull: Marketing in a Digital Age

Push vs. Pull: Marketing in a Digital Age

It used to be that marketing your company or product consisted of buying a few newspaper ads, putting some radio ads in rotation, and making the occasional 30-second TV ad. Consumers would then see and/or hear these ads and bring their business through your doors....
The Top 7 Reasons You Need to Climb Through Your Sales Attic

The Top 7 Reasons You Need to Climb Through Your Sales Attic

When is the last time you took a stroll through the ol’ sales attic?  As we mentioned in a previous article, you should think of your sales attic as a culmination of how your team sells today. When prospects say no, they go on up to the sales attic – then it is your...
Don’t Let Your Customer Experience Be Like Jury Duty – Part 2

Don’t Let Your Customer Experience Be Like Jury Duty – Part 2

In part 1 of this post, I shared my jury duty experience, where we were all treated like children.  The culture there was terrible and it got me thinking about culture at businesses in general… What’s imbedded in your culture? I read a lot on the blogs and LinkedIn...
Don’t Let Your Customer Experience Be Like Jury Duty – Part 1

Don’t Let Your Customer Experience Be Like Jury Duty – Part 1

It’s amazing how a day (or two) in public service can teach you how to reflect on your company culture. Take jury duty and airlines, for example. When you operate in a box (or a tube at 50K feet), your view of reality can warp significantly over the years.  This...
Be an Educational Resource for Your Customer

Be an Educational Resource for Your Customer

Salespeople and showrooms seem to be focusing an awful lot on products, and that just might be their biggest goof.  Do they do it because salespeople and designers have become lazy and only want to sell what makes them money? Or maybe because they truly believe that...
Playing 21 (or 22) Questions With Your Future Supplier

Playing 21 (or 22) Questions With Your Future Supplier

It’s a pretty common occurrence in the kitchen and bath industry to get misled by your supplier and end up burned in the end. Sometimes it doesn’t happen for a long time, and in other cases, it happens right after you sign the deal. If you’re going to be switching...
When Success can lead to Failure

When Success can lead to Failure

As a small business owner it seems like every day is a struggle to survive and that financial success is always in the distant future. But what do you do when that day finally comes – your business truly is successful? There are dangerous situations that can derail...
What Employees Really Think – Part 2

What Employees Really Think – Part 2

Take a moment to think about the last few times you thought something but didn’t say it.  Sometimes it seems best to just bite your tongue, right? But, that doesn’t mean what you wanted to say wasn’t worthwhile.  In part 1 of this article, we went over some of the...
Are You Teetering on The Edge?

Are You Teetering on The Edge?

No matter what position you hold in your company, from administrative assistant to owner, you can’t deny that sometimes you feel like everything is balancing on a wire and one wrong move might knock your company down. You can see that with increased sales, inadequate...
Have You Heard the Latest in July?

Have You Heard the Latest in July?

There’s never quite enough time in the day to keep up with the shocking or scandalous world “news” let alone to enrich our minds with industry information and educational materials. We know! Thats why each month we compile the most popular blog...
Closing the Marketing Generation Gap

Closing the Marketing Generation Gap

“One size fits all” is never really a great option – Not in t-shirts, not in hats and certainly not in marketing efforts.  While people come in all shapes and sizes, they also come with varying upbringings, backgrounds, morals and tastes. Throwing...
The Secret to Making a Prospect a Customer

The Secret to Making a Prospect a Customer

When someone walks into your showroom, is your first thought, “What promotion are we running right now”?  Or are you running through the list of product lines you need to sell this quarter while trying to wipe down the vignettes? As much as we’re hoping those aren’t...
Is the Chinese Import Dead? – Part 2

Is the Chinese Import Dead? – Part 2

In part 1 of this post, we discussed China’s declining birthrate and how it will affect imports in the next few decades.  Catch up here: Is the Chinese Import Dead – Part 1.  Continuing on, there’s more to discuss: Some other disturbing stuff There are currently over...
What Your Employees Really Think – Part 1

What Your Employees Really Think – Part 1

As a kitchen and bath or remodeling business owner you want to believe that your employees give you nothing but honest communication. If you asked them something they’d answer truthfully, right? Even your best, most loyal employees have certain thoughts on occasion...
Is the Chinese Import Dead? – Part 1

Is the Chinese Import Dead? – Part 1

For some dealers, it’s a religious debate.  They wouldn’t dream of selling an import line.  For other dealers, it’s just another business opportunity for the lower end of the market.  And for even other dealers, the investment never really panned out, and they’re in...
Kitchen Project Profits Getting Lost? We Know Why!

Kitchen Project Profits Getting Lost? We Know Why!

Take a look around your office for a moment and check off the following as you see it: A stack of papers A roladex A file cabinet A job file in a folder A whiteboard Excel formulas minimized on computers Salespeople requoting And the verdict is? If you checked off any...
Are Decisions Hurting Your Business?

Are Decisions Hurting Your Business?

If decisions were buildings, then commitments would be their foundation; without them the buildings would crumble. That’s why, in successful businesses, all decisions that are made should be followed up by firm commitments to act. Intentions vs accountability When...
See Our Hot Topics in the June Newsletter

See Our Hot Topics in the June Newsletter

With the temperatures rising, it’s time to take a seat inside and look at what happened on the Dealer’s Voice in June.  This past month, things heated up here in sales, marketing, and operations, and hopefully business was heating up for you all as well! We know that...
My Sad Condo Story

My Sad Condo Story

Last year I wrote an article that the ants were marching. More and more, smaller cabinet dealers are cropping up and blitzing in with square foot pricing that they give to the prospect right in the home.  Of course these guys had their own manufacturing operation out...
4 Steps to Self-Improvement with a Business Process Review

4 Steps to Self-Improvement with a Business Process Review

No matter how well businesses are preforming, they can always improve in one way or another, and that extra efficiency can usually be found by improving one or more processes within the operation. This is true of practically every business, whether it’s a cabinet...