How do we define a Catalog? A catalog is essentially a thick, bi-annual publication that proposes goods to consumers, like the mail-order catalog, right? In that sense, catalog sales are down. WAY down, since civilization has adopted the internet. That is, of course, assuming that a catalog is hundreds of color pages printed on paper [...]
Meeting face-to-face. Still the best way to do business.
87% of Harvard Business Review readers agree that meeting face-to-face is essential for “sealing the deal”. That’s for those who wonder how “that other guy gets all the business”. Keyboards and touchpads are NOT always the best way to communicate in business. Here is the summary of the study by HBR (study sponsored by British [...]
Your sales pitch might be crap.
I have been getting more service proposals now that my e-mail address is listed on every news release published by iWeb. Most proposals don’t get read all the way. The are three (3) possible outcomes to every pitch, listed in order of importance (and likeliness) Delete Thanks, but (fill in the blank) Interesting, tell me more about [...]
What good is know-how if no one knows about it?
François Blanc, the founder of Monaco as we know it today, once said: “À quoi bon le savoir-faire sans le faire-savoir?” (What good is know-how if no one knows about it?) François Blanc built Monaco’s glamourous foundations from scratch, and was very clever about how to get visitors; Monaco’s newspaper (which he published) partnered [...]
The African Shoe Prophecy
When I was starting out in sales, a big account told me they didn’t need my product. Harvey Levine lit up a cigarette and told me this story about shoes: Two businessmen from two shoe companies are sent to africa, to scan the continent and evaluate the potential for business. After three days, the [...]