“The Earlier, the Better” When Asking Clients for Favors

Cop Dog aka Marlowe full Make the most of your honeymoon. In many cases, your relations with a client are most positive shortly after you begin working with them. It's during this "honeymoon" period when the client is most enthusiastic about and communicative with your company. It's the golden peri

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Add “Wow” to Your Website: A 21 Step Guide

You don't have to be a techno-wizard, and it doesn't take rocket science to create a killer website. It takes 21 steps. Here are those steps, as I spelled them out in my recent tele-seminar entitled "21 Keys to a Killer Website:" 1/ Keep it Simple. The average website visit is 4 seconds and two c

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Keep Customers Happy or Pay the Price

Providing good customer service in competitive times like these is not just a good way for design industry partners to do business. It's the only way. One reason why: unhappy customers in general -- and designers in particular -- don't keep secrets. The Legend Trip release The Strategic Planning

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Do What the Bigger Guys Don't: the Peet's Principle

Do What the Bigger Guys Don’t: the Peet’s Principle

.!. If  you're with one of  those manufacturers and retailers out there struggling to compete with the big guys, I have a suggestion for you. Let's have tea. Join me for a cup at a small coffee and tea joint here in Boulder, CO. called Peet's. Now would be a good time, before you head out to Neoco

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Time Management Tips for Showroom Managers

Time Management Tips for Showroom Managers

When I think of good "time managers," I don't think of design showroom managers. Many of the managers I've met at design center showrooms, in fact, make poor use of their time. They work hard, but they don't work smart. That's why they're more "busy" than they are profitable. Which is why I thought

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Stop Singing the

Stop Singing the “Big Box Store Blues”

Don't get bummed by the boxes. If there is one thing that design professionals love to hate, it's the home improvement center. Whenever and where ever I speak,  I hear designers, floor covering specialists, decorators, retailers and others bellyache about big box stores. No question that box

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Showroom Strategies: How the Leaders Build a “Buzz”

How do the leading "trade only" showrooms connect with design professionals? I recently surveyed managers of some of the nation's most financially successful showrooms , and they shared these strategies: + Conduct designer focus groups + Build strong road rep programs + Turn the showroom (SR) in

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Align with Your Clients: Offer a

Align with Your Clients: Offer a “Taste Test”

Betcha I tasted more varieties of peanut butter in 20 minutes last week than you have in a month. I was one of 100 participants in a peanut butter taste test sponsored by a Boulder, CO.-based organic food company. But munching on creamy and crunchy samples was the easy part. I had to rate each 

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 Exhibitors Can Lose if They Snooze After the Trade Show

Exhibitors Can Lose if They Snooze After the Trade Show

I just returned from speaking in Las Vegas at Surfaces, the world's largest conference of floor covering professionals. There I was, one of 40,000 attendees walking through 500,000 square feet worth of flooring exhibits. And there they were, 1,000 exhibitors showing off the latest in carpet, ha

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Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

If you’re in the neighborhood — or, even if your aren’t — you’re invited to attend my presentations in the next few months. I’m also offering personal coaching sessions for design professionals and Industry Partners in each of the cities I visit. Here’s the rundown: + SURFACES 2007 – Las

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