Net-60 Wasn't a Strategy. You Just Never Went Back.
You accepted Net-60 early in the relationship because you wanted the contract. Jobs got bigger, volume grew, and nobody went back. Here's how the exposure compounds and when you actually have leverage to change it.
Markup Is Not Margin
Adding 30 percent to your job costs gives you a 23 percent margin job, not a 30 percent one. It's the most consistently misunderstood concept in small business pricing and it shows up at shops of every size.
You Can't Train Instinct. Here's What to Build Instead.
The owner closes deals by feel. The person they handed it to sends the quote and waits. That gap costs revenue every week, and coaching doesn't fix it. Documentation does.
What Your Distributor Rep Sees When You Call for a Quote
Your distributor rep isn't being difficult. They're looking at your account and doing math. Here's how spend tiers actually work and what consolidation gets you that spot-quoting never will.
The 3-7-14 Rule: Why Most Follow-Ups Happen Too Late to Matter
Most shops follow up on open quotes about three weeks after sending them. By then the deal is already gone. Here's the three-touchpoint cadence that gets callbacks instead of silence.
The Gap Nobody Else Wants to Work In
After 15 years in industrial distribution, I realized the gap between where big consulting firms play and where small shops actually need help. That's the only work I've ever found interesting.
Your Floor Didn't Have a Workflow Problem Until Your Software Did
Your software didn't break your process — it exposed it. The workflow problem was always there; you just couldn't see it until everything was documented. Here's how to map it and fix it.
Your Quote Is Good. Your Follow-Up Is Why You're Losing.
Your quote is good. Your follow-up is why you're losing. It's not a sales problem — it's a process problem. Here's the 3-7-14 protocol that wins deals faster than discounts.
You Think You Know Your Labor Rate. You Probably Don't.
Double your wage and call it your labor rate. That math costs you money on every job. Your true burden rate is nearly three times the wage — here's why most shops don't know it.
Your Inventory Count Is Wrong. Here's Why Counting More Won't Fix It.
You count more, but your inventory is still wrong. The problem isn't counting frequency — it's that you're not asking why things go missing. Here's how root cause analysis transforms inventory chaos into data.
Your P&L Says You're Profitable. Your Bank Account Disagrees.
Your P&L shows profit. Your bank account shows something different. The gap isn't a math error — it's a timing problem. Here's how to map the next 13 weeks before payroll ambushes you.
Stop Chasing the Cheapest Price on Every Line Item. It's Costing You More Than You Think.
Small machine shops see large companies spreading spend across multiple distributors and copy the strategy. But trying to get the best deal everywhere guarantees average deals across the board. Here's why consolidation works better.