Johnny is my dentist and I just got out of his chair. Most people might find it hard to hold a conversation while having their teeth cleaned. Those, like me, of Italian ancestry know it is far from impossible to communicate with grunts and hand gestures, but while I am in Johnny’s chair it is […]

Although the natural human instinct may be to hibernate in winter and eat what we preserved during warmer weather, the door and window dealer who needs to eat with the money they squirreled away to get through winter risks starving to death before spring thaws and wallets open again. Our survival can depend on how […]

Loyal clients make business more pleasant and profitable all year round. Now is the last chance of 2012 to give past customers more motivation to become loyal customers. The Old School way to make the most of it is to send out season’s greetings. The “Old School” CRM “Season’s Greetings” promotion requires good timing, preparation, […]

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the newfangled term for dealing with clients. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure performed during cardiac arrest. CPR saves lives by forcing the heart to circulate oxygenated blood by manually pumping the chest over 100 times per minute. CPR delays death, but is unlikely to restore the heart’s spontaneous […]

How can a door or window dealer increase sales without gambling money on expensive and risky advertising campaigns? Home improvement contractors are finding it harder to justify investing in traditional marketing campaigns because of disappointing returns on their advertising investments. Remodeling companies who depend on traditional marketing methods – direct mail, print, radio and television […]

I got a pay raise yesterday. I received the renewal notice from my health insurance provider, HealthAmerica, and I found an increase in my premiums of 99.4 percent. Of course, this is an increase in overhead expenses for me as a small business owner. But, looking on the bright side, I got a pay raise. […]

There can be no question that Andersen Windows and Doors is very big. Andersen Corp. is one of America’s largest privately held companies with annual revenues estimated at more than $100 billion and more than 10,000 employees. The longevity, size and marketing efforts of Andersen made the company the Kleenex™ of the window business. It […]

Every specialized field has their own vocabulary and the door and window industry is no exception. During my sales presentation I talk about things like U-Factor, low-E, DP rating, etc., and it is a foreign language to my clients. I believe translating our language for my clients is essential to the sales process. An educated […]

Since 1950 the Miami Somers Company has been the premiere exterior remodeling company offering energy-efficient doors and windows to property owners along the Jersey Shore from its showroom on Route 9 in Somers Point, N.J. I was down the shore last week and briefly caught up with Charles Zuschnitt, the owner of the Miami Somers […]

When I make a sale at Milanese Remodeling it is a lot like getting to the starting line of a race. First, I had to train and practice to qualify for the race. Then, I step into the starting blocks and run hard from the sound of the starter’s pistol all the way to the […]