Monthly Archives: July 2015

Death Of A Sales(man)Person

The imminent demise of the sales person has been predicted for some time. And, as Mark Twain once wrote: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” U.S. companies spend almost $1T on sales people every year. That is about 3x … Continue reading

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Promises You Can’t Keep … Why Make Them?

This is a theme I am writing about over the last couple of months, because it keeps coming up … and I can’t see what the point is of making promises you can’t deliver upon. This post is about La Quinta … Continue reading

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A Truly Novel Promotion From An Unlikely Source

The other day my grandson came over wearing an edgy t-shirt from his orthodontist. Two things got my attention: (1) he was wearing what was essentially an ad for his orthodontist and (2) it was a pretty awesome shirt. I … Continue reading

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Brick and Mortar Suicide … Continues

Last year I wrote about the continued self-inflicted demise of brick and mortar stores. The pace is accelerating because of the suicidal management of the brick and mortar stores and the continued innovation of the on-line stores, most especially Amazon.com. … Continue reading

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Wouldn’t It Be Easier To Just Change The Name?

Apparently diets are dead and mentioning them in the food industry is forbidden. At least according to an article in Advertising Age. As a result of this fact, Lean Cuisine has struggled. Or perhaps the product is not very good. … Continue reading

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Why Promote What You Don’t Want To Sell?

In a return to the “why are they promoting what they can’t (or won’t) deliver” department, let’s look at the Chevy Spark EV. This vehicle is apparently a “dog.” Sales were dismal and showed no signs of improving. But then … Continue reading

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A Billion Here, A Billion There, Pretty Soon It’s Real Money … Or Not

Yesterday Microsoft announced it was shutting down and writing off its $7.4B investment in Nokia. They just bought them last year. What strategy change was necessary, and unforeseeable just 12 months ago (give or take), that caused this $7.4B investment to … Continue reading

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In The Continuing Quest For I’m Not Sure What…

JC Penney is still finding ways to amaze me; and not in a good way. I’ve railed on them for a while as regular readers know. (New readers just do a search of the blog for Penney.) Last month they … Continue reading

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Is It A Problem Or…

I heard a great thought from my friend Ted Steinberg the other day. He was talking with a CEO, and after listening to him for a while, Ted said, “You seem to have a tendency to look at opportunities as … Continue reading

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