Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/72524
Key mistake No. 3 is the lack of a rules-based pricing process,which starts with customer segmentation, says Marks. "The biggest sin you have in this industry on the dealer side is that almost every dealer in this room is invested heavily in services. Everyone has a different package but you're all providing services, in addition to product, and because you don't have the process in place, you cross subsidize. You're all focused on selling stuff and getting the order and you've given services away. It's an industry issue. " Lastly, if you want to make the market available profit,Marks suggests investing in a gross margin Czar. "How much money would you make if you had an extra two points?"he asked. "Put a person in charge of margin. They have to know your industry. Does anyone have a loyal employee that's been in the business for a number of years? They were in sales, in purchasing, and for whatev- er reason they're not good in the role anymore but they have tons of institutional experience and wis- dom. Go get some data and tell them your job is to get me the two points of margin. By the way, the biggest issue when you do this should not be the customer or your sup- plier, it's your salespeople. "Leave this meeting and start thinking about what you can do intentionally. Start thinking about rules. You do not need to be a big company to do that. " Top: Throughout the economic highs and lows, the FEDA membership has remained strong. This year three members received the 25-year membership award. Pictured from left to right are Edward Sondheimer of Tri- State Equipment Co.; Henri Louapre of Loubat Equipment Co.; and Mitchell Hoffman of Penn Fixture & Supply Co. He's a natural: Carl Gustafson of Ace Mart Restaurant Supply (middle) serving as moderator of the All-Industry Think Tank. Bottom: Next year it will be assistant chair Jack Lewis' turn at the podium. He's pictured with wife Liza and daughter Sallie. "When Good Becomes the Enemy of Great" Excerpt from Peter Sheahan's "FL!P: How to Find and Exploit Opportunities" Kasparov, the famous chess player. The guy has won 16 World Championships, so I asked him which one was the hardest to win. I thought he'd say the first or the second but he said the third. When he won the first, he was 22 years old. "I came out of nowhere," he said. "I was young, fast, aggressive and I won. I came back in year two, and won with exactly the same strategy. The prob- lem was it wouldn't work a third time." The hardest thing was unlearning his old strategy and relearning a new strategy in 12 months, he said. "Learning a new strategy was easy, relearning an old strategy was ok, but what was really hard, was the gravity of success," said Kasparov. "What I'd done had got me where I was and the constant suck of the comfort and security that comes with a strategy that works is the poison of success." That is when good becomes the enemy of great. I was at a conference in Toronto and I met Garry July/August 201 2 21