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It’s Only Common Sense: Dumb Sayings to Avoid

There is never a shortage of dumb sayings people use. In fact, no matter what is going on in our business—good or bad, up or down, scary or comforting—there is always somebody somewhere who will say something dumb about something. I’m not even talking about the current political atmosphere where a collection of dumb sayings people use would fill an encyclopedia.

With an upswing in PCB/EMS businesses, I’m having no problem collecting a new crop of dumb phrases:

Business is so good…

1. We can get rid of customers who are a pain in the neck.
2. We can get rid of all that marketing we’ve been doing. We don’t need any new business.
3. We are going to have to stop selling. We’re too busy.
4. We should probably let some of our salespeople go. We don’t need them anymore.
5. We can charge anything we want—too bad if they don’t like it.
6. We have to extend our lead times. They can take it or leave it.
7. If our quality slips a bit, they’ll have to live with it.
8. Let’s not even bother to increase our technology. We’re doing fine with what we have.
9. We can let some of these mil-spec PCBs go. They cost too much and we don’t need them.
10. We’re getting business no matter what we do.
11. And it will stay this way forever.
12. We don’t need to hire more people. We can stay with who we have.
13. Everything we’ve done has worked; turns out we were right all along.

Don’t laugh. OK, go ahead and laugh if you want to. It is funny, isn’t it? I can assure you that I have personally heard every dumb saying I listed here.

However, in the end, it really is not funny at all. More than being just dumb sayings to laugh about, these phrases represent philosophies that have led to the demise of the American PCB industry. If you take these statements and reverse them, you can gain an understanding about what you should do to be successful.

Here are some examples of smart sayings people should use:

1. Treat all your customers with respect and make them customers for life.
2. Marketing is a full-time commitment. If you don’t market, people will forget who you are. You must remain in front of your customers.
3. Always be selling and closing.
4. Good salespeople are worth their weight in gold. Keep the good ones happy and close to you, no matter what the business conditions are.
5. Charge a fair and consistent price. Your customers will never forget that you took advantage of them.
6. Deliver on time. Performance is as important as products.
7. Quality is our first priority.
8. Static companies die. Times change and so should you. Find ways to increase technology and build better products.
9. Mil-spec PCBs are an important credential for any company. Even customers who don’t require these qualifications look to companies that do because it means they are better than shops that don’t.
10. Appreciate all the business you have and assume that there will come a time when it won’t be so easy to come by.
11. Nothing lasts forever. For every boom year, there will be a down year.
12. People are your number 1 resource. The better the team, the better the company.
13. Humbleness is a virtue. If you believe you have found the key to success, you’re wrong.

Of course, we can’t forget the Golden Rule of Customer Service: The customer is always right.

It’s only common sense.