While the past few years have been trying on many businesses, there’s a cloud with a silver lining in sight.  Software as a Service (commonly known as SaaS or "cloud” software) is revolutionizing the way companies operate.  Gone are the days of outrageously expensive...

Whether you're selling kitchens, used cars or flat screen televisions, there are basic fundamentals involved that are frequently practiced by successful salespeople. Many of these principles use common sense, yet some salespeople still stray away from them. Selling...

Sooner or later it will happen—you’ll hit a sales slump.  It happens to all of us at some point in time.  Sales slumps can occur through no fault of your own.  Market trends, competitor pricing and the state of the economy can all affect sales.  It is important to...

We are now a full quarter away from the disastrous year that was 2010 and we’re starting to see some encouraging signs that the cabinet business is in growth mode. Sure the business may be coming from remodels instead of tract home building but at least people are...

Trust Software Companies to Make Software & Cabinet Companies to Make Cabinets A manufacturer’s worst nightmare is when you (the dealer) drop their line.  When a manufacturer fights so hard to sign you up, it’s awful when you leave and go with another brand.  It...

In the current economic climate no business can afford mistakes. Efficiency and value for money have become more than trendy ideas, they are facts of life. To help maximize your time and money, below are the top 5 most common mistakes cabinet dealers make. 1....

In part 1 of this series, we presented a viewpoint we've had for many years of living in the dealer channel that ordering from design software would never help the cabinet industry communicate electronically and it certainly wouldn't drive costs out of the process....

Green is just about the most over-used color these days.  It's like organic - it sounds great but there's no standard definition on what is "organic," so even those products with one ingredient like barley are now organic. I remember learning about the "not from...

If you missed Karen Strauss' state of the industry address, below are the key points from her presentation at KBIS.  And if you missed KBIS this year in Vegas, don't worry -- I lost a little bit extra this trip to cover you. Karen started her presentation off with the...

No question, doing business as a cabinet dealer is not for everybody, but the payoffs and pleasures can be substantial for those willing to make the appropriate investment in time and effort. Oh, wait, you already knew that, didn’t you? Why else would you be here,...

One show I've enjoyed a lot is MythBusters.  Why?  Because there is certainly no lack of popular misconceptions, myths and urban legends to debunk. The other day I watched one particular show which really made me laugh.  I think it was so funny to me because I grew up...

Every three months we release an updated version of Equilibrium (formerly Aurora) that takes into account all of the feedback we receive from current users, as well as from our team who regularly tests Equilibrium.  We just released a version that includes a number of...

Any kitchen and bath professional knows the occasional (or maybe the not so occasional) prospect can be hard to deal with.  Maybe the prospect loves the feeling of control, maybe they are bent on taking advantage of the salesperson, maybe they aren't ready to even...

You organize clients While keeping track of leads And show real-time dashboards To help cabinet dealers succeed You have calendars to schedule Every stage of the deal And eliminate need for paper It almost feels surreal You allow for placing orders EDI, fax or email...

Some days are better than others - a statement that holds true for most businesses.  When you aren’t generating new clients, days start to feel like weeks and your bank account starts to feel neglected.  This is why it is important to stay ahead of local competitors...

In our little town called the Kitchen and Bath Industry, there are some new cabinet manufacturer houses that are being built. There are still some larger mansions on the corner, but you never really see much of their owners. They stay mostly indoors, struggling with...

Now that you've rebuilt and prepped your manufacturer pricing program for the cloud, theres only main question left... How Do You Get Dealers to Use Your Pricing Program? Over the past 16 years, we've seen adoption challenges in all different forms. Some of them are...

Prepping for the Cloud "Behind every cloud is another cloud." -Judy Garland Part 2 of this 4 part series presented 12 things to consider when creating a budget to re-develop your manufacturer pricing program. Digging through the layers of complexity with the cloud can...

Is Your Budget too Small? "Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all." -Charles Babbage So you're rebuilding your manufacturer pricing software?  In part 1 we discussed some of the complexities of building cabinet software kitchen and...

Tis the season to rebuild your manufacturer pricing program.  By now many of you have one cabinet pricing program under your belt (maybe two), but the architecture is old, it doesn’t take advantage of the web like you’d like and adoption by your dealers is low. But...

It was an astonishing announcement right before KBIS in Vegas, but today BreakFront (formerly CompanionCabinet Software) announced it will be opening its first cabinet manufacturing facility. We interviewed Brent Jackson, their President, to get the scoop....

The cabinet and remodeling business is like the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament in a couple of different ways. There are a lot of teams vying to be the best at what they do. There are large, powerhouse schools that are expected to win every year. Then there are the...

This is the final installment of our series on Spring cleaning tips for your dealership or remodeling company. This series focuses on ways in which you can tidy up your kitchen and bath business before the warm weather arrives and the building season begins to pick up...