cj.gomez@dev.ballistixwip.com, Author at Ballistix

Why everything you’ve ever been told about pricing is wrong (and why a totally different approach is warranted)

I spend hours every month trying to reprogram the brains of our clients’ estimators (and their executive teams). The problem is that their entire approach to pricing (and perhaps yours too) is built on a false assumption. The fallacious assumption is that their organizations set prices. The bottom-up approach to pricing If you assume that… “Why everything you’ve ever been told about pricing is wrong (and why a totally different approach is warranted)”

Cost accounting has something interesting in common with the prisoner’s dilemma.

The optimal strategy for the prisoner’s dilemma depends on whether you play the game once (defect) or multiple times (cooperate). When it comes to management decisions, cost allocation makes sense if used for a single decision, but it dramatically reduces the organization’s profitability when used across multiple decisions. This is because the impact of a… “Cost accounting has something interesting in common with the prisoner’s dilemma.”

Why the directive to “minimize costs” in your industrial sales business is foolish

The directive to “minimize costs” is foolish. It demonstrates a lack of understanding of system dynamics. Practically, you can only maximize (or minimize) a single parameter in a system. (Imagine advising a competitor in the Tour de France that he should simultaneously ride as fast as possible and minimize energy consumption. This advice would have… “Why the directive to “minimize costs” in your industrial sales business is foolish”

If Your Sales Proposition Isn’t Relevant Every Day, It’s Not Relevant at All

Let’s assume you’re a salesperson. You have a compelling proposition for your target customers, but there’s one small problem. Your customers only make purchasing decisions periodically. This means that, most of the time, when you reach out to a prospective customer, they are not interested in having a conversation with you. Before I share the… “If Your Sales Proposition Isn’t Relevant Every Day, It’s Not Relevant at All”

How to sell when no one picks up the phone

(And why you need to stop pretending that your sales team is driving growth.) Here’s a choice that you don’t want to make. Do you want a happy sales team or a fast-growing business? I’m sure you’d like to say “both” and reject my implication that these options are mutually exclusive. But they are: so… “How to sell when no one picks up the phone”

Industrial distribution: a scary prediction!

I have a hunch that Amazon will wreak havoc within industrial distribution in the not-too-distant future. My theory is that they will shortly be able to combine the web smarts and the product range of McMaster-Carr with the availability of Grainger’s and Fastenol’s vendor-managed inventory (VMI) installations. Obviously, web smarts and range are easy problems… “Industrial distribution: a scary prediction!”

The pursuit of efficiency is making your organization slow, fragile, and less profitable than it otherwise could be.

Investors talk about capital-efficient businesses. That kind of efficiency is good. But, when managers use the word efficiency, they’re referring to components of the larger business. And that’s bad. If you optimize the efficiency of each component of your business, you strip protective capacity out of your organization, causing it to become both slow and… “The pursuit of efficiency is making your organization slow, fragile, and less profitable than it otherwise could be.”

A strategy for surviving a nuclear winter!

I’m not suggesting we’re about to have a nuclear winter. I think it’s more likely that the industrial sector is about to emerge from one. But here’s my four-step strategy for survival anyway. Let’s assume that you’re a typical industrial organization with a traditional commissioned, semi-autonomous sales force. STEP ONE. Centralize customer service. I don’t… “A strategy for surviving a nuclear winter!”

Southern Cross Truck Rental provides short and long-term rental of trucks and trailers.

We have been servicing the rental needs of transport companies and associations across south-west Sydney for the last 3 years. In the past we found that Sales Representatives were difficult to manage and retain which resulted in Southern Cross Truck Rentals having no dedicated sales people and lacking a formal sales process. Ballistix was looked… “Southern Cross Truck Rental provides short and long-term rental of trucks and trailers.”

Headquartered in Sydney, Adaptra was founded in 1995 to provide project management services to the insurance sector.

Since our inception over a decade ago, Adaptra has expanded across a multitude of industries, helping them to streamline processes, and gain control over discretionary spend by ensuring organisational resources are effectively utilised to achieve desired business outcomes. Adaptra’s suite of services includes Project services; Project management office (PMO) services; Application and IT services; and… “Headquartered in Sydney, Adaptra was founded in 1995 to provide project management services to the insurance sector.”

Author Archives: cj.gomez@dev.ballistixwip.com