Buying a Used Car: Essential Tips for Dealers and Private Sellers

a car salesperson showing a customer a vehicle

Buying a used car can be an exciting journey, opening doors to new adventures and increased freedom. However, navigating the used car market can also feel overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers. This comprehensive guide empowers both small business owners and individuals to approach the process with confidence, whether buying from a dealer or a private…

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Can You Name the Two Most Powerful Words for Business?

Here’s a puzzle where the answer come first. “Help me.” Over the years I have heard many stories from entrepreneurs, students, news reporters, even my children, all telling me that they could not get someone’s attention they wanted or needed until they used the words, “Help me.” The simple request is disarming, enlarging the object of the request…

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Why Cash is Only One Measure of Employee Happiness

In 1981, Herb Cohen wrote and published “You Can Negotiate Anything”, an excellent guide to great negotiating. I’ve read and reread the book a number of times and find myself using the techniques often in many areas of my life. One of his lessons remains clearly on my mind and is a variant of the…

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You Name the Price; I’ll Name the Terms

I admit that my dad taught me this when I was just a fifteen-year old kid starting a business and negotiating with suppliers for the first time. But I learned it again and again in my various business lives. The most striking example was the one hundred-million-dollar purchase of one of my companies by a…

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3 Ways to Reduce Cost of Goods Sold

The cost of the materials used to make the product or service you sell directly impacts your profit. This is easy to see, because the less you have to spend to get the product, the more money you get to keep when you sell it. It would seem to many then, that the cheaper the…

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“We Can’t Justify Your Price…”

We were debriefing a closing call. Bill’s solution had been selected. Bill had done a great job in competing and in justifying the value of his solution. There was a strong business case demonstrating tremendous improvements in productivity. In this case, the customer was growing faster than their ability to bring people on board supporting the…

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