By Emerson Schwartzkopf
ORLANDO, Fla. – An occasional delight of a press conference – an honest question-and-answer session, and not the Punch-and-Punchier things you see from Washington these days – is a moment of clarity. It’s that remark that puts something in perspective, or opens a whole new horizon of thought, or just unearths a truffle of truth that you didn’t anticipate hearing.
Marketing plan? Who’s got time to plan?
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
Just where are all the good stoneworkers, anyway?
One of the great things about selling stone is you can tell a customer that – unlike almost any product extant on our planet – what they’re buying can last forever.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
“Shakespeare, I’m going to sell you a bill of goods.”
OK, it’s not one of the famous lines in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, but it’s one of the kinder things written about sales in American literature. It’s a starring bit by Jim O’Connor, a shipping clerk who always believed in personal growth and kept walking on the sunny side of the street.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
You’re driving to check on a large installation, and all of a sudden you’re in a no-passing zone, following a huge untarped load of gravel. You hear that familiar ding, ding, tick, ding, tick and, if you’re lucky, you don’t see the little star marks appearing on the windshield.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
BUSSOLENGO, Italy – Just when you think there’s nothing left to surprise you here, something manages to make you take a second look. On a late September morning, it came in the form of a clear blue sky.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
The next time you’re at the mirror, take a good, hard look and ask yourself: Is this the face of an exploiter?
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
In looking over the mailbag from readers – something that isn’t exactly bulging – three letters in the past two years dwelled on quartz surfaces and engineered stone. While that makes it something less than a hot topic here, I suspect it’s time to offer some answers for all readers.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
Unless you’re running a real bucket-shop operation, you’re proud of your work. So why are you hiding it?