David Boeve

News and Laughter

2010-12-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

We have known for years that Overisel, Michigan is the center of all things important in the world so it's about time Overisel had it's own news source. Now you can keep up to date on all things Overisel by visiting the Overisel Bureau at www.theOveriselBureau.com.

Did you know there were funny people in Holland? It's true. If you haven't heard of the Svenjollies, then you just haven't been listening. They've been on Talk of the Town with Juke VanOss for crying out loud! Check them out today at www.Svenjollies.com.

Now get back to work!

Merchant Services (Credit Card Processing)

2010-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

As a business owner, you know more customers are using their credit/debit cards than ever before. You also know most customers have NO idea how much it costs for you to accept their credit card purchases. To make matters worse, you are constantly harassed by new sales people claiming they can help you "save money" and "reduce your fees". February of 2o10 will mark my 4th anniversary in the merchant services industry working for First Data and Huntington Merchant Services/Huntington Bank. Four years makes me a senior citizen in the credit card processing world as the majority of sales people knocking on your door have been in MasterCard and Visa processing for less than three months and won't be in the payment processing field 3 months from now.

What's your rate?
You'll be tempted to ask this question when shopping for merchant services (credit card processing). But don't. Processing fees (also called Discount Fees) vary depending on the "Interchange" level each transaction qualifies for by Mastercard, Visa, Discover, or American Express. Think of Interchange as your processor's wholesale cost. Interchange is the same for EVERY processor. Despite what new sales reps are trained to say, there is NO negotiation of interchange by their employer with MasterCard and Visa. You can be sure a sales person is lying if they say their company has negotiated special pricing with the credit card companies. It just doesn't happen. However, just as you earn a profit by adding margin to your cost of good sold, so does your processor and THAT's where your potential savings comes from (Not to mention in associated fees and equipment costs, but those are conversations for another day!)

Does this all sound too confusing? Call me at 616-836-3428 or e-mail to David_Boeve@yahoo.com and I'll take the time to help you understand.

BTW, did you see the links to MasterCard and Visa Interchange tables embedded in the text above?

The Bench Warmer

2009-10-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

After 8 hours of Cold Calling Chinese and Mexican Restaurants without a single sale to show for my efforts, I got to thinking about the Bench Warmer. You can count on him to be at every practice. He suits up for every game. But he never actually plays. He might not have the multi-million dollar contract of the superstar, but he's still part of the team.

THAT's the player I want to read a book about.

Master of My Domain

2009-10-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a throw back to a Seinfeld episode. The title of this post is a reference to the sad state of my website hosting. All I'm a master of is my Domain name, everything else about my websites have fallen victim to Yahoo/Geocities' ejection of all us freeloaders. So for the time being, www.davidboeve.com will land you right here into my occasional blog. Perhaps I'll dress things up again over Christmas break.

Oh, and by the way, I won't be hosting any movie review TV show filmed in Grand Rapids anytime soon, that honor went to Rachel Ruiz of WoodTV.

Boldly Went!

2009-08-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Who knew five strangers and video camera could be so much fun? In pursuit of my life long goal of speaking to a stadium full of people from a stage-in-the-round, I auditioned for the host position of a new weekly family oriented movie review television show produced for the Dove Foundation by Storytelling Pictures in Grand Rapids. That's right, the same folks that produced the video tribute to Gerald R Ford and The Reckoning. The latter film, sharing the story of the Dutch Resistance, hits a special cord with me after my trip to Normandy with the Holland American Legion Band this past June for the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

So will you be seeing me on cable television any time soon? (I hope so!) Either way, I think it's amazingly awesome that I could audition for a nationwide television show without having to fly to LA or New York. A simple drive to Grand Rapids could bring me one step closer to replacing Ryan Seacrest!

Boldly Go!

2008-12-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

Life is like plowing snow. Hesitation gets you stuck.

The snow was deep in my driveway yesterday so I leveled out the loader bucket, selected a low gear, throttled up, and released the clutch. Halfway down the driveway, while the tractor was laboring behind the weight of the abominable snow pile, I applied the left brake pedal to correct my direction. The simple act of slowing down one drive tire was enough to lose momentum and stall the tractor out. There I sat, axle deep in snow with a six foot pile pushed up in the middle of my driveway. Instead of veering slightly off the side of the driveway, I was now forced to push all of the snow to the side leaving ruts across the entire lawn to get the driveway opened. (Anyone want to volunteer to fix my yard next spring?)

Where's your hesitation? What's got you stuck? Fear of change? Fear of no change?

It's time to update my website, push new ideas, and boldly go

Misguided Dreams?

2008-11-16T05:43:00.000-08:00

Some days I dread driving down the road because it becomes a tour of misguided and ill-directed dreams. This past Friday, driving down M-21 to Hudsonville was one of those days. Tree farm, green house, 18 wheelers, garden center, construction company, car lot, equipment sales, school...all things I've thought about doing. All things I've thought would bring happiness. All things I've done or thought about doing.

Those types of days come and go. So much time thinking about other things, wondering why they're working for other people and not for me... Friday I realized they weren't the right dream for me.

Looking back over my life I see a lot of experiences that individually lead to some of those previous dreams, but when I combine ALL my experiences they clearly point in one direction.

2nd Sax, Now This

2008-10-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight marks for the first official practice for the Holland American Legion Band's international trip to Normandy, France in June 2009. It also marks the first time I've practiced with a real band since high school in 1992. I'm thinking I should have played more than Jesus Loves Me prior to going to rehearsal after not playing for 16 years. I missed a few notes... I also remembered how fun it is to play with a band. Who needs to be good when you're having fun? So now I have my 25 pieces of music to memorize by June of next year and one more rehearsal this week before we take the winter off while half the band winters in Florida.

16 years later it's more fun to play in a band than I remember it being in High School. Check us out. www.hollandlegionband.org.

Sax after 16 years

2008-10-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't played the alto saxophone since high school in 1992 and here I sit outside the initial meeting of 50 Holland American Legion Band members planning on performing for 11 days in Europe for the 65th anniversary of the D-day invasion. I was supposed to go along to record and photograph the event, but they needed an alto sax player so my brother volunteered me. The first practice is next Tuesday. Will I be ready? Will I be ready to play with the beand next June? Will I even be able to play after all these years?

MEAP Testing is Killing Our Economy

2008-10-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our economy is not in the dumper because of Wall Street greed, corrupt mortgage writers, or even because of an overheated housing market. Our economy is in the dumper because MEAP testing is making our citizens dumb. Several weeks ago, I was talking with an educator who said basic economics and finance have been pulled from the high school schedule because MEAP testing requirements don't leave enough class hours for such simple subjects.

Quick question:

What will your payment be on a $40,000 loan with an 8.25% fixed interest rate over a 60 month amortization?

Can you figure it out in your head? Can you do it with a calculator?

Throughout the past 12 years of selling products that involve financing, I've discovered that most people can't find the answer, even with a calculator.

I once had a boss whose father was fond of saying: "There's and [idiot] to fill every seat". That was his way of saying you can sell anything for any price if you just find enough people. That's what the mortgage companies and Wall Street did. They found enough people that didn't understand simple finance and sold them on monthly payment. And it was easy for them to find these people because our schools have been too busy teaching to the standardized tests rather than teaching basic life skills.

Senator Obama, Senator McCain, President Bush, stop bailing out ignorance and start working towards renewing what our public education was supposed to provide: An educated populace, not high standardized test scores.

Fist full of cash

2008-10-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Keri grows pumpkins every summer that we sell to earn money for Christmas presents for the kids. I till the ground, hoe a little, help pick, and then the best part... I get to reach into the cash box and pull out a fist full of money!!!!

Pulling out that fist full of singles, fives, and tens is way more fun than getting a paycheck. Why is that? A paycheck total a LOT more money. Yet, I feel much wealthier when I have that fist full of cash.

Maybe that's the answer, the people on Wall Street should be paid with singles. It works in other industries that are thriving.

So there's my answer to the current economic crisis, pay 'em all with singles. Maybe I'll start manufacturing garters for Wall Street.

Goalie

2008-09-28T04:49:00.001-07:00

My nine year-old son came home from U-10 AYSO soccer yesterday and complained that his coach put him as goalie for two quarters. My first reaction was to call the coach and say: "hey, these kids are in 4th grade, you need to rotate them more so that they can learn all the positions". Fortunately, I was too busy to make that phone call. This morning I woke up with an entirely different perspective.

How often do we go through life frustrated that someone else got that promotion? How often to we get frustrated because we feel like we should be a different point in life?

Rather than calling the coach and complaining that my boy isn't getting the chance to play the positions he wants to play, I try to help my son recognize the importance of being a goalie and try to help him get good at drop kicks, defensive diving, and scooping up the ball. Besides, based on how all the boys on my other son's U-8 team beg to be goalie each quarter, being goalie must be pretty cool!

An adult lesson from U-8 soccer. Go figure. Go forth and be the best darn goalie you can be!

Changes

2008-08-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

I started this blog several months ago because a friend of mine said I'd be a good blogger. He must be wrong because I think it's been a few months since I've posted anything. Perhaps it's because blogging makes me feel like Doogey Howser.

Blogging always seemed a bit presumptuous to me. People dumping their thoughts out for the world to read. But my friend said I should blog, so I started this blog as a dumping ground for things I've learned about sales and selling. But recent events have made me realize that maybe my sales experience is NOT the only thing blog-worthy. So I've dropped the "Salesman" part.

Non-sales post #1:

Have you ever thought about how one person can be having an absolutely perfect day while someone else is having the worst day of their life?

On Friday, August 1, Keri and I adventured out on our annual bicycle ride with our four kids to the ice cream store 2 miles away. The temperature was perfect. The ice cream was great. And the kids actually got along. Upon returning home, we mentioned to each other how this was one of the nicest evenings we've had as a family and how fortunate we were to have our family. Not more than 15 minutes later, while putting our kids to bed, we received a phone call that our 18 month old niece had drowned in the lake behind her grandparents' house. As we were enjoying a picture perfect family evening, my wife's sister was suffering the most painful experience of any parent's life. The best of times. The worst of times. All at the same time.

Where do people find the hope in extreme pain? Here's a link to Kathy's blog: http://www.busscherfamily.blogspot.com/

So there. I've posted again. Encouraged by a friend. Inspired by tragedy.

Now or Later

2008-04-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

So here it is... I was reminded again this week why every deal is going to be a struggle in the beginning or in the end. Where do you want it? Do you want to fight to get the signature on the purchase order or do you want to struggle to get the financing approved? Six years of selling John Deere farm equipment and now over two years of selling credit card processing has supported what Dave Ramsey has used to build a personal fortune: most people don't understand financing and act purely on impulse.

My wife and I recently invited a "basement finishing" company representative into our home to learn more about his "proprietary" basement wall system. After playing with a tape measure and drawing imaginary walls on our unfinished basement floor, he asked if we could all sit around the kitchen table while he creates a quote. (Any self-respecting salesman knows that visiting is done in the living room and business is done at the kitchen table.) After I had told him I would be paying cash and wasn't interested in financing, he continued to present the price as a monthly payment. I reminded him a second time that I was interested in the total price as I would be paying cash. Without even hesitating, he responded with the following question: "What amount would you be comfortable with per month?" He didn't get my signature on the purchase order.

Do you want the best deal when buying a product? Negotiate a cash price. Salesman feed their families on cash prices and buy waterfront property on monthly payment prices.

Don't tell the buyer!!!!

2008-03-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

"Sales Trainers" say everyone needs to have a blog. My friends in New York, Chicago, and LA say I need a blog. Yet, sitting here in the house my grandpa built 57 years ago on the farm his grandpa purchased 52 years earlier (1899) in Overisel, Michigan, I just haven't seen my thoughts as blog-worthy. Sure, I could blog endlessly about the silly things my four young kids do each day. I could rant on and on about my political views living in the traditionally Conservative communities of western Michigan. I could pontificate about my faith and how it frames my opinions, perspectives, and decisions. But all of these foundations seem to make of the majority of most blogs, so what would I really be contributing to the world of blogging?

So here it is, the basis of this blog:

Having invested the past 12 years of my life as a professional, commission based salesman, I've discovered several truism. I will share those truisms through this blog. This is NOT a sales training blog. There is plenty of training available if you are a salesman looking to improve your quota achievement. This blog is intended for the customer. It's a small token of karma offered as a way to help customers be better customers.

Truism #1
In every deal, regardless of the product, it will be easy to get a signature on the purchase order and hard on the finance contract, or hard on the purchase order and easy on the finance contract.

Stay tuned to the next post for an explanation.

Thanks for reading,

Salesman Dave