The New York Yankees stumbled into Major League Baseball’s All-Star break this week losing two of their final three-games before reaching the season's (unofficial) halfway-point and only mid-season rest.
Which Yankee players will be getting plenty of, while the All-Stars take the field!
Occupying fourth place in the American League East standings, the Yankees were only good enough to send two players to this year's All-Star game: pitcher Gerrit Cole who will start THE game for the American League All-Stars and outfielder Aaron Judge who is not expected to play.
The remainder of the Yankees 26-man roster received only disdain from the All-Star selection process, and with good reason. The Yankees rank near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category!
As has been the case during all of manager Aaron Boone’s six-season tenure with the Yankees, THE team’s listless and sloppy play is someone else’s fault! After the abysmal first-half, the Yankees fired hitting coach Dylan Lawson.
But getting rid of the rookie hitting coach won’t be enough to save the Yankees' season. And despite calls for Boone’s ouster, neither will firing the manager.
Because despite his ineptitude, Boone is not the Yankee’s biggest problem!
In “The Elements of Style,” the seminal style-guide for writers of American English, Professor William Strunk Jr. opined amongst other things, that “vigorous writing is concise.”
Making it likely Strunk would agree:
Grow, or Die!
As an independent retailer, I was continually on the prowl for strategies which could grow paint sales, having invested in sales reps, paint and sundry lines, delivery vans and drivers and a second location all in pursuit of that goal.
Though it was my decision to become a NACE certified Level III Coatings Inspector which brought the greatest return.
In-fact it’s likely that over the span of my career NACE certification contributed more to my sales (and profits!) than any of the more traditional dealer strategies mentioned above!
Being NACE Certified gave me standing in the industrial coatings market– before I stocked my first gallon of epoxy! And I used that standing to foster relationships and curry favors-with the (mostly) industrial paint buyers NACE certification gave me access to.
THE Podcast
On my podcast this week I was joined by paint industry veteran Steve Rice. A 20-year reader of my screeds, Steve reached out after seeing my memorabilia collection made him want to show off his own!
And Steve's collection measures up!
During THE ensuing conversations, Steve shared that he had also relied heavily on NACE certification as a sales tool, similarly crediting his certification with growing his paint sales.
A common affect among those I know who attained NACE (now AMPP) certification That certification likely allowing a greater ROI than any more traditional investment in growth a paint dealer can make!
And being a NACE Certified Coatings Inspector did more for me than just increase my sales, but if you want to hear how else NACE advanced my career, you'll need to watch, or at least listen, to THE episode.
If you care how long my beard has grown or what I smoke while I record a podcast, you can watch the episode on my YouTube channel. If you've seen enough of me, you can listen on my own site, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, and Spotify.
Got pictures of your paint memorabilia collection you want to share? Send them to me here!
