Intentional Success with Tom Stimson

Rental is dead. Marketing is no longer optional. You have to know your costs. And the fourth thing my best clients know is that your org chart is a trap. It creates silos, encourages finger-pointing, and adds headcount every time a process breaks. In this episode, I break down why spheres of selling, planning, admin, and execution produce better results than any top-down hierarchy. Visit trstimson...

This week's blog post walks through the project manager bottleneck, the four-function model that replaces it, the head-of-planning role that ties it together, and the coordinator hires that scale with the company where the project manager role doesn't. https://www.trstimson.com/one-job-at-a-time-doesnt-scale/

You have to understand your actual costs for this job, this customer, at this time of year. In this episode, I break down the three types of costs, why $10,000 in July is worth more than $10,000 in October, and why knowing your costs gives you pricing flexibility that rental rate sheets never could. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's blog post walks through the five objection types, the response that fits each, and why overreacting is what gets you deeper into trouble at the negotiation table. https://www.trstimson.com/give-two-answers-not-one/

Ninety-nine percent of your potential customers have never heard of you. Word of mouth only reaches the 1% who stumble onto you through someone else's network. In this episode, I break down why marketing is no longer optional, how it builds trust before you've met the buyer, and what it takes to attract nine good fits out of every 10 inquiries. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. F...

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through when to bring up multi-year in discovery, what to price for three years, how to handle the variable costs, and the single-variable negotiation model that closes specialty asks fast. https://www.trstimson.com/buyers-are-tired-of-shopping/

I've stood on stage in front of hundreds of people and said it: "Rental is dead." When you itemize every piece of gear, you turn yourself into a commodity. Your customers aren't renting equipment. They're hiring you to produce an outcome. In this episode, I break down why the word "rental" is costing you money, where the value actually lives, and what my best clients do once they pull that word ou...

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the three tiers, the test that separates an enhancement from an upsell, and the budget-cut call that comes two weeks before the show and tests the framework. https://www.trstimson.com/retire-the-word-upsell/

Last week, I identified five statements that tell me an owner has lost control. This week, I walk through what to do about each one. "Too busy" is a planning problem. "We need a big project" is a marketing problem. "We tried that once" is a leadership problem. "We need more revenue" is overhead. And seasonality is untapped business development. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. F...

The people you hire determine the weight class your company operates in. Hiring the right team is the lever that moves your company up a class or holds it back a level. https://www.trstimson.com/hire-the-third-role/

Every owner has the moment where they realize they're not the smartest person in the room. In this episode, I walk through five statements I hear from owners who've lost control of their business, from seasonality denial to the belief that more revenue will fix everything. These are wake-up calls, not dead ends. Listen now and see how many you recognize. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Fol...

Here's the reality nobody at the salvage yard would say out loud, and nobody in AV wants to admit. All prices are made up. Pricing is a decision, not math. The decision gets written down so you can defend it and repeat it. https://www.trstimson.com/write-every-quote-down/

Why don't bigger shows make as much money as smaller ones? You're shorting labor to pay for equipment, and gross profit drops every time the show scales up. In this episode, I walk through a post-event analysis formula that reveals where the money actually went. Talent is worth 2x what you spend on it. Believe that number and every other line on the quote falls into place. Listen now. Visit trstim...

If July surprises you, that's on you. The same rule applies to whatever your slow month happens to be. You can't call your business seasonal and then act shocked when the season shows up. https://www.trstimson.com/feast-or-famine-is-a-choice/

If you haven't sold the job yet, everyone who touches that buyer is a salesperson. In this episode, I break down four ways to add value before you ever write a proposal: get to no faster, keep the feedback loop running, make pricing unemotional, and pilot the customer through the full process. Advice is free. If the buyer won't take yours, that's your fastest path to no. Listen now. Visit trstimso...

Strategy is engineering what you want to happen based on what you think will happen. Tactics are how. Strategy is what. https://www.trstimson.com/most-strategy-sessions-are-not-about-strategy/

Project managers look at one job at a time. Planning teams look at all jobs, all the time. In this episode, I break down why a planning team built on project coordinators gives every job the same attention and frees your PMs for field execution, where their judgment matters most. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Follow Tom on LinkedIn

Healthy businesses don't have cash flow problems. They manage cash flow. Building a scalable business starts with knowing how cash actually moves through it. https://www.trstimson.com/revenue-wont-fix-your-cash-flow/

Institutional buyers don't actually need your line item pricing. They just think they do. In this episode, I break down why buyers ask for an itemized breakdown, when it's actually worth playing along, and the three things to add to any proposal that protect your pricing if you do. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the responsibility-vs-accountability framing that drives most sales-ops conflicts, the rule that the order is the only source of truth, and the full breakdown of show levels one through six with the operational implications of each. https://www.trstimson.com/how-sales-and-operations-work-together/

"That's a lot of money" is surprise, not a negotiating position. Most sales objections are single-level, and one response solves them. In this episode, I break down four types of single-level objections, how to handle each one without overreacting, and why dropping price on an exclamation is the wrong move. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the five primary roles in the selling sphere: account executive (strategic, client-facing), account manager (tactical, customer-by-customer), customer service rep (triage, escalates when needed), project coordinator (sales manager's assistant), and sales director (administrator, not seller). Plus business development, which is the human face of market...

More buyers are asking for multi-year agreements because they're tired of shopping and tired of unpredictable pricing. In this episode, I break down how to price a multi-year deal by holding what you own and control, capping crew increases, and giving the buyer one clear negotiating point on a small piece of the project. Listen now. Visit trstimson.com for more resources. Follow Tom on LinkedIn

The hardest word in business is no. We don't like saying it. I can't say no to revenue. I can't say no to my employees. I can't say no to my customers. I can't say no to my suppliers. Look at thriving companies in any industry, and what you'll notice first is they're remarkably good at saying no. https://www.trstimson.com/thriving-company/

A customer asks for a screen, and you're already pricing dress kits and scenic surrounds. That's upselling, and it favors you more than the buyer. In this episode, I break down the difference between baseline needs, enhancements, and options, and explain why upsells lack context, weren't asked for, and always favor the seller. Close the baseline deal first, keep enhancements open, and deliver what...