Lessons From a Thousand Columns: Dan Beaulieu on Writing, Selling, and Staying the Course

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

For 20 years, Dan Beaulieu has been a steady voice in sales and marketing, offering weekly columns that challenge, inspire, and guide professionals in the electronics industry and beyond. Soon, he will reach a remarkable milestone—his 1,000th It’s Only Common Sense weekly column.

In this Q&A, we look behind the scenes of Dan’s writing journey, exploring what has kept him motivated, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and how two decades of weekly columns have shaped his career and the industry conversation.

What initially inspired you to start writing a weekly sales and marketing column, and what has kept you motivated for 20 years?

I wanted to be a writer, but ended up in this business, like many others, by accident: I needed a job. But I am a right-brain person in a left-brain industry, so I had to find a way, and that was to use my skills as a strategist and writer to help the industry. When I started my marketing consulting company, D.B. Management, with my friend Don Dawson years ago, we needed to get our name out there. Having a column was a great way to do that. Yes, it has paid off. People know me from my writing and most of my business has come from my writing. I love to write. I write a lot of fiction as well—about 1,000 words every day.

How does it feel to say you’ve written 1,000 columns for It’s Only Common Sense? What’s the sense of accomplishment?

That’s nearly a million words, so I feel good about that. I also feel pretty good that some of the things I’ve written have helped people improve their work. I have helped a lot of salespeople be better, and hopefully, I’ve helped companies be better by reminding them to always bring the customer to the table, instead of, “We have meet the enemy and it’s our customers,” which is the way a lot of PCB companies approach business.

Writing consistently every week requires discipline. How do you stay inspired and keep generating fresh ideas after so many years?

It’s not hard. There is a lot to write about, a lot to complain about, and a lot that can be improved. I am inspired by trying to help PCB and PCBA companies succeed, especially the smaller ones that have not been treated well by the industry. I can write about the unfairness toward the smaller PCB companies all day.

How has your writing process evolved from your very first column to now? What is the most challenging, and what has become second nature?

It has become easier. William F. Buckley once said that you have to write a million words before you can call yourself a writer. I guess I’m there now. There is so much to write about all the time. I feel I could do a daily column if people could bear to put up with that.

You often write in a casual, shoot-from-the-hip style. Is this simply a reflection of who you are, or is it a persona you created in your columns? How did you develop your writing style?

It’s just the way I have always written. It’s not a contrived style I made up; it’s just who I am, how I talk, and how I write. My job is to get the story or the column out. I let my editors do what they need to do with my writing; I honestly don’t care. I once heard about Salinger fighting with his editor at the New Yorker for a week about a semicolon! Friggin self-important idiots. Just get the piece out in front of people. It’s the message that counts, not the “Look mom, I’m a writer” stuff. It’s not a style, it’s just me.

How important has it been to you to contribute to the industry in this way?

For me, it’s all about the small shops. I look at myself as a kind of Don Quixote tipping at windmills, fighting for the little guys. That is what I consider my contribution to the industry. I also want to help salespeople, whether they struggle in their current position or are looking for a new one. I am on their side and will do what I can to help them in any way that I can.

What has been the importance of working with I-Connect007 for the past 20 years? Talk about that partnership in being a thought leader to the industry.

I want to be clear and honest. I cherish my partnership with I-Connect007. Our goals align in helping our customers, and I am grateful for the opportunity they have given me. We are like family. Sometimes, we don’t agree on everything, but in the end, we love each other. I-Connect007 has helped me with my business, and I hope they feel that same way about what I have done for them.

Over two decades, sales and marketing (and our industry) has changed dramatically. How have you seen the landscape shift, and how have your columns reflected those changes?

From my point of view, I wish it had changed more. Yes, the technology might have changed, but the concept of treating a PCB company like a business has not. There is still not enough strategy, branding, and marketing. There’s also still a distrust, maybe even a distate by owners for sales and salespeople, especially independent salespeople. What I have said sarcastically in the past is still true today. The “build it and they will come” is a fallacy. One of my personal favorites is when an owner sees his company’s sales are going down, he fires the sales force and buys a drill. People, it’s a business. If you want to be found, you need marketing.

Sometimes you seem impatient with your customers — they just don’t seem to get it. How do you work with that?

Hah, you think? I’m getting hot under the collar still thinking about it. One thing says it all and proves my point: automatic phone answering systems with options.  Why don’t you just shout to your customers that you don’t care about them?

What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learned about sales, marketing, and the industry itself?

There are three: people, people, and people. This is a people business, so treat others well, and never burn a bridge. Err on the side of fairness with everyone, especially your customers.  The greatest business book of all time is, “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. I still read it every year. My personal rule: Whenever someone who screwed you is in trouble, help them out. It freaks them out!

Have there been any columns that sparked an unexpected reaction or meaningful conversation with readers? 

One time I wrote a column criticizing IPC (now Global Electronics Association) for using U.S. government funds to translate their specs in Mandarin. That got some attention and the only time that I got a call from the president of IPC.

How has writing this column shaped you personally and professionally? Has it influenced how you approach sales and marketing yourself?

I think it has made me more attentive to the industry's needs. I find my job has become to simplify what some people think is complicated—and that’s people. It has shown me that words do matter and ideas do change the world. It has made me realize that this “hick from Maine,” which one of my customers and later dearest friends called me, could make a difference in at least a small and humble way.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing a regular column or blog about building consistency and maintaining quality over time?

Don’t talk about it, do it. Don’t think about it, just write.

After reaching this milestone, what’s next for your columns? Will you continue to address the same topics or will you take the column in new directions?

I will continue trying to help people and companies improve and, most importantly, help anyone who needs help.  To paraphrase Steinbeck’s Tom Joad, “Whenever there’s a board shop that needs my help, I will be there. Whenever there’s a big company hurting a little guy, I’ll be there. Whenever a salesperson is in trouble, I will be there. Wherever there is a need to make a company better, I’ll be there whenever the industry needs my help, I’ll be there.

Dan’s 1,000th column publishes on Monday, Aug. 25.