Top Secrets of Marketing & Sales
Episodes
First Contact Does Not Mean Cold Calling
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Just the idea of initiating first contact versus cold calling is a lot more exciting. It's a lot less intimidating in most cases. I started using that...
5 Elements of a Compelling Marketing Voice
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most marketing messages and business communications are bland, directionless, and dull as dishwater. They lack a clear marketing voice. If you're s...
Improve Results by Sequencing Your Communication
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode in our professional profile series, David Blaise and Bianca Istvan discuss business growth strategies designed to improve results, ...
How to Get Your Desired Results Fast
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most people I know in business want to get results. But how do you get your desired results fast? They’re always thinking about new things,...
3 Likely Points of Failure in Your Sales Process
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'd like to talk to you about the three most likely points of failure in a sales process. First is Almost Always Targeting. This means try...
How to Get and Qualify Leads in Your Business
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ready to get and qualify leads in your business? If so, be sure to check out this episode in the Professional Profile series. In today's epis...
Broke Experts: Excellent Performers, Struggling to Pay Bills
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the years, I have met and talked to many broke experts. People who are exceptional at what they do, but struggling to pay bills because they can'...
From Stealth Mode to Intimidation Mode in Business
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we discuss the idea of moving from stealth mode to intimidation mode in business. In this episode of the Professional Pro...
Grow Sales & Profits with DKYA Prospects
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you're ready to grow sales and profits, it's time to take a look at your DKYA Prospects. ?? If you are struggling to reach the level of sales a...
Grow Sales with the Three Levels of Targeting
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Targeting new clients is about more than just identifying the market or markets you plan to sell to. If you want to grow sales using the three levels ...
Your First Contact with a New Sales Prospect
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Your First Contact with a new prospect will set the tone for the relationship, which is why it's so important to make it count. In this first episode ...
The AI Approach to Multiply Your Sales: Part 4
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will continue our discussion about the AI Approach to Multiply Your Sa...
The AI Approach to Multiply Your Sales: Part 3
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co-host Jay McFarland and I will continue our discussion about the AI Approach to Multiply ...
The AI Approach to Multiply Your Sales: Part 2
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will be continuing our discussion on the AI approach to multipl...
The AI Approach to Multiply Your Sales: Part 1
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing the AI Approach to Multiply Your Sales. This is par...
To Multiply Sales, Select Your Next…
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Don't expect to grow your business if you can't multiply sales. Most people love the idea of multiplying their sales. But many don't know how to do it...
The Real Cost of Inadequate Sales
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re not generating the level of sales you’re capable of in your business, the real cost of inadequate sales is a lot more than you think. ...
Can You Multiply Money in Your Business?
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David: If you want to multiply money, it means you have to figure out the very specific steps that you need to take in order to make that happen. ...
4 Simplest Ways to Multiply Your Sales
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ready to multiply your sales in the simplest way possible? In a recent podcast, I was talking about a client of ours who multiplied her gross sales fr...
Unleash the Power of Your Million Dollar Ideas
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Million dollar ideas are just the beginning. I remember the day that I got a phone call from her and she said, "Hey, we hit a million dollars in sales...
Scary Issues for Business Owners & Salespeople
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scary issues for business owners and salespeople often boil down to what you're trying to do versus what you're actually able to do. Those gaps are re...
Beating Inflation: Maintaining Profits Despite Higher Costs
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beating Inflation means you have to maintain profits, despite higher costs. In this area where I live in Pennsylvania, the cost of electricity has gon...
The Truth About the Law of Attraction
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The truth about the law of attraction is different from the book and movie. If you're feeling frustrated in your business, ask yourself, you know, am ...
Using ChatGPT to Grow Sales
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the real benefits of ChatGPT to grow sales for our clients is being able to utilize that technology to create something that will get you to be...
Your Process for Goal Achievement
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your process for goal achievement is key, because you're doing a lot behind the scenes before anyone even knows that you're alive. And so we're essent...
Effective Follow-Up in Sales: How Much is Too Much?
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about the idea of effective follow-up in sales, what does that mean? It’s effective in terms of making sure that we’re on the same pa...
How to Create Desire in Sales
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to create desire in sales, it has to be about them. Their wants, their needs. The things that they're looking to accomplish from the relat...
Letting Ideal Clients Know You’re Alive
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David: Even if we accept the idea that we're going to interact with people who are not ideal clients, I think one of the other things that causes sale...
How to Avoid Being a Pest in Sales
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jay: I'm not lying when I tell you that I struggle with this idea that I'm being a pest in sales. So I think it'll help my sales, I think it'll help m...
Where are Your Best Leads Coming From?
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Where are your best leads coming from? It's an important question, because if you don't know, then it's impossible to know where you can go to get mor...
Increase the Value of Your Business
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To increase the value of your business, consider this: If your business burns down, you don't want that to happen, right? But if your business burns d...
How Do You Qualify Your Leads?
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you want to qualify your leads and you approach it from the standpoint of looking for relationships that are going to be mutually beneficial, the...
Creating Value in Your Communication
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most people don't consider the idea of creating value in their communication. So if you're doing this, obviously, you're not telling your customer "we...
Are You Choosing Worthy Clients?
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you are choosing worthy clients and making decisions about whether or not a prospect is worthy of your time and attention, whether or not they're...
Maximize Profit with The Four Mores
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of The Four Mores is to recognize that if you want to maximize profit but you're just focusing on bringing in more clients -- you are very li...
Get More Responses: Sequence Your Communication
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The best way to get more responses from your prospects and clients is to sequence your communication. If I've got a sequence in place that says, all r...
Achieving Goals Means More than Just Setting Them
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Achieving goals is quite different than just setting them. So while the first step may be to set the goals you really want, then we have to prioritize...
Declare Independence from Poor Quality Clients
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I know people who have been in business for decades and they've held onto clients 5, 10, 15 years longer than they should have, because they never got...
From Obscurity to Loyalty in the Mind of the Client
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Getting from Obscurity to Loyalty in the mind of the client is all about building relationships, and I'm all about that! Until I sell you something an...
The Power of Storytelling to Increase Sales
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If our storytelling allows us to build trust, build credibility, build a bond, and increase sales, then we're telling the right stories. If it's just ...
Upselling and Cross-Selling: Increase Value and Help Customers
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When I think in terms of upselling versus cross-selling, what's the difference? Upselling to me means selling a better or a higher priced version of t...
Convert More Sales: Turn Leads into Customers
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To convert more sales and turn leads into customers you need to be dealing with qualified prospects. If somebody is not responsive, you can decide, do...
Fix Your Messaging: Improve Business Communication with the TBDs
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To fix your messaging and improve business communication with the TBDs, consider this... If nothing that you convey in your communication, instills an...
The Best Use of Social Media in Business: Metrics that Matter
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of people think the goal is to get likes and engagement, but when it comes to the best use of social media in business, conversations and conver...
Are Your Priorities BS? Here’s How to Know for Sure…
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are your priorities BS? Well, focusing on that area in particular, looking at what are the things in my life that really are important to me? What are...
Your First Contact with a New Prospect
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
So what is your first contact with a new prospect? Another good question to ask yourself is how does that first contact happen? And is it proactive on...
The Trouble with Targeting in Business
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The trouble with targeting in business is that a lot of people don't do it well. It reminds me of that line from one of the Godfather movies where Mic...
Are You Pursuing Unqualified Prospects?
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pursuing unqualified prospects is a waste of time. Lately, I've also been on a bit of a kick in terms of commitment versus interest. If you're interes...
What Makes Us Different from Our Competitors?
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we think in terms of what makes us different from our competitors, a lot of it should be addressing who is our ideal target market? And it's larg...
Building & Strengthening Client Relationships
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Building and strengthening client relationships is critical. Some people feel like they can get more attention from a salesperson calling than they ge...
Earn What You’re Worth: Find and Eliminate the Bottlenecks
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To earn what you're worth, you need to find and eliminate the bottlenecks. Consider this: When you're outproducing what you are earning, that creates ...
Don’t Let Inferior Competitors Win
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Very often, inferior competitors play the price card: Jay: I get that question. "Well, I talk to your competitor and they're less expensive than yo...
Is Call Reluctance Real?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we're doing business-to-business or business-to-consumer outbound calls, those fears can be founded. Call reluctance can seem very real. They mig...
How to Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed II
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to avoid feeling overwhelmed, it's often just a good idea to take a moment and consider: What exactly is it that I'm struggling with at th...
How to Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To avoid feeling overwhelmed, consider which version of you is showing up. Some days we start out and the you that shows up is the focused, motivated,...
How to Handle Indecisive Prospects
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we think about how to handle indecisive prospects, we each have to recognize our own tolerance for pain. How long am I willing to chase? How long...
When Prospects Don’t Respond
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When prospects don't respond, think in terms of what gets your attention, what gets you to respond? What makes you want to respond when someone else i...
Are You Making Excuses Instead of Sales?
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I've seen situations like that where people are making excuses instead of sales. Somebody had planned to sell something and was talking about it for a...
Grow Your Client Base Proactively Because Referrals are Not Enough
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To grow your client base proactively, you have to do more than just post stuff. It's about initiating conversations. And if you think of your social m...
How to Master Counter-Seasonal Selling
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you think in terms of seasonality and counter-seasonal selling, does your business have a normal seasonality? Something that you know and can plan ...
Selling Beyond Features and Benefits
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about selling beyond features and benefits, we did sort of discuss the idea of trying to elicit some emotions from people. try to find ou...
How to Maximize Trade Show Revenue
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To maximize trade show revenue, switch the mindset from, "I'm here to meet people and give away stuff" to "I'm here to collect leads." This changes th...
Hit the Ground Running in 2023
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To hit the ground running in 2023, we can start by taking responsibility. Whenever we blame outside factors for things that go wrong, we immediately f...
Use the Big APE to Plan the New Year
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we'll discuss how to use the Big APE™ this week to plan the new year. Very often we say we're going to prioritize time with our family and ou...
The Best Holiday Gift You Can Give Yourself and Your Family
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I think the best holiday gift is to make the most of ourselves, when it comes to personal development, whether that means sales and marketing training...
Alternatives to Quiet Quitting
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think about the idea of quiet quitting, and sticking with it, that just seems to me to be a soul-sucking activity. If you keep going back ...
Are You Invisible to Your Target Market?
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are you invisible to your target market? Do they even know you're alive? This goes back to the idea of money versus time. Because one of the advantage...
Become a 100K a Month Producer Without Losing Your Marbles
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To become a 100K a month producer without losing your marbles means building your business properly. The issue that I've seen with a you-centric busin...
What Top Performers Do Better and Differently
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think about what top performers do better and differently, consider this. It's almost impossible to overfill your sales pipeline. So if you f...
A Decent, Worthy Goal for Promo Distributors
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a special Saturday edition of the Top Secrets podcast, David Blaise explains to co-host Jay McFarland why 100K per month in promo sales is not just...
Your Next 100K in Promo Sales
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hi, I'm David Blaise and over the past few days, I've been sharing some resources designed to help professionals in the promotional products industry ...
How to Compete with Internet Sellers
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I think for people who are looking to compete with internet sellers, one of the things they can do is say, "Yeah, you know, now anybody can set up a w...
More is Never the Solution to Too Much
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you recognize that more is never the solution to too much, then you can really start to think about what actually has to be done? What could potent...
Initiating First Contact with a New Prospect
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I think just the idea of initiating first contact versus cold call is a lot more exciting. It's a lot less intimidating in most cases. I started using...
Overcoming Call Reluctance: Beyond “Shut Up and Make the Calls”
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I would say the number one thing that helped me the most with overcoming call reluctance is when I realized the people who are likely to yell or screa...
Uncovering Customer Needs in Sales
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Uncovering customer needs is critical. Essentially, Maslow's hierarchy of needs implies that when one need is satisfied, another one is likely to pop ...
How to Monetize Your Sales Pipeline
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To monetize your sales pipeline, you need to fill it, prioritize it and tackle it. This whole idea of knowing what to do and not doing it, is rampant....
Sales, Profit and Personal Income
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Money is always flowing in one direction or another. And in a business, it needs to flow in from the customers. It needs to flow through to the employ...
The Antidote to Brute Force Selling
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Brute force selling usually comes about when someone feels like they have to sell their product or service, regardless of the needs, wants, or desires...
Capturing Leads Online to Grow Your Sales and Profit
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about capturing leads online, we're referring to lures and lead magazines. It could be a free report. It could be a cheat sheet. It could...
Is Customer Service Dead?
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Technology can either help customer service a whole lot, or it can harm it a whole lot, depending on how it's used. It's like a weapon. You can use a ...
Being Profitable, Even with Higher Costs
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Being profitable is important, even with higher costs. Generally small and medium-sized businesses want to hang onto their staff. We want to keep ...
Increasing Order Size & Frequency
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you don't think increasing order size and frequency is important, consider the alternative. Small orders and one-time clients can kill a business. ...
Creating Explosive Growth in Your Business
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it that some businesses take off like a rocket while others can languish for months or years without creating explosive growth? Why do...
Ruling Your Territory to Grow Your Business
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's not like, well, there's just one method for ruling your territory. But the one thing that is critical to all of it, is identifying your area. Ide...
Maintaining Focus to Improve Results
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anybody who's been in sales has probably been in a situation where you've been in a room with someone and you're looking at them and you're having a c...
Building Your Business Proactively
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All of the things that we're talking about, go to the idea of building your business proactively. From the standpoint of a business owner, how am I go...
Getting Past Your Sales Plateau
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Particularly in the early stages, you can do more of what you're doing to get past a sales plateau. But generally, at some point, we hit a plateau tha...
Reactivating Your Client Base
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reactivating your client base is easier when you create a community. This is overlooked by a lot of business people. If you're interested in keeping y...
Protecting Yourself from Recession
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Protecting yourself from recession isn't always easy. You've probably been through a recession or two in your time. And so for people who haven't done...
Outperforming Your Competition
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If outperforming your competition is an issue for you, you want to look at who is the primary competition and what are their advantages? In what areas...
Alternatives to Cold Calling
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we’re looking for alternatives to cold calling, we don’t want to turn the alternatives into something as clumsy and uncomfortable as a typica...
Reimagining the Essentials of Sales and Marketing
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing reimagining the essentials. Welcome, Jay. Good to have you...
It’s Good to Have a Plan — with Tracie Domino
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s things we forget. And it’s good to have a plan. It’s good to be reminded of very key things that are specific, even to this industry, an...
Building Relationships & Generating Profit with Matt Eysoldt
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you're recommending bad products at high prices, and you're trying to gouge people? Well, that's evil. Right? So don't do that. But other than tha...
The 4 Quadrants of Promo Sales: The Four Mores
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of The Four Quadrants of Promo Sales (i.e. The Four Mores) is to recognize that if you're just focusing on one thing -- bringing in more clie...
Creating Customer Loyalty in the Mind of the Client
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Creating customer loyalty? "Oh yes. I'm all about building relationships." Until I sell you something and then I'm off doing the next thing, and I for...
The Four Levels of Content
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'd like to share with you the recording of a live interview I did yesterday with Brandon Pecharich from Promo Corner, in which we discussed The...
Growing Your Client Base Proactively
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I think in terms of building a client base proactively, to me, that means deciding in advance, what type of clients do I want? What types of clie...
Improving Your Quality of Life
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When people think about becoming an entrepreneur, they're not thinking about working 24 hours a day. They're thinking about getting to some point wher...