Top Secrets of Marketing & Sales

Over the years, I have met some exceptional performers who still struggle to get enough customers. It’s not a function of who they are as people. It’s also not a reflection of their work. It’s not even a mindset issue. It’s about the fact that being exceptionally good at what you do, and being able to get enough customers or clients are two completely different skill sets....

Everybody has to make those determinations about their business when making sales and building brands. How am I going to do it? Is it going to be about me? Is it going to be about the customer? And how do I convey that in terms of my company name, my logo, my brand, and any slogans or taglines that you use, in order to communicate all that. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. In today’s ep...

When we think in terms of creating persuasive communication, it’s really important to consider the flow. What is the flow of the communication? In what order are you asking these questions and having these conversations? Are you leading with the pitch? Because if you’re leading with the sales pitch, then that’s not going to work well at all. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast....

When I think in terms of turning leads into loyal customers, what is that first contact? And I know we’ve talked about that in a number of podcasts. And then from there, what is the desired path that we want them to take with us, that we want to take with them, right? Without some sort of basic path to get from here to there, the likelihood of making that happen is pretty much slim to none....

With strategic networking, you can make some initial decisions about who you think you’d like to target. Then it’s a matter of saying, “okay, where do these people congregate?” Identifying exactly where they are. Are they online? Are they offline? Most likely they’re doing both. But if they are online, where’s the best place to find them? And a lot of times, par...

There are a lot of people who aren’t quite sure where they are with the whole business growth thing vs. just maintenance. Some people are content where they are. And if you’re okay with just maintaining, then none of this applies to you. Right? You’re not required to grow your business if that’s not where you’re going. But there are so many people that I talk to that...

There are so many situations where inadequate product knowledge, damaged reputation, and inefficient or poorly executed sales processes come from having untrained salespeople. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will discuss the incredible cost of untrained salespeople. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: Hey, it’s such a pleasure to be here, Davi...

A lot of the people that I work with now are exceptional at what they do, but they may struggle to get other people in their organization to be able to do it, because they haven’t codified the success protocols that would allow them to say, “okay, this is how we perform this task. This is how we do this. This is how we do that.” And when they start doing that, they’re just...

Indecision comes with a high price. I think most of us in business try to make the best decisions possible, but really it becomes a matter of saying, “okay, do I have all the information I need?” And if I do, then make the decision. Say yes, say no, but make the decision. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, co host Jay McFarland and I are back with a talk o...

Particularly in the early stages, breaking through a sales plateau may just mean doing more of what you’re doing. But generally, at some point, we hit a plateau that is created by the fact that we can’t run any faster. We can’t do any more by ourselves. So we either need to implement new procedures and new processes, we need to get some help, or something needs to change fundamen...

From a sales mindset connection standpoint, market domination starts with the idea that it’s possible. And if you’re not sure that it’s possible, ask yourself this, your very best clients. When they think about who to go to for the products and services you offer, who do they think about? Obviously, if they’re your very best clients, it’s you. They’re thinking a...

Staying in touch with prospects is required, and creating value in your communication is certainly something that will keep you from being a pest in sales. Because if what you’re saying to them is going to help them to accomplish a result, they’ll be a lot more likely to pay attention to it. But ultimately it’s required. You can’t just skip it.    David: Hi, and welcome...

There are steps involved with making prospects and clients comfortable with you. You can’t go from, “I have no idea who you are,” to “I’m completely comfortable with you and I trust you implicitly” without steps. It just doesn’t happen. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, co host Bianca Istvan and I will be discussing the topic...

Once you outperform your competitors in terms of the way that you do things, the way that you make your presentations, the way that you interact with your clients, the way that you follow up and service them — when you’re already outperforming your other competitors in that area, then the only thing you can really do is focus on how can I outperform my previous performance? David: Hi,...

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 of their prospect. The alternative is better understanding, relationship building, and effective qualification. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, cohost Jay McFarland, and I will be discussing the idea of brute force s...

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 phrase after I saw an old Star Trek movie where they referred to first contact as being your first contact with an alien species. And I just thought, wow, that has a lot of correlations with sales. Where you’re approaching somebody and y...

Most marketing messages and business communications are bland, directionless, and dull as dishwater. They lack a clear marketing voice. If you’re sending out emails that don’t get a response or leaving voicemail messages that are largely ignored, take a look at what you’re putting out. I can virtually guarantee it’s missing one or more of the Five Elements of a Compelling M...

In today’s episode in our professional profile series, David Blaise and Bianca Istvan discuss business growth strategies designed to improve results, including sequencing your communication with Carlos Mestas, CEO of Thrivebox, which specializes in helping entrepreneurs establish business credit to access funding solutions, Alan Watts, known as the Love Engineer, who offers dating and relati...

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, focusing on new ideas, determined to get the results they’re looking for, and sometimes it takes a lot longer than they’d like. When you consider the business people you know, it’s likely that some of them might have achieved amazing results since you last spo...

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 trying to go too big, or too wide, or too deep, too fast. If you think the world is your market, okay, but the problem is it’s very unlikely that you have enough money to market to everyone. For that reason, you have to get your targeting dialed i...

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 episode, David Blaise and co-host Bianca Istvan discuss business growth and qualification strategies with real estate developer Daniel Wick, financial services provider Joseph Lombardi, and content creator Sufian Malik. Topics include effective strategies f...

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’t get enough customers. This is not a function of who they are as people. It’s not a reflection of their work. It’s also not a mindset issue. Instead, it’s entirely about the fact that being exceptionally good at what you do,...

In today’s episode, we discuss the idea of moving from stealth mode to intimidation mode in business. In this episode of the Professional Profile series, David Blaise and co-host Bianca Istvan are joined by a panel of growth-minded business professionals, including David Boyd from Down to Earth Cuisine, author and speaker Oksana Tsimpoaka, Jeff Mount, business development officer from Tactiv...

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 and profit that you need to grow and scale your business, I want to urge you to start thinking about and keeping track of an important metric that you have probably either not considered, or have not focused on addressing on a consistent basi...

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 of targeting, it requires digging deeper to move from an overall idea of your ideal client, right down to the specific individual that you plan to initiate contact with next. In this episode of the Professional Profile series, David Blaise and co-hos...