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In the Top Secrets podcast, business growth expert David Blaise provides tips on how to increase sales, improve profit margins and grow your business. Each week, we address issues related to important topics like targeting your ideal prospects, fine-tuning your messaging, attracting the clients you need, monetizing social media and much more. From marketing to mindset and podcasting to prospecting, the Top Secrets podcast helps professionals, B2B and B2C entrepreneurs and salespeople get more of the customers and clients they need, so they can do more of the work they love.
266 Episodes
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Sometimes in sales we like to hold out hope that just because someone hasn’t said “no” to us, they’ll eventually turn into a “yes.” And sometimes that happens. But in nearly every case, it’s probably better to get the hard no now, instead of taking “maybe” for an answer — for months or years — […]
The post Get the Hard No in Sales first appeared on Top Secrets.
No time, no money… When businesses are running into trouble, these are the two most common excuses they give for a lack of action. They don’t have time to address the problem. Often because they’re too busy doing the same things that got them into the problem situation to begin with. Or they don’t have […]
The post The No Time, No Money Trap first appeared on Top Secrets.
In every business and even in a non-profit, someone is responsible for bringing in the money. Who is it in your organization? And are they up to the task? In every organization, there is a person or persons responsible for bringing in the money. That person could be the pastor of a church. In a […]
The post Who Brings the Money into Your Organization? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Last week, I gave you an example of how poor customer service kills sales. And while the example was retail, it applies to all businesses and industries. So today, I thought I’d give you an example of the exact opposite. How good customer service can help save business, including retail. In our last episode, I […]
The post How Good Customer Service Can Save Business first appeared on Top Secrets.
In today’s podcast, I recall a memorable shopping experience which reminded me there is a right and wrong way to do customer service. It provides a clear example of how customer service is killing sales — especially retail! And five things any business can learn from this experience. I’m Not a Great Shopper This weekend, […]
The post The Wrong Way to Do Customer Service first appeared on Top Secrets.
Members of our Total Market Domination course focus on initiating contact with markets worth dominating — this means reaching the specific people in their markets who are likely to spend the most money with them. It’s not about dominating everyone in a market, because many don’t have two nickels to rub together. Instead, it’s about […]
The post Markets Worth Dominating first appeared on Top Secrets.
Many people don’t think it’s possible to dominate their market, because they’ve never clearly identified exactly which market, businesses or individuals they need to reach. In our last episode we explained the importance of mindset when it comes to market domination, and how if you don’t think it’s possible, you’ll never even attempt it. And […]
The post Which Market Do You Want to Dominate? first appeared on Top Secrets.
I’m not a huge fan of the “woo-woo” or “rah-rah” aspects of mindset that are preached by other people. But, if you plan to dominate your market, you need to have a few solid, concrete aspects of mindset in place. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re […]
The post The Mindset of Market Domination first appeared on Top Secrets.
Sales follow-up is essential. How often should I follow up with prospects and clients? It’s a question I get a lot, and as attention spans have shortened over the years, my thoughts on this subject have changed… but not in the way you might expect. I am very often asked how often we should follow […]
The post Sales Follow-Up: How Much is Too Much? first appeared on Top Secrets.
When visiting London, many years ago, I noticed signs throughout their subway system — what they call the underground. The signs said “Mind the Gap,” referring to the gap between the train and the station platform. It stuck me as a unusual combination of words, and since then, I’ve always used it as an analogy […]
The post The Gaps in Your Business first appeared on Top Secrets.
I started a new challenge this month for my Total Market Domination clients. It’s about how to grow your sales and start dominating your market in just 22 minutes a day. Sound crazy? Not when you consider the fact that many people, in fact most people, blow a lot more time than that on activities […]
The post Market Domination in 22 Minutes Per Day? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Uh oh. Sales have dropped off a bit. Not a huge decline, just a few percent. Well maybe, four, six, eight, something like that. No big deal, right? Well, it could be no big deal, or it could be one of the Five Early Symptoms of a Seriously Struggling Business. I have conversations all the […]
The post Five Early Symptoms of a Seriously Struggling Business first appeared on Top Secrets.
Where do you go to get clients? Do you get them online? Do you rely on your local BNI group? Do you prospect through your local Chamber of Commerce? Do you get most of your leads via referrals? Regardless of where you go to get clients, the real question becomes “how’s that working for you?” […]
The post Where Do You Go to Get Clients? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Many salespeople just “wing it” when talking to clients. They think a little product knowledge and a decent personality are all it takes to win clients and close sales. And while those traits can help, primarily with those who were already predisposed to buy from you, they certainly won’t close everyone. Nor will they take […]
The post The Path to Extreme Competence first appeared on Top Secrets.
Show me a business that has no secrets and I’ll show you a business that has no value. Over the years, I’ve taken some heat for our brand Topsecrets.com and for my belief that it’s our business secrets that create the most value in our organizations. Still, there are people who say, “there are no […]
The post No Secrets = No Value in Business first appeared on Top Secrets.
What are you currently telling the market about what you do and how you do it? Do you talk about service? Do you talk about professionalism? Do you talk about speed of service or competitive pricing? Whatever it is you’re saying, be careful. Because the things you tell the market about yourself can be deadly. […]
The post What Are You Telling the Market about Yourself? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Rejection in sales comes with the territory. When you’re trying to sell something, people will often say no. They’ll tell you they don’t need it, don’t want it, can’t use it. And by the way, “why are you bothering me about this?” While rejection in sales is a given, we don’t have to take it […]
The post Rejection in Sales: Don’t Take it Personally first appeared on Top Secrets.
Last week we discussed how a sales procedure is a series of steps or actions that are taken in a certain way, in a specific order, to ensure the best possible result. This week, we’ll take a look at some of those actions. If you were to examine the best sales presentations you’ve ever done, […]
The post 5 Elements of an Effective Sales Procedure first appeared on Top Secrets.
Success procedures are critical in business. When I’m consulting clients, I frequently quote the line “failure is not an option” from the movie Apollo 13. It’s a mindset worth adopting. In this podcast we’ll discuss the importance of procedures in sales and how they lead from failure to success. One Friday night, I was watching […]
The post 8 Success Procedures You Need in Business first appeared on Top Secrets.
Some people have trouble achieving because they’ve never really outlined their goals and when you fail to define what you want, it’s nearly impossible to get it. But maybe you have outlined your goals, you know exactly what you want, you’ve written it down like a good goal setter and you review it regularly. If […]
The post Goal Setting vs. Goal Achievement first appeared on Top Secrets.
Happy St.Patrick’s Day! This morning, I woke up, jumped on the treadmill and thought about the story of how St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. And it made me think, “what are the snakes in your life?” What are the snakes in your business? What are the mental snakes? The physical snakes and […]
The post Driving the Snakes Out on St. Patrick’s Day first appeared on Top Secrets.
How are you at selling remotely? Are you okay with the idea of selling less in person and selling more via phone, email, and text? And if not, what’s that likely to do to your income? David: Hi and welcome to the podcast today cohost Chris Templeton and I will be talking about using phone, […]
The post How are You at Selling Remotely? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Recently, a long-time client asked me a question about penetrating large accounts. He was talking about how they’re currently working with one location, trying to penetrate a second and then realizing that there are actually many more locations. So the question is “what’s the best way to penetrate a large account?” Many of us sell […]
The post How to Penetrate Large Accounts first appeared on Top Secrets.
Each year I go to industry trade shows, and whether in-person or virtual, I find some people who have achieved extraordinary results since our last meeting, while others seem stuck and haven’t moved at all. In nearly every case, I can trace the results back to one thing — speed of implementation. Those who take […]
The post Speed of Implementation Determines Success first appeared on Top Secrets.
Indecision is deadly to sales. People think they want to buy something, but they’re not sure what. Or they know what they want to buy, but they can’t decide on the style or the color, or they may know the style and color, but they just can’t seem to pull the trigger. So today let’s […]
The post How to Get a Buying Decision first appeared on Top Secrets.
There’s a phrase that’s been popularized in sales which says “buyers are liars.” It refers to those who say they want one thing but end up buying another. I’ve never liked the phrase, and even though it’s occasionally true, I believe there’s another group that deserves the title much more in my opinion. It’s the […]
The post It is True that Buyers Are Liars? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Lead generation is a critical part of every business because without an adequate supply of leads, it’s impossible to maintain a business. So where do the bulk of your new leads come from these days and where do your best leads come from? Online, offline, or both? David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today […]
The post Where Do Your Best Leads Come From? first appeared on Top Secrets.
As social media has evolved, so have the ways that people are selling. From Facebook to Twitter, to LinkedIn, to whatever comes next, we all have to be on the lookout now for when social media conversations turn salesy and every conversation is suspect. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today co-host Chris Templeton […]
The post Is Your Social Media Too “Salesy?” first appeared on Top Secrets.
We’ve all been through it. You have a great conversation with an excellent prospect. They say all the right things and respond to you perfectly. It sounds like an ideal match! The right product or service for the right prospect at the right time. We just need to iron out a few details to get […]
The post What Do You Do When Prospects Ghost You? first appeared on Top Secrets.
When it comes to growing your business, there are strategies and there are tactics. And this question is designed to deal with your strategy. What is your strategy for growing your business? Do you have a strategy for growing your sales and profits? Generally speaking, when we think of strategies versus tactics, the strategy is […]
The post What is Your Strategy for Growing Sales and Profits? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Many businesses and professional practices struggle, not because they aren’t good at their chosen profession, but because they’re essentially invisible to their target market. They may be great at what they do, but they’re not yet great at attracting, qualifying and converting enough high quality prospects into clients. So the problem isn’t competence, it’s entrepreneurial […]
The post Is Your Business Invisible to Customers? first appeared on Top Secrets.
I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they need to bring in more clients before they can invest in either the training or the marketing that would allow them to bring in more clients. And while it’s easy to immediately recognize the flawed catch-22 logic of this situation, I can […]
The post The Catch-22 of Inaction first appeared on Top Secrets.
The holidays are here! So, in this podcast we’ll discuss how to make the very most of the holiday season in terms of planning, relaxing, networking, and strategizing. David: Hello, happy holidays and welcome to the podcast! Today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be discussing how to make the most of the holiday season. […]
The post Making the Most of the Holiday Season first appeared on Top Secrets.
Whenever I talk with the owner of a business or professional practice who is struggling to attract more clients, they inevitably tell me that they are either in the process of planning out a new website, or working with someone to build a new website, or updating or completely overhauling their existing website, and I […]
The post A Website Won’t Fix Your Business Problems first appeared on Top Secrets.
In our Total Market Domination course, we identified Three Pillars to Creating Top of Mind Awareness with the very best prospects for the products and services you offer. Today, we’ll give you an overview of the 3 pillars so you can determine how well you’re implementing them in your own business. David: Hi and welcome […]
The post 3 Pillars to Creating Top of Mind Awareness first appeared on Top Secrets.
It’s easy to get distracted in the blizzard of activities that we have going on all around us every single day. But unless those activities include a significant number of wins, you’ll never achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself. And if you don’t pay attention to your wins, it’s easy to become discouraged. So, […]
The post Are You Tracking Your Wins? first appeared on Top Secrets.
Social media doesn’t work. Cold calling doesn’t work. Print advertising doesn’t work. Email is dead! Whenever an advertiser is unable to make a particular marketing vehicle work, they often blame the delivery mechanism and declare it either dead or ineffective. But what if the problem isn’t the marketing vehicle? What if it’s just the way […]
The post Don’t Blame Social Media for Poor Results first appeared on Top Secrets.
Until you get crystal clear on your basic messaging, who you serve and how you serve them, you’ll find yourself attracting either no clients at all or the wrong clients, and your customer acquisition efforts will take a whole lot longer. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today co-host Chris Templeton, and I will […]
The post Are You Clear on Your Basic Messaging? first appeared on Top Secrets.
If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone who had zero power to make a decision, you understand how frustrating it can be. So today we’ll talk about how to get to the decision makers. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast! Today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be talking about decision makers. Who […]
The post Getting to the Decision Maker first appeared on Top Secrets.
It’s great when people just want to buy our products and services, but that group is only ever a small part of the entire market. So how do we get to all the others who could be good prospects for us but don’t even know that they need our solutions? David: Hi and welcome to […]
The post The Difference Between Product Buyers and Solution Buyers first appeared on Top Secrets.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s fixed. It’s inflexible, so earning more in less time is less about managing time, and more about managing ourselves. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be talking about a subject that is near and dear to […]
The post Selling & Earning More in Less Time first appeared on Top Secrets.
Time after time when I ask our clients about topics they want to know more about, the subject of attracting larger clients comes up. So, in this episode we’ll tackle it head on and address the steps you can take now to attract the larger clients you want to have. David: Hi and welcome to […]
The post How to Attract Larger Clients first appeared on Top Secrets.
David: Management Guru Peter Drucker once said, “The purpose of business is to create a customer.” Does that mean just selling stuff or is there more to it than that? Chris: (Laughs) Oh, it’s just selling stuff. David Yeah, it’s just selling stuff… that’s it. David Hi, and welcome to the podcast today co-host Chris […]
The post Creating Customers first appeared on Top Secrets.
Talk of social media in sales is all the rage and everyone is frantically trying to crack the code of how to get clients. But is social media really all that different from other forms of customer acquisition? David: Hi and welcome to the podcast today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be discussing social […]
The post Getting Clients via Social Media first appeared on Top Secrets.
Everyone knows that it’s far easier and less expensive to sell the clients we already have and yet very few put in the time to consistently engage and re-qualify their existing clients. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today co-host Chris Templeton and I are here to talk about all the benefits of engaging […]
The post Requalifying Your Clients: The Five Levels of Qualification first appeared on Top Secrets.
Success in sales is dependent upon intelligent repetition of contact. We need to be able to reach out to people lots of times, in lots of different ways and keep them engaged with us and very few salespeople have mastered this skill. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast! Today co-host Chris Templeton and I […]
The post Don’t Be a Pest: Mastering Intelligent Repetition of Contact first appeared on Top Secrets.
Many businesses spend a ton of money trying to recruit new salespeople, but they spend little to nothing to help train and support the ones they have. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast, today co-host Chris Templeton and I are here to talk about the terrible practice of spending lots of money to recruit […]
The post Stop Recruiting and Ignoring Salespeople first appeared on Top Secrets.
Some people say that education is never wasted. I completely disagree. My feeling is that unapplied education may be the biggest waste of all. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be talking about education, specifically education designed to […]
The post The LAIR Method: 4 Steps to Success first appeared on Top Secrets.
In sports, MVP stands for most valuable player. In marketing and sales, the letters stand for Message, Vehicles and People. These three components are arguably the most valuable things you can focus on if you want to communicate effectively and dominate your market. David: Hi and welcome to the podcast. Today co-host Chris Templeton and […]
The post The MVPS of Marketing and Sales first appeared on Top Secrets.
In the past you’ve said that market leaders think, act and communicate differently than the rest of the population. What do you mean by that? David: Hi and welcome to the podcast today co host Chris Templeton and I will be talking about communication, how market leaders do it compared to the rest of the […]
The post How to Think, Act & Communicate Like a Leader first appeared on Top Secrets.
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