Top Secrets Of Promotional Products Sales

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 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 fundamentally in the business, in order to get us to that next level. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, cohost Jay McFarland, and I will be discussing the idea of overcoming your sales plateau. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: It's so good to be here again with you David, and as always, I'm very excited about this topic. I know businesses that hit these thresholds. It can be a monumental task to get to the next level and they're not sure how to do it. Is it, is it marketing? Is it adding new products? I think that's what a lot of them try to do. They're like, well, let's add 10 more products to the lineup and then we'll do it. And of

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 your clients engaged and interacting, then by creating a community where you can interact with them on an ongoing basis, and they can, in some cases, interact with each other, it creates more of a bond than they would likely have with somebody if they're just doing more of a transactional type of thing. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, cohost Jay McFarland, and I will be discussing reactivating your client base. Welcome Jay. Jay: It's good to be here. You know, it's funny. I hear this everywhere I go now. If I watch Shark Tank or anything else, I hear this term CAC. You know, what is your CAC? And it's your customer acquisition cost. And I have to believe that your CAC, for a customer you've already worked with, has got to be lower than trying to bring in a brand new customer. Am I right? David: Oh, absolutely. And I think instin

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 this, it's not fun. It's not an exciting time. But I think the first thing that leap to mind for me is not to panic because for a lot of people, that's the go-to strategy, and not necessarily the best one. And you recognize that, okay, things might be different here. Just as they were during the pandemic. They're different, but it doesn't mean that you can't succeed, even while others are struggling. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, cohost Jay McFarland and I will be discussing the idea of protecting yourself from recession. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: Yeah, thank you for letting me be here. This is a big word that I'm hearing a lot now. The potential for recession, you know, we have a lot of inflation. We've got supply chain issues. You've got real estate issues. And so it's something I think every company should be saying, "okay, what are we go

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 are they outperforming me? Are they outperforming me in terms of just price? If that’s what it is. And a lot of times that’s what people are up against in the online market. The online sellers are able to sell for less. And at that point you have to say, “okay, is that something I even want to try to compete with?” Or am I more interested in finding the types of clients who understand and appreciate the value that I bring to the table. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, cohost Jay McFarland, and I will be discussing the importance of outperforming your competition. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: So good to be here again, David and this topic is very interesting to me. You know, I've been in small business. I know a lot of business owners and I got to tell you, oftentimes you're so caught up in, just generating sales that what the competition is doing

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 typical cold call. Right? Because a lot of times they are. They’re clumsy and they’re awkward and they’re not comfortable. We don’t want to just come up with another way to be that. The idea of looking for these alternatives is to say, “okay, how can I make this experience better for the person that I am trying to initiate contact with?" David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing alternatives to cold calling. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: I am so glad to be here. Thank you. Even the word sometimes, "cold calling." I get the shivers, not just cause it's cold, because I think that this is probably one of the most dreaded parts of the sales process, but in many industries, Absolutely necessary. And so how can you make it easier? How can you make it better? And what happens if you don't? David: Yeah, definitely gives a lot of

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 here. Jay: It's so good to be here once again. I'm very excited about today's topic. What's the Point of Reimagining the Essentials? David: Yeah. I mean the whole idea of the essentials to some people it's like, "oh, essentials, that's boring." Right? But it seems to me that in current times we really need to look at the essentials and say, "okay, how can we tweak them or fine tune them or change them around so that they're going to be more effective in a 21st century post-COVID economy?" Jay: Yeah. When I think about essentials, I think about foundational type things. And once you take away the foundation, other things that you have in play don't work as well. So what type of essentials specifically are we talking about that we want to, that we might look at in one when everybody looks at it that way, but we're going to reimagine or rethink about them

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, and just knowing the way to spot people who are actually capable of purchasing. Versus those who may love you and just aren’t capable. Or those who will just string you along. Or those who use you, just so they always have another price to show, to use the person they’re using already and that sort of thing. So I think finding clients, developing clients, all of that, everyone could use a reminder there. And if you’re not from a sales background then you absolutely… this is like the most direct sales class you could possibly take for this industry. And just be able to really get your business moving quicker. David: Hi. Welcome to the podcast. I am here today with Tracie Domino from Event Outfitters in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tracy, it's so good to have you with me. Tracie: Thank you so much, David. It's a pleasure to be here with you. David: You know, you and I m

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 that, if you are providing actual solutions that clients need, at a price that makes sense for you and make sense for them, there is absolutely nothing evil about that. I would say that's what integrity is all about, is providing them with a solution that is worth more to them than the money they're paying you to get that solution. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, I am joined by Matt Eysoldt. He's a multiline rep in the promotional products industry. And Matt and I were talking last week, and it turns out that we both like to work with smart, focused, motivated industry professionals. So I thought I'd invite him on the podcast to discuss that. Welcome, Matt. Good to have you here. Matt: Thank you so much, David, I'm excited to be here and excited to talk to you about motivation, education and how to grow your business. David: Awesome. Now, for th

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 clients -- you are very likely missing out on 75% of the available profits that are going to come from these other three quadrants. The Four Mores David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be talking about The Four Mores: More clients, more money, more margin, more often. Great to see you again, Jay. Jay: Yeah, it's good to be here. And I feel like there's one more more, if you can get all of those. More happiness and more peace of mind, right? David: Yeah. That's true. There are more than four mores. Jay: Yes. Quadrant #1: More Clients David: I think that what we're thinking of here is that these four mores are designed to increase the value of our clients and increase the value of our businesses. A lot of times when people are thinking in terms of growing their sales and profits, they think in terms of the first more. Th

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 forget about you completely, until and unless you call again. Most people don't do that on purpose. They don't set out to ignore you. When somebody buys from you, you want to take care of that person. But in a lot of cases, you fulfill an order. It's like, "whew, okay, that's good. Now I'm onto the next thing." And unless you have systems in place that are designed to keep you in touch, the likelihood that somebody's going to fall through the cracks is very great. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing how you get from obscurity to loyalty in the mind of a new prospect. Welcome back, Jay. Great to have you here. Jay: Thank you, David. And once again, I'm super excited about this. How Do You Move from Obscurity to Customer Loyalty? Jay: I feel like customer loyalty is the holy grail of having a business. B

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 Four Levels of Content. If you need to get clients on social media, this will explain how to do it. It's available below as video, audio or text. I hope you find it helpful. Brandon: Hey everybody, Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having a super productive week out there. You are watching Express Training Bites here at Promo Corner. You're probably watching it on Promo Corner's Facebook Page, Promo Show's Facebook page or maybe Promo Corner's LinkedIn or YouTube. So we are on all types of different social media. And we have today on Express Training Bites an industry icon. Somebody who I have looked up to as a sales professional in the industry. And it is Mr. David Blaise. Thank you so much for being here today. And you're actually going to be speaking about something that you spoke about in January at Expo. Is that correct? David: Yeah, it was part of what w

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 clients do I not want? And then really going about putting together the processes and strategies that are necessary to attract exactly that type of customer. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing the topic of growing your client base proactively. Welcome, Jay. Jay: Hey, thank you for having me on. I'm super excited about today's topic. David: It's great to have you here. Jay: Yeah. And I know this is a big question for businesses. I've heard the phrase. "If you're not growing, you're dying" So growth is a constant thing that you have to be thinking about. How do you do that proactively? Overcoming the Day to Day David: It's a great question because so often we get caught up in the day-to-day of what's going on. Particularly in the early stages of a business, when you don't have as much business as you need

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 where there is quality of life. "Be my own boss. Decide what I want to do." But how many entrepreneurs ever get there? And what does that have to do with breaking free? David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Today, co-host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing the topic of Breaking Free of Your Business. Welcome, Jay. Jay: Wow, it's good to be here. Welcome. Thank you. David: So we've been talking about this topic now for a few weeks. And I was wondering, what are your thoughts when you think of that as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, as it relates to entrepreneurs, business owners and salespeople? What's your initial thought that comes to mind when you hear a topic like that? What Does Breaking Free Mean to You? Jay: Well, it's funny. I think most entrepreneurs aren't thinking of breaking free of their business. I think it's exactly the opposite. I'm go

Last week I mentioned that we're addressing the topic of Breaking Free of Your Business in our Inner Circle group. And a question came up about how solopreneurs can start to make this happen, or even if they should. The quick answer to how sole proprietors delegate is entirely dependent upon the type of business you want to build. Hi and welcome back, in our recent discussions about how to break free of your business a question came up about how this topic applies to you if you're a sole proprietorship or one-person business. Over the years I've had people tell me that as a solo practitioner, they can't afford to hire anyone. Recently, that idea has picked up a lot of traction based on the fact that people feel that it's difficult, if not impossible, to hire people. If you watch the news for any length of time -- which I strongly recommend you do not do -- you'll hear stories about businesses struggling to find people willing to come to work. And while that may be true for many people, it is not true of

Michael Gerber and David Blaise speaking at The ASI Show (many years ago!) One of my earliest business mentors, Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited and other business classics told me that "many people leave their jobs because they're tired of working for a jerk. Then they start their own businesses and end up working for a maniac!" This is so true. No other person on earth could force us to put in the time, energy and effort required to build and sustain a successful business. No one else could force us to give up a steady paycheck, work unreasonably long hours, and deal with the unpredictable income associated with most small business startups. If anyone else tried to do that to us, it would be illegal! But those of us who choose it, do so willingly. And we often start at a point where we lack both the knowledge and the skills necessary to do it successfully. The scenario is similar for commission salespeople. We eat what we kill. So if we kill nothing this week, we don't eat. And many of the

There are many decisions you will need to make when building your business. But your biggest business decision is often how you plan to grow your sales and profits. Today, business growth expert David Blaise explores the options and their pros and cons. Whenever I ask, "What is the biggest business decision you need to make when getting started?" I get a lot of answers: Some say "Which customers to target." Others say "Whether to register as a corporation, sole proprietorship or LLC." Still others say "Where to locate my business." All valid. All important decisions. But from my standpoint, not nearly the most important. To Me, The Biggest Business Decision We Need to Make Upfront is How We Plan to Grow Our Sales and Profits. Because without a solid answer to that, the rest of it has very little value. The decision on how to grow our sales and profits is an intensely personal one. Because we each have our own strengths, weaknesses and preferences. Some of us are great at direct, one-on-one sales: Kic

We get a lot of comments and questions from people asking "how can I get it all done?" There seems to be so much that has to be completed on a given day. We have to follow up with clients, put together quotes, get pricing together, bring new clients through the door. Many people say they rarely have time for that type of thing. But more is never the solution to too much. So we need to leverage prime thinking time & prime selling time. So what are some tips for planning your work to accomplish more each day? Here's an important consideration. If this is something you're struggling with, don't just ask "how can I get it all done?" Instead, it's more important to ask "how much of this needs to be done at all?" So the first question I recommend you ask yourself is "can I reduce the number of activities that I'm engaged in?" Can I reduce the number of things that I need to do on a daily basis? Because the answer to having too much to do is not to add more stuff. More is never the answer to too much. I know th

There is a huge disconnect in business today -- one that wastes enormous amounts of time and causes salespeople and business owners to miss out on enormous opportunities. While it's common in many businesses, it's rampant, even among those who might be great at everything from social media, to content marketing to traditional selling. It's the disconnect between digital and physical, between content and conversion, between social media and your sales funnel. Over the years, one of the biggest disconnects in business that I've been complaining about is the disconnect between marketing and sales. In many organizations, marketing makes promises that sales struggles to keep. And sales says things that are completely inconsistent with marketing. Sales complains about marketing and marketing complains about sales, because there is very often little communication between the two departments. That is not the disconnect I'm talking about today, but it's pretty similar! Today, it seems to me the biggest disconnecti

Ready to Dominate Your Market? Read or listen to the blog/podcast below, then enter your questions in the box at the bottom of this page. Visit any city in the world and you will find a slew of businesses and salespeople, each virtually indistinguishable from the next. Same approach, same products, same pitch -- dull as dishwater! If you don’t want this to be you, you better figure out how you’re going to differentiate yourself quickly and dominate your market! So let's talk today about one of my favorite topics: Total Market Domination. That sounds like it would be tough to accomplish, doesn't it? But it’s really not as difficult as it seems, primarily because of the apathy, lack of knowledge and laziness of much of your competition! The fact is, many businesses are just so busy simply trying to stay alive, it never even occurs to them to try to dominate their markets. Of course, there are exceptions. I know that, because many of my clients ARE the exceptions. But here's the thing... If market dominati

If you don't hit the sales goals set by either you or your employer, that's a problem. In this podcast, business growth expert David Blaise explains why. If you're just starting out and you're not yet hitting your sales and profit goals, maybe you're lucky. Maybe it's just a timing thing and eventually, you will. But if you've been in the industry for any length of time and you're STILL not hitting your desired levels of sales and profit, that indicates a real problem. In fact, it indicates a problem that time is unlikely to fix. Because as the saying goes, if you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. Let's look at the reasons we set sales goals in the first place. Very often, businesses set at least minimal goals for their salespeople. They know how much the salesperson needs to generate in order to just pay for himself or herself. And that's before they're ever profitable to the company. Some companies are more patient than others. But let's face it, when salespeople ca