Weedin 360

PRESS RELEASE

The Consultant Mentors of the Northwest Kick of 2012 for Business Leaders

Seattle-area consultants hold first collaborative event

Poulsbo, WA (February 20, 2012) – Dan Weedin and Libby Wagner held their inaugural event titled, “Libby & Dan,” at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle on February 15^th. The event was attended by 24 consultants, executive coaches, and business professionals from around the Greater Seattle area.

The full-day workshop was aimed at helping business leaders to accelerate their professional growth. Topics included visioning, marketing gravity, value proposition, branding, and best practices. Diane Zakrajsek from Seattle said, “The information and your expertise was priceless!” David Dallaire from Bellevue said the workshop was a “home run!” Earl Bell from Seattle called the event, “Simply awesome!”

The next workshop will be held at the Washington Athletic Club on June 21^st. Registration information will be announced soon.

Dan Weedin and Libby Wagner have been personally trained by Dr. Alan Weiss as Master Mentors in his global consulting community. They are two of only 35 consultants in the world so accredited. Dr. Weiss is the author of Million Dollar Consulting, The Consultants Bible, and over 35 other business and consulting books.

For more information, contact Dan Weedin at (360) 271-1592; (360) 824-8100 (fax); or dan@danweedin.com. Please also visit our website at www.DanWeedin.com.

Twitter – #LibbyDan

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Libby and Dan

Libby Wagner

I often get asked, “How do you find your content to write your blogs and articles?”

The answer is simple. I pay attention and try to stay in the moment. If you’re creating intellectual property (IP for the rest of this article), then you need to find a way to use real-life, every day events that people can relate to as a metaphor for not-so-simple “stuff.”

Take Jerry Seinfeld. The dude made a boatload of money over 9 years making a television show about “nothing.” Add to it, that all of that material came from a highly successful comedy act, which he still uses today. Making money on “nothing.” That nothing, however, is what we deal with in our daily lives. One of my favorite episodes was when the gang lost Kramer’s car in the mall parking lot. An entire episode was dedicated to the goofy search for the car. How many of us have ever lost our car in a parking lot? I have…and recently at a grocery store when I realized that I have a new car and I should stop looking for the old one! That episode, as well as all the others take a real-life situation and engages the audience because we can relate.

If you follow my blog posts, my newsletters, and my speeches, you will hear stories about my dogs, my kids, my wife (although she scares me most so I have to be careful), my parents, my basketball coaching, my cooking, and my professional experiences. You’ve heard about me walking the dogs, moving furniture, burning my hand, hitting poor golf shots, and walking around New York City with $5,000 in cash. Why? Because you can relate to all of these things. They make the “stuff” I talk about – insurance, crisis leadership, risk management, executive leadership, and change management more palatable. I hope that when I draw a metaphor, the light goes on and you say “Ah Ha!”

So when you write your next blog post, article, or executive brief OR present your next speech or video, consider your uniqueness. As my professional mentor, Alan Weiss always says, there is nothing new under the sun. You’re methodology, theories, strategies, and the like are not necessarily new. However, you are unique and your experiences make your IP different from everyone else!

To create great IP, you have to add one key ingredient…YOU! Pay attention to your life. Don’t think nothing happens to you. It does. Be in the moment and find those crazy little things that make you chuckle or shake your head. Most likely, it’s the start of a great new story.

Now, if you only had a neighbor like Kramer…

© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

From my February newsletter – to subscribe, click here

Your Secret Sauce to Success: 
Re-Purposing

© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

Alan Weiss, the author of Million Dollar Consulting and about 40 other books, is starting a new video series for all business professionals. The video series is free; you just need to register.

Alan Weiss

Click here to learn more

There will be 4 videos in this free series. I just received my first one today. These are short 4-5 minute presentations that you will find invaluable to your business career and even personally. For instance, today’s is about creating sustainable change.

I encourage you to subscribe. You will get a tremendous ROI for your time.

© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

Activity breeds results…

This week has been a blur. I spoke to two groups of consultants on topics related to marketing, branding, and strategy. I interviewed 13 people over two days for a new client where I’m facilitating a sales meeting to kick off the new year. I added another new client to lead a similar exercise at the end of the month. I wrote new articles and blogs and distributed new newsletters. Next week is even busier. Who said January is a “dead” month.

You may think I’m going to say all this activity is breeding results. While this is true, my real message is that all this activity was actually bred by last quarter’s work. In the consulting business, as in most, you sow what you reap..usually a quarter later. What you are doing this week will ultimately bring you money in several months. Certainly, you will occasionally find new clietns that come about because of an event. However, that event may have been three months in the making.

Keep this in mind. Sales cycles aren’t that fast any more. You need to constantly be thinking and strategizing for the future. Don’t get so caught up in today that you forget that you are fighting for tomorrow’s income.

Activity breeds activity which breeds results. How does your April revenue look today?

© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

As a Master Mentor of the Alan Weiss Private Roster Mentor ® program, I’m pleased to present his Million Dollar Consulting ® Accelerant Curve to the fine consultants and entrepreneurs at the Lake Washington chapter of Biz Enrich last Friday. I’m also pleased to present highlights to you.

This model was developed by Alan and his community. This model is ideal for all consultants, coaches, speakers, entrepreneurs, and professional service providers. I hope you enjoy…

© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

I’ve got two events coming up soon that are geared specifically for consultants. Both come out of my training as an Alan Weiss Master Mentor. The events are basically free (one has a breakfast cost if you choose to partake), and will offer a tremendous return on your time investment.

Here are the details…

July 7th – Bellevue, WA 7:30 – 9:00 am   “Consultant’s Coffee”  Join Tom Broetje and myself for our topic on discovering your “secret sauce,” and how to monetize it through intellectual property. Tom will speak on finding and I will speak on the marketing through the use of several tools and strategies. There is a continental breakfast, but that’s your only cost. We will be meeting in the restaurant on the main level of the hotel. It’s a great opportunity to learn, meet new people, and network. If you’d like to join us, please RSVP to either Dave Shapiro or myself.

Dave Shapiro (206) 931-2032 or daveshapiro@excellceo.com

July 8th – Mercer Island, WA 10:00 am-1:00pm Biz Enrich Meeting – I will be presenting on the Accelerant Curve. This is a powerful strategy developed by Million Dollar Consulting author, Alan Weiss and his community. By creating your own accelerant cure, you will certainly accelerate your business growth. This will be a highly interactive session where you will have a chance to meet other consultants and network, too. To RSVP for this free event, contact either Pete DiSantis or myself.

Pete DiSantis (425) 577-0082 peter.disantis@BizEnrich.com

Dan Weedin (for both) (360) 271-1592 or dan@danweedin.com

I hope to see you at one or both of these events!

© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

Referrals are the platinum-standard for acquiring new business. This concept is as old as sales itself. There are three key principles to getting and leveraging good referrals…

1. You need to be referred to the economic buyer. If the person you were referred to can’t write a check or have the authority and budget to have one cut, you’re wasting your time.
2. The buyer must respect the referral source. If they run screaming from you when you mention the name, or worse yet, never return your call, you’ve got a bad referral.
3. They must be in need of your help. Now, that doesn’t mean today or tomorrow. It could mean in 6 months or a year. However, they must be a business or individual that can gain value from what you provide.

In the nearly 6 years since I started my practice, I’ve mined referrals from clients, prospects, CPAs, attorneys, bankers, friends, family, acquaintances, and just about anyone else who had a pulse. That being said, one of my best referral sources (and perhaps THE best after clients), have been consultants. If you’re a consultant and you’re not actively receiving referrals from your colleagues in the consulting world, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Here are areas you gain leverage…

1. New business. The clients referred to you by consultants have one giant obstacle eliminated – they already are used to working with consultants. How many times have you had to fight the battle of persuading a business owner that working with an outside source is an investment rather than a cost? Now, you can get right to showing your value and how to improve their condition.
2. Speaking opportunities. Two weeks ago, I was at the Alan Weiss Mentor Summit and re-connected with a colleague out of San Francisco. She mentioned that last year she’d spoken in Bogota, Colombia for a conference. I was intrigued because I’m half-Colombian. She gave me the contact information for the organization and I contacted them immediately. I’m now scheduled to speak at their conference in Bogota in August in front of 350 buyers, plus get to do it in another country. This offers the potential of global expansion and more speaking possibilities.  That’s opportunity!
3. Marketing gravity. Another colleague from the Mentor Summit happened to get an e-mail from Help a Reporter Out (HARO) with a query ideal for what I do. He sent me an e-mail asking me if this would be a good lead to follow up on. Turns out I was in transit home from Seattle on the ferry. The deadline was quickly approaching so I contacted the reporter. I will now be quoted in Entrepreneur.com on a topic in my area of expertise. Now, I may have seen this query when I got home OR over the weekend. It may have been too late. Leveraging my relationship with a fellow consultant so he knew exactly what I do and what my target audience looks like is priceless. When thanking him for his generosity, his reply was “We have to watch out for each other’s backs.”

Garnering a steady stream of referral sources from consultants takes planning and consistent contact. Here are 5 ways you can best leverage your opportunity…

1. Clear value proposition. Like my last example, your colleagues must know what you do. If you’re not clear, concise, and value-laden, they may not be able to identify those people in their community who need you.
2. Consistent messaging. I had someone once tell me they thought I had a highly effective “drip system.” I’m glad they didn’t mean the plumbing at my home! What they meant was I have a regular method for contacting colleagues with my value proposition, intellectual property, and new offerings.
3. Give to get. You can’t be just a taker. You must reciprocate. When relationships are a one-way street, you’ll soon find yourself driving down the wrong way. You must understand their value proposition and how they can help your clients. It’s a win-win-win because you will continue to get referrals, look like a hero to your client, and help someone else in their career.
4. Create a “rap sheet.” This is basically a one-page that is meant to be given to your consulting pals so they will know a referral for you when they see one. Include your value proposition, your ideal client, your target audience, your typical client results, and testimonials.
5. Take care of their clients. Treat those leads like gold. Contact them within 48 hours; provide value right from the start; and ensure they get their issue solved, or are added to your mailing list.

BONUS: Always send a note of thanks (not just an e-mail) to your colleagues. That little extra level of gratitude goes a long way.

These steps are painless and easy to implement. In addition, you will gain new friends and forge remarkable relationships. Take the time to meet, network, and share with other consultants. The results will be a bigger pipeline, more clients, and accelerated growth for you and them. And that is a win-win-win proposition!

© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

I just completed my third Mentor Summit with Alan Weiss in Las Vegas. As I sit in the lobby waiting to catch a ride with a colleague to the airport, I figured this is about as good a time as any to start de-briefing. Step One (as provided by Alan) is to find the three points that created the biggest impact on you without reviewing your notes. The point of not reviewing the notes is that you should have those important, key points top of mind and don’t need notes to remember them. Fair enough. I’m going to share this virtually, so you can gain value from my experience.

1. I need to increase assertiveness and decrease persuasiveness in my business interactions. What this means is being more focused on the business agenda at hand, and accelerating the process of working with clients and prospects.

2. I need to have the three key points of my value proposition top of mind (my new favorite term) and ready to express to clients and prospects. What are the three key issues related to crisis leadership and risk management in my mind? How do I turn those into intellectual property and conversations?

3. Find creative ways to gain the attention of those who most need your help. What are the best ways to reach these people? How can you gain gravity and become an object of interest?

The “how to’s” come tomorrow. Stay tuned…

© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

I just finished reading the most recent edition of Million Dollar Consulting on my Kindle reader on my iPhone. Even if you’ve read it before, it’s well worth the read if you’re a consultant. Alan Weiss has added new ideas and commentary with each edition and this one has great information. I highly recommend…

© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved