November 18, 2005

Greg Baker: Selling Complex Solutions as a Team Sport

Create and Consolidate Growing Revenue Through Business Partnerships.

• Understand why complex solution selling is a team sport.
  
• Learn the ingredients of success for team selling.
  
• Be able to identify obstacles and utilize levers of change to implement team selling.
• Create a community vision for team selling and delivering.
  

About the Speaker

Greg Baker is President and CEO of Advance Consulting. In addition to managing company operations and leading development of new business strategies, Mr. Baker consults with organizations and individuals on executive leadership, business transformation, and growth strategies.

Mr. Baker has over 20 years of experience in building and transforming businesses across a number of industries including publishing, healthcare, technology, government, and professional services. His background includes corporate management in domestic and international markets. He has held positions in operations, management consulting, marketing, technology, program management, research and development, sales, and product development.

Mr. Baker was formerly an executive with CTB/McGraw-Hill, where he was Vice President of Programs and Business Transformation. Prior to CTB/McGraw-Hill he was a Vice President at Science Applications International Corporation. Mr. Baker’s experience and expertise have enabled him to assist organizations in achieving their business goals while enhancing their operations and people.

Greg holds an MBA from San Diego State University and a BA in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego.

Showcase: Douglas Arnstein, Absolute Consulting Group, Inc.

Absolute Consulting Group provides project and program management professional services tailored to the unique needs and objectives of organizations. By flexibly applying proven methods and best practices, ACG assists clients in getting products to market as quickly as possible and eliminating inefficiencies in the back-office. In this month’s Showcase, Douglas will discuss some of ACG’s successes and demonstrate a useful brainstorming technique.

October 28, 2005

Nora Wolfson: Beyond Networking to Referrals

• Discover each other’s Expertise, Passions and Talents
• Build Relationships for Win-Win
• Clarify Individual Expertise
• Identify Common Ground
• Discover Unique and Compatible Talents
• Share Information
• Provide and Receive Business Opportunities
• Create Alliances

About the Speaker:

Showcase: Bruce Honig

September 23, 2005

Phil Hood: 2 X 2 Thinking in Action

Improve your analysis and creative breakthroughs

Professional managers and consultants utilize a representation tool generally referred to as the 2 x 2 matrix. This session presented a common architecture that helps consultants improve analysis and creative breakthroughs, using creative tension, iteration and transcendence to get at the heart of client issues. Participants were exposed to a number of new tools and models as well as exercises based on the Dialectical Solution Method from the book.

Attendees...

• Learned the decisions-to-dilemmas model that helps consultants apply the appropriate problem-solving approaches.
• Developed an enhanced understanding of the dialectical nature of problems
• Explored the 8 archetypal dilemmas and how to use them in your work.

• Learned a quick method for developing and testing 2 x 2 models.
  

About the Speaker

For the past fifteen years Phil Hood has been a thoughtful voice on the development and use of pervasive computing technologies. As a researcher and consultant he has focused on developing tools and methods to help companies make sense of paradigmatic shifts and apply new insights to their business. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Digital 4Sight (Toronto), he directed a series of multi-year research studies that explored the links between emerging technologies, customer behavior and business strategy.

In 2004, he co-authored the book The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix: Using 2 x 2 Thinking To Solve Business Problems and Make Better Decisions (Jossey-Bass) with long-time consulting partner Alex Lowy. Drawing on interviews and the work of experts such as Covey, Drucker, and Moore, the book explores how dialectical tension is at the heart of great strategic modeling, and teaches a method and approach for managing core strategic dilemmas.

Hood is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a former music and technology journalist with experience at GPI, Miller Freeman and other firms. He is a former executive editor at NewMedia, a former contributing columnist to Wired and a frequent contributor to business journals and conferences. His most recent article is "Networked Idealists", which examines the role of idealism among disruptive innovators, in the June issue of Strategy and Leadership (UK).

July 22, 2005

Jane Stallman: Participatory Data Review—A Proven Process to Quickly Capture & Understand Customers Needs

Whether you work with individuals or groups, Jane Stallman will show you how to quickly capture customer needs and gain group consensus using the Technology of Participation, ToP®. The skills you learn during this program will be useful to any consultant no matter whether your work is one-on-one executive coaching or facilitating large group processes. (The Technology of Participation, ToP®, has been developed over a forty year period of international experience by the Institute of Cultural Affairs.)

In this very interactive session Jane will guide us through two methods of capturing customer needs and gaining consensus. The first method is Focused Conversation, a structured conversation technique that elicits feedback while insuring people feel heard both emotionally and analytically. It then moves people toward the decision making process.

Using the data gathered from the Focused Conversations, Jane will then show us how to facilitate a large group by gathering all the data and organizing it VISUALLY into groupings and structures that move the group toward new insights and consensus. It’s a process that is one of those “forehead-slappers” when you see it in action. It brings new insights to a group, builds a structure from diverse feedback and allows everyone to see a foundation for consensus.

About the Speaker

Jane Stallman, President of Stallman Communications and Senior Partner, The Center for Strategic Facilitation, specializes in programs that facilitate personnel, team, and organizational growth. She conducts strategic action planning seminars, designs and facilitates complex meetings, and conducts leadership programs. Jane has an M.B.A. from the Peter Drucker Center at Claremont Graduate School and a Masters Degree in Urban Studies/Program Planning from Occidental College. Jane was a CORO Foundation Fellow in Los Angeles. Currently Jane serves as a mentor trainer for the Institute of Cultural Affairs, Technology of Participation (ToP®) trainings.

June 24, 2005

Rogene Baxter: Attracting and Keeping Your Perfect Mate, I Mean Client

Using a creative approach to "step out of the box", Rogene defined six affirming standards for perfect connections between your business and your clients. We were given criteria for our "perfect" clients - whose needs are a good fit for the services you provide. These are the clients where you do your "best" work with pleasure and success. We worked with a planning process that will help us identify our clients’ needs and expectations, and showed us ways to build partnerships for long-term success.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe synchronicity standards to connect your business to clients
• Define the Strategic Planning Process
• Describe three important elements of attraction for your "perfect clients"

About the Speaker

Rogene Baxter works in a collaborative manner with clients to create a new framework in which leaders, managers, and teams prosper and deliver business results. Using a broad range of assessment and process tools, her consulting and learning solutions have increased organizational capacity and talent retention in North America, Europe, and Asia.

May 27, 2005

Karen Colligan: It’s All About Them—Boost Your Business by Knowing Your Client

• How to identify the behavioral and communication style of potential clients quickly and accurately.
• How to adapt your own selling style to the preferred style of the potential client. How do you “walk in their shoes”?
• How to increase the impact of every communication in the selling cycle.

About the Speaker

• Improve individual performance through assessment, measurement and alignment.
• Develop and launch team development strategies to enhance effectiveness and productivity to the team.
• Design and implement employee-based initiatives focused on building loyalty and commitment and retaining top leaders.

April 22, 2005

Jim Prost: Capturing Clients through Powerful Presentation Skills—How you can present yourself and influence your listener!

• What elements are essential to a good presentation

• Tips for successfully managing your image

• How can Power Point enhance instead of detract from your presentation

• Techniques you can use so the audience will never forget you - even if they forget your message

In addition, they did an interactive group exercise applying the material presented during this session!

About the Speaker

Jim is a former President of the National Speakers Association Northern California and former Vice President of the American Marketing Association of San Francisco.

Showcase:

Liz Guthridge, Connect Consulting Group

March 25, 2005

Allen Peterson: How to Develop Winning Business Cases

How you can build value-based proposals and generate more business.

More companies now require documented justifications for unplanned or outside resource spending including the use of business consultants. Client executives want an accurate explanation of the true business value potential of these investments. In other words, they want a business case! Many of us are working hard to position and price ourselves on a value basis vs. an hourly or daily rate basis. We prefer to be engaged as a partner who leverages clear correction or improvement value. Our clients want help in expressing their value better too! Learn to combine the content from recent, excellent BACN sessions like "Selling to the Old Brain", "Why Buy", and "High Impact Value Based Sales", along with other great techniques and tools, so YOU can develop winning proposals.

"Al is a great crusader for complete and compelling business cases and has helped us win with them.." Jim Kridel, CEO-Correlate Technologies

Interactive Learning: individual and/ or table exercises for all audience members, including:

• Facilitated flip chart interaction exercises with audience to generate involvement. These included: (1) Business case definition, (2) Business case components, (3) Old Brain stimuli, (4) How consultants bring value (to clients).
• Individual PMI exercise—on a one page form, each attendee will identify the client pains, assessment measurements, and improvements that they see or use in their practice with emphasis on differentiation and value.
• One page proposal exercise-on this one page form, attendees completed a Draft of a one page proposal tied either to their own situation of to a brief business scenario.

Learning Objectives: deliverables the audience will receive

• The Basics-The elements that can make your business case-based consulting proposal more valuable and persuasive to your client

• The Steps and Tools-you need to build a winning business case. Attendees left with a draft PMI (Pain, Measurement, Improvement) for their practice or company.

• Don’t Get "Hired", Get "Engagements"-how to position yourself as a value-based consultant and not a daily or hourly temp. Attendees left with a draft of a One Page Proposal they have outlined during the session.

About the Speaker:

Allen (Al) Peterson is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), certified planning facilitator, advisor, and angel investor. He helps clients increase revenue by adding solution and service value that is appreciated by customers. As a consultant, he provides assessments, planning and strategy help, persuasion science, and customer value development. Al’s expertise in developing strong business cases comes from his experience raising money as an entrepreneur, helping consulting clients, screening dozens of investment proposals, and helping with business plan contests.

As a speaker, Al benefits from his experience as sales trainer, facilitator, and frequent presenter. In his seven years of management consulting, he has assisted several start-up companies, investment organizations, and large companies including IBM, GTE, British Telecom, CSC, Network Appliances, and Philips. Al’s operating career has included IBM, financial services companies, and start-up companies. He held President/COO titles at four companies of these companies for a total of 10 years.

Al is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, the American Marketing Association, the Strategic Planning Alliance, and the Keiretsu Forum. With four other IMCers, he co-founded the Oak Tree Project that is piloting service grants to nonprofits in the SF East Bay. Al serves on the Advisory Board of Correlate Technologies and on the Board of the Institute of Management Consultants-Norcal. His formal education includes an MBA from the Haas Business School at UC, Berkeley and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Oregon State University.

Showcase:

Yael Schy, Dramatic Strides Consulting

February 25, 2005

Jennifer Vessels: High Impact Value Based Sales for Consultants

Overview:
A common, critical challenge faced by consultants and service professionals is marketing and selling their services to the right clients. In this workshop, we learned techniques that have PROVEN effective for consultants of all disciplines, based on practical, real world experience. This workshop provided the expertise, examples and opportunities necessary for attendees to apply the new concepts and skills to their own unique practices and current "sales" challenges. This session, which provided attendees the hands-on opportunity to develop their ’value message’, should enhance current marketing and sales approaches to achieve the greatest SHORT-TERM impact and return on time and dollars invested.

Objectives:

At the end of the program, the attendees were able to:

• Develop a clear value proposition and message for your sales campaign to set you apart from the competition.
• Learn how value-based pricing can increase revenues and profits from all engagements.
• Develop VALUE at all stages of the sales cycle including final negotiation and close

About the Speaker:

Jennifer Vessels, consultant, trainer and professional speaker, helps company executives maximize sales and their return on marketing investments through practical, proven techniques. These are derived from over 25 years experience in key sales and marketing roles with Tandem Computers, Triad Systems and small manufacturing and service companies.

Due to the hands-on nature of her presentations for small or large groups, Jennifer is a sought after speaker for Institute of Management Consultants, Renaissance Executive Forum, The Executive Council, Software Development Forum, The Alternative Board and other organizations nationwide. In addition, her company, Next Step LLC. maximized business results for companies ranging from Cisco Systems to Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati and many small or emerging technology, manufacturing and service companies.

Showcase:

Susan Grant of Winguth, Grant & Company—Executive Search

January 21, 2005

Celeste Bishop: Leveraging Your Website for Leads—Pragmatic Approaches to Growing Your Business with Your Website

Reboot your expectations - think of your website as something more than an online brochure that builds credibility. This presentation helped our professional consultants understand what they can do to generate more awareness and leads through their website. It focused on pragmatic ideas that are affordable and within the capabilities of the average soul on the planet!

Participants learned:

• Fresh Look: what has changed to make website lead generation attractive
• Goals that are reasonable and productive for your business
• Ideas for your 2005 lead generation initiatives
• How to double dip - become known as an expert and generate leads
• Critical success factors - do these right and life is easier
• Self-funded website marketing programs

About the Speaker

Celeste Bishop is founder and President of Bishop Market Resources - a Competitive Services Agency that assists organizations, teams and individuals to achieve more competitive wins by incorporating competitive intelligence, competitive skills, tools and techniques throughout their business practices. Celeste has become certified as a Search Engine Marketer to offer clients support in this high ROI channel and create competitive success.

Showcase

Tor Consulting - Presented by Ron Person

November 19, 2004

Nora Wolfson: Advanced Networking—Turn this morning’s conversations into this afternoon’s opportunities.

Build your relationships with your BACN colleagues. This event was specially designed to tap into our membership’s wealth of knowledge, expertise, wisdom, contacts and good intentions. Nora Wolfson, BACN member, was back to guide us through a process of conversation and connection designed to multiply our opportunities.

Meeting Objectives:

• Discover each other’s Expertise, Passions and Talents.
• Build Relationships for Win-Win.
• Clarify Individual Expertise.
• Identify Common Ground.
• Discover Unique and Compatible Talents.
• Share Information
• Provide and Receive Business Opportunities.
• Create Alliances.

Come prepared to exchange information and resources to help yourself and your colleagues conduct business even more successfully. This practice-building event was a winner, just like last time!

About the Speaker

Nora Wolfson’s specialty is helping her clients develop "response-ability": taking full advantage of opportunities and recovering quickly from setbacks. A licensed therapist with more than 20 years experience pushing individuals to utilize their strengths, Nora serves as a mentor to individuals and fast growing organizations successfully orchestrating change.

Her clients range from small business owners to leaders and managers of nonprofit and for profit organizations such as Deloitte Consulting, Deloitte and Touche, LLP, Chevron Corporation, The Hunger Project, and The Psychotherapy Institute.

Nora is a graduate of the Organizations and Systems Development Program at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Psychotherapy Institute, and a current member of the Organization Development Network.

October 22, 2004

Nicole Schapiro: How to Negotiate in a Challenging Economy

Nicole’s presentation helped BACN participants gain new strategies, inspire new perspectives and shift attitudes to achieve success in today’s challenging highly competitive work environment and in our own business. She shared stories and lessons from her 30 years of "in the trenches" consulting experience that will guide us towards our best opportunities to influence and negotiate for what we want. The bottom line: we will better be able to negotiate for what we want.

What we learned:

• How to know what to negotiate "for"
• How to best prepare for and ask for what we want while keeping "healthy" relationships
• Know our own "strengths" throughout the negotiation process
• When to talk and when to walk (Prize and Price
• How to negotiate Fees
• How to negotiate for more business
• How to avoid "Fatal Distractions" and keep control of the negotiation process
• How to overcome objections, such as: "we don’t have the money", "can’t decide just now", "we have never done it that way before", etc.

About the Speaker

Nicole Schapiro is the New York Times best selling author of Negotiating for Your Life, printed in six languages and reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "this year’s best contribution to business self-help books." To quote US Senator Dianne Feinstein: "...after reading Negotiating for Your Life, we learn how to expand our horizons and therefore our careers; I highly recommend it!" Ms. Schapiro was described in her New York Times interview "as a role model for all people who want to succeed and are not afraid of the odds"; she is indeed a role model for risk taking, visioning, hard work and success.

Nicole Schapiro, Nicole Schapiro and Associates (415) 331-8091 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text16010 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it www.NicoleSchapiro.com

September 24, 2004

Stuart Newton: Guaranteed Strategies to Increase Revenue

Securing customers is the lifeblood of all successful businesses. The key is to determine a consistent process and methodology for attracting and retaining clients. Just as the development of a product follows a specific process, the model for securing customers follows a process that when executed effectively, will generate more desirable results. Unfair Advantage specializes in the execution of business strategy. They shared tactical strategies and tools that make the process of business development and sales easier and more predictable.

What we learned:

• How to prepare for meetings with customers
• What are the key questions to ask
• How to follow-up and ensure success
• How to prepare for meetings with customers

What we received:

Specific tools to: prepare for meetings, develop customized needs assessment questions and 10 keys to effective follow-up

About the Speaker

Stuart Newton, Managing Director, Unfair Advantage. Unfair Advantage has built a successful track record in helping clients secure beta, initial and targeted customers. Stuart is an expert at accelerating revenue and executing business objectives for emerging, growth and public companies. Some of Unfair Advantage’s satisfied clients include: Nextel, Pillsbury Winthrop, PG&E, Bristlecone, Sequoia-backed Actona, A4C, Benchmark-backed Ingenio (Formally Keen.com), Intel-backed Vocera Communications, Cornish & Carey Investment Services, Coudert Brothers, Premedics, and KMS Consulting to name a few.

Mr. Newton has trained, managed and motivated hundreds of sales and business professionals during his 21-year career. Additionally, he has closed over $50 million in revenue for his clients and employers.

Prior to joining Unfair Advantage, Mr. Newton held executive and management positions with ATT Wireless, Metricom, Centura Software and Cellular One. He is a venture partner with Skyfield Ventures and has been a keynote speaker at corporations, colleges and universities across the country.

July 30, 2004

The Fastest Way to Increase Your Sales by Michael Cannon

"Outstanding! What a fun way to learn many relevant ideas to improve sales that were immediately applicable."—George Richardson, Principal; Profectus Services

Why Attend?

Your continued use of company messaging like it’s sales messaging results in fewer customers, slower sales cycles, and higher sales costs. Think about this. At the heart of your prospect’s decision to buy or not to buy from you are questions like: ‘Why should I change what I currently do and buy a product/service like this?’ and ‘Why should I buy your solution rather than a competitive offer?’

Now consider your company’s sales messaging. What buying questions does it answer? If it is like most, your sales messaging may be answering one of the buying questions and leaving the other unanswered, or it’s answering both questions poorly. This is because most sales messaging is really just company messaging being used like it’s sales messaging. Company messaging is a feature and benefit description of what your company does, the product or service you offer and the value your customer receives. Compelling sales messaging is buyer-centric. It answers each of your buyer’s primary buying questions.

What Did We Learn?

• Why developing buyer-centric sales messaging is often the fastest way to increase your sales
• The ten primary buying questions you need to know and which ones your buyers are asking
• A proven system for quickly identifying how your offering improves the customer’s condition
• A framework for developing the most compelling answers to why your buyers should buy now
• The best technique for deploying buyer-centric messaging into your sales efforts

June 25, 2004

Sandy Shepard: Intellectual Property ("I.P.") 101:A Pirate’s Life for Thee

You’re an IP Pirate (trust me).

Should you put a black patch on your "blind eye" when it comes to your own infringement of others’ IP,
or should you do something about it?

Have you given away ownership of your IP, not at knifepoint, but through shoddy or nonexistent contract negotiation -- making you a pirate of what used to be your own property?

And how do you protect your own (buried?) IP treasures?

In this overview of Intellectual Property law, Sandy Shepard explained copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade secret and patent law basics, watched your horror as you realize where you’ve been infringing and/or not protecting your assets, and then offered solutions for managing your risk and protecting what’s still rightfully yours. In a memorable way. Trust me.

Showcase

Penny Schultz Consulting - Presented by Penny Schultz

May 28, 2004

Eve Abbott: How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain

Is trying to get more done with less getting to you, too?

Technology alone doesn’t increase productivity - People do. New discoveries about human aspects of technology will let you take advantage of your brain’s hard-wiring to excel in your activities. Use these proven computing and e-mail tips to get better results, with less stress. Walk away with enough tips to save an hour a day!

Join us for a personal performance tune-up so you can:

• Greatly reduce visual and mental fatigue while computing.
• Master computing and e-mail tips that will save you lots of time!
• Decide which way is the best way for you to create a ’paperless office’.

"These steps will save me at least one hour per day. Great presentation!!" Bill Seelig, President, Seelig & Associates

About the Speaker

Since 1988, Eve Abbott has developed productivity systems for executives, managers and business owners so their teams can work at least 25% more effectively through her programs and hands-on consultations.

Ms. Abbott is the author of How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain™(2004). She has degrees in Sociology and Psychology from the University of California and holds a Lifetime Adult Teaching Credential.

The Organizer Extraordinaire is a popular guest on TV and Radio and appears in New York Times, Home Office Computing and Working Woman articles. Clients range from Hewlett Packard to Lotus Construction and Alameda County as well as countless consulting practices.

Showcase

Friedman Consulting Group LLC by Sanford Friedman

April 25, 2004

Panel: Alternative Sources for Business

Learn from our Panel of Experts the advantages, disadvantage and insights into other sources of business such as M-Squared, Strategic Partners, Pro-Savvy, Craigslist, or LinkedIn. Our panel of experts are:

• Kris Bondi of CNW Consulting, Inc.
• Ray Dunaway of Management Solutions Int’l
• Jennifer Vessels of Next Step, LLC

Our panel will share their experiences and insights. Bring your own experiences to share with the group and leave with:

• better understanding of how the alternative sources work
• Insights into working with them successfully
• Mistakes to avoid......

In other words, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about these other sources of business.

Showcase

The FileSlinger - Helping you save time and make money - Sallie Goetsch

March 26, 2004

Liz deClifford: Improving Consulting Profits with Powerful Presentations

No matter what your professional objectives may be, good presentation skills are essential to getting the job done. In this session, you learned valuable speaking skills and techniques, and received direct feedback on your specific pitch. This program was perfect for anyone looking to raise capital, improve sales, develop lasting partnerships or build and strengthen his or her presence, image and presentation.

By attending this presentation, you learn:

• How to present your best business self
• How to make a 10 minute professional, client presentation - the tips and tricks of putting a good presentation together
• When presenting - how and when to tell stories, how to be certain we are complete in our presentation

About the Speaker

de Clifford International, Ltd. is a world class business consulting and executive communication training firm that delivers bottom-line results to CEOs and their companies. With over 75 years of combined experience at executive levels in major corporations, our consultants are uniquely qualified to deliver the critical third party perspectives you need to reach your aggressive growth goals and increase shareholder value. Contact us today to learn how we can easily and quickly help you achieve your strategic growth and leadership development objectives.

Liz de Clifford This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text76788 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lincoln Engineering - Jim Harrison This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text6410 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tom Ucko led this session. Ucko Affiliates (www.ucko.com) helps clients achieve their business goals by enhancing leadership and teamwork throughout the organization. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, they work nationally with clients of all sizes and types to:

• Create high-performance executive and management teams
• Expand leadership capability through 360-degree feedback and executive coaching
• Improve cooperation and collaboration across functions and between hierarchical levels
• Identify and resolve complex people-issues that interfere with morale and productivity

Showcase:

Investment and Philanthropy Corporation - Presented by Dr. Joe Caldwell

July 25, 2003

L. J. Rose: Learning To Walk In High Places—Seven Vital Signs for Your Consultancy

• Is why you chose to be a consultant why you remain one?
• How do you relate to risk and transformation within your consultancy?
• In what ways are you bringing innovation and progress to your business?
• Are you pursuing your goals and dreams or reacting to a marketplace?

Answer these questions as you discover the 7 Vital Signs for Your Consultancy.

This session helped clearly define what makes you brilliant at what you do. When you are aligned with your talents and visions, you travel to new levels of success in the truest sense.

About the Speaker

L.J. Rose of the Tom Peters Group guided us on a journey toward identifying and achieving all of your professional peaks by drawing upon her business accomplishments and personal experiences. Combining life altering travel experiences with her business acumen has helped her to provide a powerful and thought provoking message. Described as "oxygen" by those in the workplace, LJ Rose is now a consultant, coach and speaker. She has worked with thousands of employees in numerous business units and organizations on leadership, branding, innovation and communication.

Showcases:

John Levy Consulting - High-Tech Team Diagnostics - Presented by John Levy, Ph.D. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

IMC Speaker’s Bureau - Presented by Eve Abbott of Organizer Extraordinaire (www.organizer-extraordinaire.com)

June 27, 2003

Joanne Black: No More Cold Calling—Build Your Business Through Referrals

Joanne Black’s charismatic presentation No More Cold Calling? was a must for those who want to build their client base quickly and cost-effectively. This was a powerful discussion of referral selling as a way to build your business without cold calling. Including practical tips, tools and strategies for success!

• Discuss why referrals are the most effective way to build your client base.
• Learn why some people still cold call while others are hesitant to ask for referrals.
• Compare the difference between a qualified referral and a reference.
• Recognize why clients make buying decisions.
• Identify multiple sources of referrals
• Build a step-by-step action plan.

Led by renowned sales strategist Joanne Black, this presentation was an exceptionally valuable introduction to the benefits of referral selling. Instead of making random calls to unqualified prospects, you could be getting qualified leads from the people you already know.

Showcases:

How to use Video in Your Practice - Gary White of Pacific Crest Marketing (www.pacificcrestmarketing.com)

RB Zane Advisory Group - Presented by Richard Zane (www.rbzaneadvisors.com)

May 23, 2003

Cox Ferrall: Put Prospecting At The Center Of Your Business Development Plan

• Discover the human side of business development.
• Learn three critical concepts to build and maintain a successful consulting practice.
• Eliminate wasted time and effort by connecting your sales and marketing efforts.

Business planning methodologies tend to stress marketing tools (brochures, web pages, public speaking, etc.) or selling tactics (question formulation, overcoming objections, closing techniques, and the like). Such approaches neglect a key part of bringing in the business-you. How do you locate the right prospects and transform them into clients?

Cox Ferrall presented time-tested tools for linking your marketing and selling efforts-seamlessly. How? By focusing on prospecting as a critical component of your business development plan. We found out from one of Northern California’s leading sales management consultants!

• It’s not about selling - and it’s certainly not about marketing! Learn why successful consultants put Prospecting at the center of their business development process.
• Practice the magic of Prospecting through Others. Help others help you - by empowering them to spread the word about you and your consulting prowess.
• Design and build an Allies Prospecting Strategy that fits your style and behavioral preferences.
• Discover the limits of conventional wisdom and remind yourself of the power of the "Fifth W."

Showcases:

RiskSmart Solutions - Presented by Charles Wilson

Hardle and Company - Presented by Dennis Hardle

April 25, 2003

Nora Wolfson: Turning Networking Into Opportunities

Build relationships through an event focused on interacting with BACN colleagues to tap into our membership’s wealth of knowledge, expertise, wisdom, contacts and good intentions. Our guide was Nora Wolfson, MA, MFT. Ms. Wolfson guided us through a process of connecting the consulting dotted lines to multiply our opportunities and to build our business capabilities through broadening our scope of services.

Meeting Objectives:

• Discover each other’s Expertise, Passions and Talents
• Build Relationships for Win-Win
• Clarify Individual Expertise
• Identify Common Ground
• Discover Unique and Compatible Talents
• Share Information
• Provide and Receive Business Opportunities
• Create Alliances

Showcase:

The Larry Smith Company: Helping companies achieve clarity of purpose that allows employees to focus their energies and creativity on measurable progress and increased productivity.

March 28, 2003

Tom Allen: Selling Professional Services

Tom Allen, Principal in Bay Area Consulting Group LLC www.baconsulting.net, explained how to approach potential clients from their perspective, not yours. Participants learned 3 Strategies and 7 Techniques that could be employed immediately in prospecting and qualifying prospective clients.

Showcase:

The Business Group, Led by Mike Van Horn, www.businessgroup.biz.

February 28, 2003

Eve Abbott: Speaking To Grow Your Business

Eve Abbott www.organize.com shared five years of speaking tips and techniques in one triple-packed program - plus samples!

3 Ways to use Speaking to attract clients and alliances.
3 Crucial Speaker Tools: One-Sheet, Response Card, & Speaker’s Kit.
3 Website Tools: Streaming Audio and Video and Effortless Products.

Collaboration Between Members

Jim Harrison of Lincoln Engineering and Penny Schultz of Schultz Consulting

January 31, 2003

Anita Baker and Trish Hayward: How to Effectively Sell Yourself

Showcase:

PeopleThink- Karen Colligan www.peoplethink.biz

November 22, 2002

Jim Horan: The One-Page Business Plan

Jim Horan http://www.onepagebusinessplan.com led this session on the merits of the One-Page Business Plan for any enterprise and the considerations in developing one.

Showcases:

Woolley and Associates, Inc. - Organizational development and tem-building services - Presented by Milton Woolley

Intervox Group, www.intervoxgroup.com a consortium of professional consultants delivering a full range of services focused on making the contact center a full player in the creation of enterprise value. - Presented by John Reynolds

Pacific Crest Marketing www.pacificcrestmarketing.com - Presented by Gary White - "The Corporate Fitness Coach" Specializing in Focus Groups, Customer Advisory Boards and Management Retreats Since 1986

October 25, 2002

Jeff Rubin: Strategic Integrity

Jeff Rubin of Jeff Rubin Speaks (www.jeffrubinspeaks.com) led this informative session. His topic was STRATEGIC INTEGRITY - Being an ethical person is...ironically...a great marketing tool. Humanity ... Integrity ... Reliability - these are more important than the lowest price.

Showcases:

Higher Ground Associates presented by Chris Yelton, Principal and Doug Crawford, Principal www.hga-na.com.

Bay Area Consulting Group LLC presented by Tom Allen, Principal, CMC www.baconsulting.net

Profound Central www.profoundcentral.com, presented by Dennis Hardle, Project Manger, and Get In Position www.getinposition.com, presented by Martha Lee, Search Engine Optimization Expert.

September 27, 2002

Steve Sue: Secrets of Crafting a Great Business Story

The presentation was led by Steve Sue of StoryManager.com. We learned how story telling can make a difference in your practice and enable you to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack.

Gary White also led a short session on Referrals: how to develop and use them, and the possible issues in providing referrals

July 26, 2002

Michael Gerber: The e-Myth Revisited

Michael Gerber, author of the best selling book The e-Myth Revisited, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses.

June 28, 2002

Barbara Chan: The Secret of Being Your Own CEO in Challenging Times

Barbara Chan of the Barbara Chan Consulting Group www.barbarachan.com led this session.

Networking Session:

"How to Work the Room; OK, Now, Work It"

Led by Penny Schultz from Schultz Consulting - An Organized Networking session

May 24, 2002

Karen Colligan: How to be a Successful Consultant

Karen Colligan from PeopleThink (www.peoplethink.biz) led this session.

Getting to Know Each Other

Facilitated by Gary White of Pacific Crest Marketing [www.pacificcrestmarketing.com]

Overview of the Bay Area Consultants Network

Harry Chapman of the Bay Area Consulting Group LLC www.baconsulting.net

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