Derek Coburn's Blog

In my first and second parts of this 3-part series, I covered why you should be hosting your own Un-Networking Lunches and who you should invite.

Now I am going to show you everything else you need to know to execute your first lunch, and how you can leverage this strategy to acquire more clients for your business. Read to the bottom of this post for a free PDF highlighting the entire process for getting your first Un-Networking Lunch off the ground!

Once you have confirmed in...

In my last email, I told you about the success of bringing two people in my network together over a lunch meeting, and how that led me to organize a lunch with ten professionals shortly thereafter. This larger-format lunch eventually came to be known as an “un-networking lunch,” a particular style of event that I’ve perfected over the years.

This single strategy has completely replaced the 1:1 lunch model I was inefficiently utilizing for years. I have now hosted o...

I recently realized that my business is generating over $300,000 in annual recurring revenue from one unique source of clients.

Every dollar of that $300,000 is generated from individuals who had no interest in my services when we first met.

These people did not magically appear in my office ready to do business with me. I wasted a lot of time and energy meeting new people until I created a structure for making this process easy and predictable.

But before I get to that, let me tell you wher...

I did something today I haven’t done in 10 years – I applied for a retail credit card.

Now, before you write me off as a sucker, I’d like to explain myself and highlight an important concept I’ve been preaching.

I went to Nordstrom Rack to buy a few pairs of jeans, and while checking out, the cashier gave me the typical pitch:

Cashier: “Are you a Nordstrom Cardholder?”

Me: “No.”

Cashier: “Would you like to apply for membership. You…”

Me: “No thank you.”

Cashier: “We are offering a $40 cred...

The last time you heard from me, I shared the idea that traditional referrals are dying (or dead). I referenced a study which revealed that referrals are at an all time low for financial advisors, and I suspect they are low for most other professionals as well. This study led me to do an audit of my existing client base to determine how I was acquiring new clients.

This review revealed that I am currently generating over $300,000 in annual recurring revenue from clients who were not in the ma...

For most successful trusted advisors, referrals from existing clients and strategic partners have been the primary driver of growth for our practices. Many advisors would also claim that referrals continue to be their #1 source of growth.

Are you one of them?

If so, you might be getting more introductions than you can handle. Or, it’s because you aren’t engaging in other forms of business development.

In a recent article from Michael Kitces, The Death Of Referrals And The...

In a previous post, I introduced the idea of “Passive Loyalty” and the likelihood that the majority of your ideal clients are currently working with your competition, but they are indifferent towards them at best.

There are a number of highly-effective ways you can get on the radar of these folks to disrupt the indifference they have towards their current provider.

Before I share some tactics for attracting these ideal prospects in your pipeline, there may be an opportunity within your existi...

How Many Clients Will You Lose This Year?

Each year, author Rohit Bhargava shares his thoughts on the trends that will shape business and consumer behavior in the coming year. Non-Obvious 2017: How To Think Different, Curate Ideas and Predict The Future, is another excellent addition to his series of books as it includes many thought-provoking predictions.

The one that stood out for me in this installment is what Bhargava calls “Passive Loyalty.” I think understanding this concept will pres...

How Many Clients Will You Lose This Year?

Each year, author Rohit Bhargava shares his thoughts on the trends that will shape business and consumer behavior in the coming year. Non-Obvious 2017: How To Think Different, Curate Ideas and Predict The Future, is another excellent addition to his series of books as it includes many thought-provoking predictions.

The one that stood out for me in this installment is what Bhargava calls “Passive Loyalty.” I think understanding this concept will pre...

After seeing a variety of posts and articles about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It had been on the NYT Bestseller List for 24 weeks (30 as of this writing), but still, I was skeptical about how “life-changing” a book about getting organized could be.

Turns out the book is excellent.

Kondo’s approach to tidying up your space includes techniques that are both logical and emotional. She suggests that focusing on specific loca...