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Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

Bio

Dan Waldschmidt is an international business strategist, speaker, author, and extreme athlete. His consulting firm solves complex marketing and business strategy problems for savvy companies all over the world. Dow Jones calls his Edgy Conversations blog one of the top sales sites on the internet. He’s been profiled in Business Week, INC Magazine, BBC, Fox News, The Today Show, and Business Insider, has been the featured guest on dozens of radio programs, and has published hundreds of articles on progressive business strategy. He is author of Edgy Conversations: How Ordinary People Achieve Outrageous Success.

Recent Answers

Demos

Why do so many SaaS B2B firms make you go through a demo, and hide the product instead of letting you start using it right away?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

THIS IS SO GOD DAMN STUPID. (Thanks for bringing up this topic. We have been steaming over here for days...) Over here at the EDGY EMPIRE we have been trialing marketing automation platforms for the past few weeks. Almost every single one that we have looked at seriously (including Infusionsoft, SharpSpring, Ontraport, Marketo, Eloqua, and a few others...) all do "demos" and refuse to let you use the tool yourself. Of course the sales person says to any question you have "Sure, we can do that..." until you ask them about 45x and force them to admit that what you want to do isn't possible. It's like a ridiculous game of cat-and-mouse -- except with my money. They also ask for you to pay upfront and then give you 15-30 days to cancel and demand your money back. Which only adds to the decision-making madness. This is such SHITTY business behavior. Some asshat in the front office actually thinks that he is super brilliant for engineering an inside sales process that "controls the conversation" and forces people like us through a pipeline. FUCK YOUR PIPELINE (and all the stupid email open tracking that comes with it...) Why not build a tool that people want to use? Why not develop a culture and nurturing environment where your target customer automatically wants to work with your product and your team? #epicbusinessfails

Branding & Identity

Is changing my personal name (or use another name) good for business?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

Don't overthink it. If a hard-to-pronounce name is costing you extra business stress then change it. Have fun with it. Tell people what you want them to call you. :-) Dan

Revenue Streams

What is the best way to monetize a strategic planning methodology?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

Ask people for 2x as much money as you think you want. Make sure the content is 5x as valuable as people expect it to be. "How" you deliver the content isn't all the important. Obviously, a PDF is much, much less valuable than training. Online training is less expensive than hands-on, in-person training. Focus on being valuable -- really valuable. The rest will take care of itself.

Decision Making

What is your opinion on making business decision based on guts feeling?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH GUTS YOU HAVE.... Data based decision making is great if you are looking for small incremental changes. It takes GUTS and GUT INSTINCT to think you spot an opportunity and then do what you think is necessary to turn that opportunity into a great business. There won't be data. You won't have friends. So you'll need guts. That's how we got the iPhone, by the way, so don't shrug off the power of GUTS. Anyone can look at a chart and make changes based on the past, it takes real courage to step out and take a chance. Just don't back down after you decide to be bold.

Testing

What is a good way to find a niche group of people, who already converse on a regular basis, to test my app?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

Look on Google Communities for technology focused BETA testing groups... Look on Linkedin Groups for business focused potential testers... Look on Facebook Pages for people who like apps/companies like what you are trying to bring to market... That should get you started.

Sales

What are some good sales strategies to try?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

Forget about sales tactics right now. Nothing quick or easy is going to help you when you just want to make money fast. 1. Be extreme 2. Live disciplined 3. Give more value than people pay for 4. Act human It doesn't matter what strategy you use when you factor in all (4) of those.

Entrepreneur Coaching

Is there a profitable platform in being a "Life Coach"?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

WHO THE HELL NEEDS A LIFE COACH? That's another name for "mom". How do you expect to charge for that? Being a warm shoulder to lean on is quite a bit different than being able to charge people to give them advice. I drink beer (and talk strategy) with people that I would NEVER pay to listen to. On the other hand, I pay people for awesome advice -- and I don't ever drink beer with them. What's the point? If you are an expert in something then CHARGE people for it. If they won't pay for it then you might not be as much of an expert as you think you are. BTW, please don't call yourself a "life coach". That's so awful.

Business Strategy

As an accounting graduate with no money and no connections, how do I start my own consulting firm? And how do I get clIents?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

STOP. DO NOT DO THIS.... I would never want help from someone like you. Don't get me wrong -- you aren't evil (that I know about) but you don't seem have any value that I could pay for. What would you be "consulting" a CEO like me about? How do you expect to make my business better when you don't have a clue about your own business? THAT'S THE TRUTH... Fuck the truth. If you want to get clients then you hustle -- every waking moment. You try an angle and fail and then try a different angle. You can't outsmart your way to bigger results. 2 plus 2 does not equal 4 -- it equals you going bankrupt. If you want to be successful then you need to exert massive amounts of effort to get off the ground. So get your ass out there and start asking everyone you meet: "What is that one big accounting question that's been bothering you for some time now? If I can't help you i'll buy you a cup of coffee" Then just go be a badass...

Start-ups

What should be a non-technical founders first steps be?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

1. FIND A TECHNICAL DUDE TO BE YOUR PARTNER... 2. GO BE AWESOME... BTW, 2 doesn't happen without 1...

Patents

I have an idea of a hardware product, that has received good feedback until now.Should I fill for a provisional patent or start an indiegogo campaign?


Dan Waldschmidt

Business Strategist, Speaker & Ultra-Runner

STOP. FORGET ABOUT A PATENT FOR NOW. You don't have a plan for how you are going to sell your product. Everybody loves everything until you ask them to pay for it -- especially big companies with money to spend on your razzle dazzle new hardware. Why are you spending money on lawyers when you need to be spending money on a damn good business plan. FUCK THE PATENT. SERIOUSLY.... Go do more homework before you decide to file paperwork. Keep that money in your pocket. Invest in exploring new sales channels, marketing ideas, and strategic distributor relationships.

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SalesMarketing StrategyBusiness StrategyAnalyticsCRMLeadership DevelopmentInspirationChange LeadershipBusiness Process Re-engineeringFinancial Services