Business Strategy Archives – Page 31 of 38

29 Apr 2009

Door Openers – Getting The Right Foot In

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:03-06:00April 29th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|

If your product or service offerings are fairly expensive and you are looking for new clients, one way of getting in the door is having a door opener.

Retail

In retail you see door crashers all the time. Special prices designed to get you in the door or to generate a bit of a marketing buzz.

If oranges are on for 50 cents a pound, you might go to the store and while you are there upgrade to bread and cereal. The upgrade path is clear.

If a big screen TV is regularly $1500 and they have 5 on for $400, they are […]

24 Apr 2009

Day 4 – New Website

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:22-06:00April 24th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales, Technology|

It's been challenge to work on a website this week with eyes not quite working right.

I've been looking at what we have done over the past 9 years and it seems quite impressive. Our industry experience has clearly been Human Resources, Actuarial and Financial Services. However, many of our core capabilities could easily be applied to just about any industry… web applications, modeling, complex form/surveys, data migration, integration, project management, etc.

In fact we are launching products aimed at the small and medium business market that will maximize the human capital in your business inside and outside of the traditional […]

23 Apr 2009

Day 3 – Testing My Resolve

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:27-06:00April 23rd, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Most New Year's resolutions fail due to a lack of resolve or persistence. People have a tendency to quit at the first signs of difficulty.

It is no different in business.

Whether you want to significantly grow your business or become a higher earner, you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into new, uncharted territory.

Whenever I have done this in past, things come up to test your resolve. Some are small and some are big. It is no different today.

Monday I had enormous energy and positive outlook. I got a lot accomplished.

Tuesday I had a red eye and […]

22 Apr 2009

Big Enough

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:37-06:00April 22nd, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

Some companies will never be big enough. Some companies are too small. Very few companies are just the right size.

The only thing that matters is not your current size, but your ability to bring together a team to deliver a specific product or service to a specific customer at a specific point in time in the future.

The past does not really matter though it can be perceived to be proof of the future by many buyers. But the past is not today, nor is it the future.

The work can be done in-house, contracted out or through a consortium. The quality of […]

21 Apr 2009

Great Customer Service Example

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:42-06:00April 21st, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership|

This morning I woke up with a very red and irritated left eye and decided to work from home. After lunch I realized it wasn't getting any better, so I decided to head off to the doctor.

Now I live between Okotoks and Calgary so I decided to head south to the Calgary Health Region's "Okotoks Health and Wellness Centre".

Now I always find it interesting how different a town is from a city, even when they are 15 minutes apart. We've normally found people in customer service to be just a little more friendly, genuine and less rushed (pound for pound) in […]

20 Apr 2009

A New Beginning – Day One

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:30:58-06:00April 20th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|

We made the big announcement to our staff today. Hanif is now the Manager, Consulting Services and I am focusing on business development. He has a great team supporting him so I am not worried about letting go… really.

In reality most of the team is still doing what they did the day before and I am still here too.

But, it's like rearranging the furniture at home; a change brings something fresh and new to the room and its residents.

With my new found energy I tackled some architecture issues with one of my senior developers for one of the products we […]

17 Apr 2009

Letting Go and Growing

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-04T16:55:51-06:00April 17th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

It’s funny how reading something about one topic can inspire a Eureka moment in another subject.

As I mentioned prior, I listened to an interview of Barbara Stanny by Andrew Barber-Starkey of ProCoach Success Systems on his web site. Now I am always looking for new stuff to read so I picked up a couple of books, one of them being “Secret’s of Six-Figure Women” (I’ll cover the book itself later).

The gist of the message I read was you need to let go (of your comfort zone) before you can move up the income ladder.

Well on the heels of my […]

25 Mar 2009

Caught a Worm, Gone Phishing?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:32:28-06:00March 25th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Technology|

I was watching the news this evening and lo and behold, Stuart Crawford from BulletproofIT is talking about a worm that is set to wreak havoc worldwide.

Shows you the importance of keeping on top of patches and security best practices.

The three founders of Sunwapta Solutions (Doug, Al and Glen) all came from an enterprise technical support background at a big information technology (IT) consulting firm (that just got bought by HP).

From day one we have tried to run our own IT like we are a big company. We take it seriously. That doesn't guarantee anything, but it does […]

20 Mar 2009

Spring is for Growth

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-04T16:37:58-06:00March 20th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Tomorrow is the first day of spring. For some it is also the first day of a new calendar year.

Here in Canada, where the winter is long, spring is a time of renewal and the beginning of a period of growth.

There is a tradition of New Year’s resolutions as we move into the beginning of January. However, with the longer days and renewed energy of spring, perhaps more people should be seeing this time of the year as one of personal commitment and growth.

This year in particular has been a colder than normal winter, both in terms of weather and in terms of […]

17 Mar 2009

Evolution of Self

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T12:32:42-06:00March 17th, 2009|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

We start off life focused on self. We have basic needs and as long as they are met we are relatively happy.

As we get a little older, we become aware of others. Not just as things we interact with, but as individuals with their own sense of self. We develop some sense of sharing and a sense of competition.

The high-end of athletics is a prime example self and competition taken to its extreme conclusion. The goal is to prove you are the best, or are at least on the best team, and have the world acknowledge your worth.

As some people […]