Business Strategy Archives – Page 8 of 38

20 Nov 2014

Why Lack of Clarity On Your Vision Will Get You What You DON’T Want

By Guest|2017-04-12T12:39:22-06:00November 20th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Manifast|

You are driving down a country road in the foggy, wintry weather with no map, no GPS and no compass. You reach a crossroads. Do you go straight? Do you turn left or right? Do you drive fast or slow?

In this post by our very special guest, Dixie Gillaspie, she shows us the value in not driving your business blind.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

By Dixie Gillaspie

In my “former life” of business consulting, we talked […]

3 Nov 2014

3 Entrepreneurial Skills I Learned From Basic Officer Training

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:18:49-06:00November 3rd, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, The Good Men Project|

"He never guessed that following his father’s wishes would set him up for the life he loved best – being an entrepreneur."

My high school graduation experience culminated in me losing my long hair and getting paid to get screamed at all summer.

To be honest, I didn’t choose the military on my own.

Basic training was a culture shock. There are plenty of movies that show what it is like. You don’t get to eat popcorn when you are in it.

My father told me that he wasn’t paying for my university and I would have to get a job. Since he was […]

28 Oct 2014

Stop Jumping To Solutions – Why Listening Like a Man Is Killing Your Sales

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-11T13:04:35-06:00October 28th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales, The Good Men Project|

“8 Keys to breaking this habit and improving your sales (and your love life).”

Working on the business man strategy

Sometimes plans don’t unfold as you intended.

An explosion, an underground fire, and a five-day power outage in Calgary recently conspired to alter events for me. Rather than following my intended schedule, I got a chance to conduct some off-site sales training for a couple of days.

And I learned something about yet another male stereotype. We were doing some group role playing around asking […]

16 Oct 2014

The Big Chicken Strategy Will Grow Your Business

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T12:35:12-06:00October 16th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership|

Chickens are much bigger today than they were 60 years ago.

At first you might think chicken farmers cheated with growth hormones or that they were genetically modified in a lab. That was my initial guess.

According to this study published in the Poultry Science Journal, even after adjusting for chemical cheating, chickens got this this way mostly through selective breeding, a fast reproduction cycle, and genes that reinforce selective breeding.

Farmers only let the biggest hens and roosters produce chicks. When […]

29 Sep 2014

5 Reasons You Need to Have a Red Ferrari To Sell

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:19:27-06:00September 29th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|

Man Looking at Small Red Sports Car 4569562_s "Because stereotypes and sloppy thinking can be the death of any salesman."

My latest post on The Good Men Project. Two very common sales mistakes are fed by the way our brains latch onto stereotypes.

Learn how to use it to your sales advantage instead.

5 Reasons You Need to Have a Red Ferrari To Sell

23 Sep 2014

Leading When You Really Just Want to Cry

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:19:39-06:00September 23rd, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

Leading When You Want to Cry - Alt 1
"Business owner Doug Wagner didn’t expect to learn 3 important lessons of leadership from grieving the loss of his best friend. But that’s exactly what happened."

My latest business article on the Good Men Project. Brought back some tough emotions but the leadership lessons are too important not to share.

Leading When You Really Just Want to Cry

16 Sep 2014

Trust is the Real Success Accelerator

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T13:03:09-06:00September 16th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Manifast, Sales|

“All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know like and trust.” Bob Burg and John David Mann – The Go-Giver

At first glance the Go-Giver is a book about sales.

I agree. Following The 5 Laws will help you sell more.

The Laws apply to life and business as well.

Because they are largely about being human, building relationships and putting the interests of others first while being open to receiving.

We are focused on Joe and how his story relates to us.

But there is another […]

9 Sep 2014

Free Agents: Creating Culture Consciously

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:19:55-06:00September 9th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Dream Teams|

Last week I was presenting the first of our newly launched Manifast Now webinar series and the topic was “7 Reasons 90% of Strategic Plans Never Get Implemented (And What To Do About It)”.

A really good question was asked about getting people engaged in the business culture when they are not employees.

Real estate agents sold home with keys

Essentially, the question came from a person running a real estate brokerage where the agents are considered “independent”. She wants to build an […]

8 Aug 2014

3 Key Business Lessons From DIY Projects

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:20:14-06:00August 8th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Manifast|

The Home DIY Project

At our last house I built a big cedar pergola on our wooden (untreated spruce) 2×4 deck we inherited. I made the pergola only using screws and bolts (no nails) in case I ever needed to repair it. Just prior I had stained the deck with 5 year deck stain. I figured it would last at least 3 years.

The Finished Project

I was wrong.

It started […]

6 Aug 2014

Change Your Focus to Client Value

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T13:01:47-06:00August 6th, 2014|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Sales|

Maybe you just lost a big client or didn’t win a big proposal. Maybe you are just getting going in your business.

What is the first reaction when you have a cash flow shortage in your business?

If you are like 99% of people your first reaction is “I need more money, fast. How do I quickly get more money?”

You’ve now shifted the focus to you.

Not your client.

I recently caught myself thinking something like this. “How do I make another $10,000 dollars per month?”

If you go to try and sell something in this frame of mind, it will probably not go well. […]