sales Archives – Sunwapta Solutions

7 Oct 2024

Planning Tips to Avoid the eCommerce Iceberg

By Doug Wagner|2024-10-07T17:26:07-06:00October 7th, 2024|Categories: Business Strategy, eCommerce, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business advice, business growth, Business Planning, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, eCommerce, Inventory, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

Implementing eCommerce at scale is not for the faint of heart. Yet, with some good eCommerce planning it can be done in phases and reduce both stress and risk.

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Once you attempt to scale any part of the business, you must make that part of the process more efficient. Once you do, you will inevitably find that some other part of your business becomes the limiting factor.

This moving bottleneck problem is true for eCommerce as well.

eCommerce Bottlenecks

Suppose you have a decent retail component […]

16 May 2021

Lessons in Business – Communicating 21 Years of Quiet Success

By Doug Wagner|2021-05-16T19:35:54-06:00May 16th, 2021|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, advice, Brand Strategy, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, marketing, Marketing Strategy, sales, small business, success, Working on the Business|

What do you say when someone says, “So, what does your business do?” Communicating what success looks like for your customers is key.

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We don’t sell anything popular like pizza or chocolate. We aren’t spies or secret agents. Or superheroes who wear capes.

For almost 21 years, we’ve run a software and business consulting company that quietly serves other businesses.

This line of business is not as glamourous and sexy as it sounds. Really.

It is complex.

How Communicating Usually Works

Unlike financial planners, real estate […]

2 Jul 2019

19 Years – Our Big Mistakes Are Your Powerful Lessons

By Doug Wagner|2020-05-28T18:45:40-06:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: business, business advice, Business Culture, Business Performance, Business Planning, business strategy, Corporate Culture, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship lessons, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, strategy|

A little over 19 years ago, my two business partners and I set off on the entrepreneurial journey that became Sunwapta Solutions. Over the years, we’ve had some successes, made some (costly) mistakes, and sometimes learned a few things.

People typically don’t learn much from easy success, aside from a false sense of security and overconfidence. Nor do they believe they will make the same mistakes you did – until they do.

I can’t prevent you from making any mistakes. Nor […]

22 Dec 2017

A Year of Reflections and Shining a Light on 2018

By Doug Wagner|2017-12-22T21:13:37-07:00December 22nd, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Software Development|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Clients, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, innovation, innovation engine, Lead Generation, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, revenue engine, sales, sales enablement, sales process, small business, software development, strategy, success, Tax Checklist, workflow, Working on the Business|

Reflecting back over the last year, we’ve seen a number of local businesses close their doors and countless more struggle. It hasn’t been an easy year for us either.

Through tough times come some of the most valuable business lessons. The biggest one is to avoid facing tough times whenever you can. In my opinion, it is far better to be struggling with growth challenges.

Part of being in business for 17 years is making […]

28 Nov 2017

Prospecting Is the Heart of Your Closing Problems

By Doug Wagner|2017-11-28T15:57:49-07:00November 28th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Sales|Tags: adding value, business, business advice, business success, Closing, Closing Sales, Creating Value, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Fanatical Prospecting, Jeb Blount, Lead Generation, marketing, Prospecting, sales, sales process, smarketing, Working on the Business|

Last month you had a healthy looking pipeline. So healthy you stopped actively prospecting and had to focus on meeting prospects, analyzing needs, and moving people through the funnel.

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Now you are working on three to five hot prospects that just won’t close.

They were super excited at first. Now your leads won’t return your calls and emails go unanswered. You’ve even tried contacting other people in the organization to figure […]

18 Oct 2017

80/20 David and Goliath: The Power of Ideal Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-10-18T17:15:20-06:00October 18th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|Tags: 80/20 rule, Big Fish in Small Pond, Brand Strategy, business strategy, Clients, Customer Acquisition, David and Goliath, Entrepreneurship, Go-Giver, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, Lead Generation, Malcolm Gladwell, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Perfect Client, sales, small business|

Your prospects naturally compare your business to what they perceive as your competition. If you want to get leads and acquire customers efficiently, you have to choose your market and ideal clients carefully.

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It turns out how we feel about our achievements is relative to how we measure ourselves. How we perform in the future, is impacted by how we relate to the results of the measurement.

Harvard or MIT

If you graduate at the top […]

18 Sep 2017

How to Avoid Setting Your New Salesperson Up For Failure

By Doug Wagner|2017-09-19T12:25:35-06:00September 18th, 2017|Categories: Marketing, Oilfield Pulse, Sales, Working on the Business|Tags: business, business growth, business strategy, business success, CRM, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, inbound marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing and Sales, Marketing Strategy, Oilfield Hub, Oilfield Pulse, sales, sales process, Sales Teams, small business, small business owner, smarketing, Steps of the Sale, Working on the Business|

As you grow your business and hire a new salesperson, you are likely leaving money on the table. Are you making one or more of these mistakes and setting your team up for failure?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve met several people who were hired to work […]

25 Jul 2017

Does Your Business Deserve the Marketing Results You Want?

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-26T20:06:46-06:00July 25th, 2017|Categories: Branding, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Oilfield Pulse|Tags: Brand Strategy, business advice, Business Culture, business strategy, Convert Leads, Creating Value, Customer Acquisition, Entrepreneurship, inbound marketing, Lead Conversion, Lead Generation, marketing, Marketing and Sales, Marketing Results, Marketing Services, Marketing Strategy, Oil and Gas Industry, Oilfield Hub, Oilfield Pulse, Online Marketing, sales, Sales Support, small business, smarketing, Social Media Engagement, Systems and Processes, Working on the Business|

Are you holding both the business and your marketing team accountable for marketing results? Wise business leaders understand that effective marketing amplifies the message the company is already putting out – the two must be in sync.

Know What You Control

Three things that you control determine your perceived position in the market include your

Business strategy and how well you execute on it,
Company culture and the people who make that culture, and
Business processes and […]

11 Jul 2017

5 Powerful Moments on the Path to Get More Clients

By Doug Wagner|2017-07-12T16:20:31-06:00July 11th, 2017|Categories: Doug's Blog, Go-Giver Coach, HubSpot Agency Partner, Marketing, Sales|Tags: adding value, Bill Ellis, Bob Burg, business, business advice, business strategy, business success, Certified Go-Giver Coach, Chet Holmes, Clients, Dan Tyre, digital marketing, Dixie Gillaspie, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Get More Clients, HubSpot, HubSpot Agency Partner, Ideal Client, Ideal Clients, inbound marketing, Inbound Prospecting, inbound sales, John David Mann, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Perfect Client, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, The Go-Giver, The Ultimate Sales Machine, Working on the Business|

Most small businesses start with someone who has an innovative idea, or at least the desire to build a business around what they do. In most cases, these entrepreneurs fall into sales out of necessity. You either figure out how to get more clients, or you fail.

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Our story started this way. Early successes led us to underestimate the power of mastering marketing and sales, both the skills and the […]

15 Jun 2017

Be Interesting – How to Win Leads at Trade Shows

By Doug Wagner|2017-06-16T19:08:29-06:00June 15th, 2017|Categories: Branding, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|Tags: AI, Brand Strategy, business, business strategy, Creative, Drones, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, geomatics, Green Technology, innovation, Interesting, Lead Generation, Logistics, marketing, Networking, O&G, Oil and Gas, Online Marketing, Robotics, sales, small business, success, Trade Show, Win Leads, Working on the Business|

Most businesses seem to hit trade shows as if they are a necessary evil for lead generation. They do what is needed, but don’t try to stand out. At a time when budgets are tight and trade show attendance is dropping, is this approach wise?

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As I was walking through the Global Petroleum Show here in Calgary on Tuesday, I was struck by a few insights.

Fitting In – The 80/20 Rule

The […]