One Up Club

It's 2023, it's no longer acceptable to suffer in silence.

If you're not getting the support you need from your company, manager, team, friends or family, we're here for you. It's not easy winning in the sales profession today, but let's make it easier by answering those tough questions / scenarios that will make your quarter.

This is the resource I WISH I had

Get a sales expert to answer your question by calling Sales Support at +1 (303) 578-8581

Team of Ten

Alignd

“Pipeline is down 40-80% YoY”

So what do you do about it?

If you don’t fix it… you’ll have to cut headcount, reduce techstack, push off growth initiatives or give up your bonus.

OR 

you could re-align your sales & marketing teams to earn buyers

Experimenting to find your competitive advantage in the way you build lists + prioritize accounts, deliver prospect experiences & enable champions to get back that pipeline you lost

We start with an assessment to find the quick wins to fuel the change & workshop solutions together to find the best way to make that 2 year strategy a reality.

Ready to win back pipeline?

Shoot me a DM or visit our website to learn more

We offer:
1 Assessments - Align your team, buyers and shareholders to create consistent growth
2 Workshop series - ABSD & Social selling
3 Multi-year GTM services

We start with a strategy call to see if it's a smart investment (ROI + Risk)

Managing Partner

B2B Power Hour

We help sales and marketing professionals thrive in a world dominated by outdated playbooks and old-school tactics.

Learn new skills & strategies

Each Friday, we go live at 9AM PST / 12pm EST

Co Host

HYPCCCYCL

HYPCCCYCL is an invite-only, professional community where top B2B revenue leaders cross-train their GTM skills with VCs.

Brand Ambassador

KO Advantage Group

Marketing & Partnerships Manager

Community Engagement Manager

Sales Unicorn

I want children to tell their parents they want to be salespeople and for them to be proud!

I see a day when Sales Unicorn makes sales a highly sought after profession by:

1) Educating salespeople to a higher industry standard
2) Providing consistent & above average income to support their growth
3) Partner with great companies for them to work with
4) Nurture their ongoing develop to create highly sought after sales unicorns

That's something I feel is worth fighting for!

Co-Founder + COO

GROE Business Development

At GROE, I lead the business development and growth of service companies with $1M+ revenue.

-Structuring innovative and creative solutions to complex business issues
-Originating, developing, validating, qualifying, and closing sales opportunities
-Conduct analysis to address critical business issues and generate insights about client and industry business performance improvement
-Build a team and provide leadership and support including performance management and coaching.
-Engaging and influencing key stakeholders to ensuring initiatives are implemented
-Responsible for overall account management, account growth, and leadership of cross-functional teams

Chief of Growth | Innovation + Strategy

JCI (Junior Chamber International)

I built relationships with engineers, accountants, lawyers, bankers, IT, financial advisers, architects, and other young professionals (18-40) in Calgary looking to advance their career and have a positive impact on the community.

My specialty was working with each individual to align them with the right resources and help them get the most of what JCI has to offer.

Director of Membership | Community Builder

Prairie Advisory Corp.

At Prairie, I Built long-standing relationships with oil and gas, environmental, industrial, and construction companies across Canada (Mid-market $10M - 100M revenue) which cultivated a strong sales pipeline of Qualified Mergers & Acquisition leads of $10,000,000+ revenue and $1,000,000+ EBITDA

I was leading the business development activities of the team including prospecting activities, preparation of teasers and proposals, building relationships with existing and target clients, and establishing a network of professional colleagues.

Coordinating and executing buy-side and sell-side due diligence process in order to ensure timely completion of financial models, valuations, and integration planning.

Preparing and reviewing detailed financial analysis to illustrate key business drivers and performance indicators;

Assisting in executing all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, turnarounds, and financing from inception through due diligence, valuation, negation, closing, and integration. Leading and facilitating post-integration analysis.

📍 It was at Prairie that I first started developing my sales + customer service methodology. 

I was required to make 100+ cold calls a day to earn my salary but it was highly ineffective and mentally draining... I started a combination approach of researching on LinkedIn and approaching with specific proposals (email, warm call, and LinkedIn personalized connection requests) which opened the door to long-lasting relationships.

Companies struggled to build a diverse and loyal customer base which created the opportunity to work with GROE Business Development

Associate | Mid-Market M&A Advisory

HD Energy and Investments

At HD, I worked with and supported portfolio companies, including attending board meetings and monitoring performance to ensure returns and strategic objectives were achieved

📍 We built profitable startups by thorough go-to-market strategy, leveraging a collaborative work style, creative problem-solving ability, and the lean startup methodology.

We could validate the business opportunity (in Oil and Gas, and Construction sectors), establish an investment case, and structure and negotiate terms for potential investments with limited resources.

My challenge was developing a complete understanding of an emerging company by evaluating its market opportunity, competition, product/service, sales and growth, operations, financial statements and projections, human capital, equity needs, and capital structure.

📍 Maintaining great relationships with my entrepreneurs, our technical team and the different financial institutions was key!

I had a unique experience of managing a separate portfolio that invested in public shares while building our portfolio companies. Annual reports offer a different perspective on market trends, strategic planning and operations than the Startups in our portfolio.

📍 Strategic Planning is a POWERFUL process

The different approaches to strategic planning such as SWOT Analysis, Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard, Scaling Up (One Page Strategic Plan), PEST, and Blue Ocean created a dynamic hands on experience. Managing the execution is where most companies failed… you can’t take a static approach. You have to constantly pivot, re-evaluate and drive forward!

We created 3 profitable businesses that generated over $1M in revenue and the new relationships opened doors in Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory at Prairie Advisory ☝️

General Manager | Portfolio Management | Go-To-Market Strategy

Exploring (& challenging) the future of sales 🤖 | Social Selling & GTM Strategy | 🎙 Host @ B2B Power Hour

How do you succeed in sales & not kill yourself in the process?

This is the question that consumed me as I was fighting for my life in the hospital...

I had wore my burnout as a badge of honor until it literally almost killed me. But yet, all I could think about is how sales was the only profession that I felt appreciated (& I loved the thrill of the hunt!)

That little question turned into over 5 years of research and evolved into:

What are the most effective ways to build pipeline based on testing in the trenches?

No more theory...
I wanted to know what actually works

I started looking into which sellers at the top had a thriving life outside of work. Family, friends, hobbies & so much more than just the endless hustle…

It didn’t take long to realize top sellers were taking marketing into their own hands to:
1) create content
2) engage on social media
3) host virtual events / podcasts
4) All while earning credibility at scale!

So… it was time to learn copywriting

I joined a copywriting course through Seth Godin's Akimbo & met this dynamic marketer that wanted to learn more about sales (Morgan Smith)

I was teasing him about the misalignment between sales & marketing

Which turned into more than talk... we started running weekly experiments together to validate every process, framework & tool we could find

But now we needed a place to share!

That's where the B2B Power Hour was born

We shared our experiments on social selling, ABSD, cold email, AI, SEP's, Async video, virtual events, gifting & SO MUCH MORE in our shows to help sellers win in this digital environment.

It didn’t take long until we found clear winners

AND those new skills/frameworks/technology were in high demand due to COVID. We were getting 100's DM's a week to train sales teams what we learned

One workshop turned into a series…

Which evolved into multi-year contracts building legacy Co’s modern GTM strategies

That's when Alignd GTM was born!

AND we were working with the companies I dreamed about as a kid!
 
DM me to:
🎙️Get on the podcast (B2B Power Hour)
📅Schedule a strategy session
📢Book me to speak at your SKO
 
Outside of work:
🍻 I’m a competitive home brewer, ask me about it!
🎧 Audiophile that’s exploring the world of broadcasting & content creation
🪵 Hobby woodworker
🤖 Tech Nerd that’s beta testing the world’s cutting edge software & hardware (AI?)

nicholas thickett

Pagoda Systems 

A friend of mine asked me what can go wrong with ERP implementation, and I instantly burst out laughing.

Not because it was a funny question,

but because I have a list of 100+ things that can go wrong with ERP implementation.

It all starts with setting the right expectations.

For a start, you should expect that:

-People won’t be happy if you give them an extra project on top of their work.

-Making your ERP work FOR EVERYONE from Finance to Sales is far from easy.

-A new ERP won’t solve all your business problems.

-Vendors don’t always work in your best interest.

-Data migration can be a tough nut to crack.

-You should expect challenges, hiccups & delays.

And the list goes on.

So, whenever I work on an implementation, I always follow this 3-Step Process:

1. Review the current state of the project, goals, scope, plan, budget, and team.

My goal here is to:
-Ensure everybody’s aligned & working towards the right solution for YOU.
-Check the work they had delivered so far.
-Identify all the challenges they're facing.

2. Once everyone is aligned and the problems are identified, I provide each team with a fool-proof, easy to follow roadmap.

3. Finally, I step into the ERP Advisor role, and provide all the oversight needed to ensure your ERP goes live on time, in budget, without any unexpected problems.

As challenges are expected, when they do occur my team and I are ready.

That means you can sleep safely at night knowing you have someone on hand that can eliminate all the risks involved with the implementation process.

So, if you want to be one of the lucky 30% whose ERP system actually does what it should, without a bloated budget & constantly extending your timeline ¬– 

it’s time we talk.

ERP Business Analyst, Project Manager

Funko

One of the hardest parts of ERP implementation is Data Conversion.

Get that wrong, and the whole project goes up in flames.

When I started at Funko I was given ONE goal -

get the Data Conversion back on track.

But there were a couple of problems:

•	No clear stakeholders for each deliverable.
•	A big chunk of the development wasn’t completed.
•	No one was assigned to the project full time.
•	The data validation had never been done.
•	The rest of the project was being held up.

If it couldn’t be fixed, then the project was at risk of being cancelled.

And that’s when another challenge appeared:

I had to work 100% remotely, and rely on video calls with multiple teams, each of which hid behind avatars - meaning I had no clue who anyone was.

All this made things extra complicated.

At times it seemed completely hopeless.

But thankfully, by taking the time to align the team on how to approach the problem, a good ol' time management & a clear roadmap, it was doable.

We started by breaking the data conversion into clearly defined smaller tasks. 

This made it easier for everyone to fit in alongside their fulltime job.

Then we appointed backfills in case someone failed to complete a task on time.

Eventually, we kept meetings to a minimum & worked directly with the tech team to overcome problems as they occurred.

As a result, a successful mock conversion with all the developments was completed & validated by the stakeholders.

I later found that my leadership had resulted in an improved method of Data Conversion, that performed way BETTER than the company had hoped for.

This meant a lot, because what had started out as the project’s biggest weakness, had become its greatest strength.

ERP Project Manager

Enbridge

Logistics & Supply Chain Management is a major issue with every company.

When that company owns and operates the longest pipeline in North America, if the system fails & materials don’t arrive on time — you could be facing an environmental DISASTER.

The problem is that when you’re implementing an ERP, every Stakeholder has to understand exactly what they need to do, when they need to do it, and how it links into the rest of the company’s operations.

In a company with 400+ different Stakeholders it’s no wonder the main problem was communication.

See, the Business Team had no experience with ERP implementation, creating tons of anxiety that was holding up the supply chain workstream aspect of the Project.

To get things moving again, they needed a guiding hand who could coach them on what to do and build their confidence.

But in large corporations when you solve one problem, there is always another that crops up.

This time it was the end-to-end testing.

The Quality Assurance Team had been left in charge, and they didn’t have anyone with the right knowledge or skillset to lead session testing scenarios.

Faced with the project stalling or stepping up to solve the problem myself, I realized that the best option was to take direct control of the end-to-end testing, and get the project back on track.

That meant coordinating all the sessions between my team (Supply Chain Management), and the others (Finance, Enterprise Asset Management, etc.), while making sure everyone knows what they needed to do, and was working to the same timeline.

It tested all my leadership skills, especially considering the rigid structures you find in Big Corps.

…But it worked.

With 11 end-to-end test scenarios completed, the ERP was in place.

By the time I left Enbridge I had led two successful releases with two go-lives within scope, and with time to spare. 

In both cases the business was using the new  ERP I implemented, and all the Stakeholders where happy with the result.

Shaw Communications

Technical challenges can derail any project, and ERP implementation is no different.

Especially when you’re leading a team that lacks the ERP implementation experience.

Let’s set the scene.

Management bought the best of breed Oracle ERP + Oracle Warehouse Management System (WMS) solution. The challenge was that by that time Oracle has not yet built a native interface between two systems. But the system integrator promised to build a custom interface & ensured that this should be easy…

…but in this case it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

In reality, that meant there was no easy-to-find solution for any of the problems, the architecture was a complete mess, and because no one else had done anything with this system before, you need to solve everything yourself.

By the time I joined the team, the project was already doomed to overrun, and it was too late to advise them on which ERP to choose.

You know, the one with native integration that would make the whole job easier.

Instead, we were stuck with a custom job that no one fully understood, and had to figure out how to make the system work.

Which boiled down to working out what doesn’t work, and what to do with it.

Thankfully, the team around me may have lacked experience, but they more than made up for that in enthusiasm & hard work.

To give you an idea of what we faced, the integration between ERP and WMS was so bad that it took 6 months delay in integration testing, and user acceptance testing to pass.

Even after go live, there were tonnes of problems with integration, but over time the system was stabilized, and the client was happy with using the finalized ERP.

If you take anything from this story, let it be this -

Be careful with the best of breed approach. It can bite you back.

Instead involve an Expert in the early stages who will save you both time & money, and you will end up with the system you actually need.

Federated Co-operatives Limited

Helped my client with JD Edwards implementation in a very complex environment 
Designed interfaces Point of Sale Systems, Mainframe Finance to JDE
Coordinated business SMEs, QAs, JDE developers, Mainframe developers, ESB developers to deliver project items

Business Analyst

Trican Well Service Ltd.

Successfully implemented AX 2012 R2 to 2 legal entities as ERP consultant in SCM area
Provided 2nd and 3rd level support to business users on AP, AR, Project Accounting, Procurement and Sourcing, Inventory and Warehouse Management, Product Information Management, Production Control, Sales and Marketing modules of AX
Access Management and Security: provision, deprovision, maintained roles, duties, privileges

AX Functional Analyst

Husky Energy

Provided 2nd and 3rd level support to Supply Chain Management business users 
Collaborated with Development, Integration, Security, and Basis teams on support tasks
Delivered enhancements, defects in SAP as part of sustainment or project stream

Senior SAP Functional Consultant

The Home Depot

Delivered enhancements, projects to existing SCM solutions in MM and F&R modules 
Gathered business requirements, developed solution design, documented functional specifications
Configured SAP MM, F&R, led developers, tested new functions, deployed solutions
Trained business users, provided post go live production support
Led 2nd level support in offshore as subject matter expert in SAP MM and F&R

NECC Teknology Inc.

Analyzed training needs and developed curriculum according to customer’s requirements
Delivered end-user, consultant training to field students and business users on SAP 
Designed and created training materials, including exercises and data
Troubleshot technical and functional problems to assure high-quality training

SAP Instructor/SAP Support Specialist

Armtek

Successfully implemented SAP Spare Parts Planning Solution according to business requirements 
Collected, documented business requirements and developed solution design
Configured Planning and Materials Management modules, managed customizations 
Carried out FUT, SIT, UAT, prepared manuals, trained super-users 
Implemented SAP BW reports: Sales and Forecasting, Inventory Planning KPI, ABC-analysis

SAP Functional Analyst

Imagine investing $10M+ and 18+ months in your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system…

…only to see it FAIL to go live.

Or even worse, seeing it go live - without the results you wanted.

All that time, effort, and money wasted. 

You’re probably thinking, “It won’t happen to us. We can do it all in-house.”

Which is EXACTLY what I thought when leading my first ERP implementation.

But after 20+ years of managing ERP implementations, let me tell you one thing - it ain't easy.

In fact, I've never seen an ERP implementation go smoothly.

The reason is simple - too many moving parts. You can't master it overnight.
Even the best IT experts will struggle without outside assistance,
and SALES-DRIVEN outside assistance is the only thing that can be WORSE than none at all.

Thousands of companies have learned this the hard way, which led to:

-Losing key clients
-Firing people
-Bankruptcy

After all, 70% of all ERP implementations fail to:

-Meet business requirements,
-Finish on time, or
-Stay within budget.

So, before you can reap the rewards of your new ERP, you need someone whose goal is NOT to sell you the most expensive piece of Software, but to ensure your:

-Team meets all the necessary milestones
-Reasonable scope is delivered
-System is implemented properly
-Project doesn’t go over budget
-Team finishes on time

This is where I step in.

As an Independent Advisor, I worked to align client’s IT team, System Integrator & Sponsors. Now I do it as a system integrator.

First, we make sure everyone knows their role, and knows exactly what your ERP implementation process needs to look like to deliver the results you want.

Next, we apply proven ERP implementation methodology that make sure the deliverables & milestones are completed on time & in budget — all that without compromising business requirements.

As a result, when the system goes live, every stakeholder & user is guaranteed to have a user-friendly ERP leaving them satisfied.

Makes sense?
Great.

Want to learn more how stand behind my offer? - email me at slava.pisanka@pagodasystems.ca

Slava Pisanka

Should work on multiple ERPs or stick to one product?

Here’s an evergreen piece of advice:

It really depends on your personality type.

If you are a generalist, sure. Because it’s hard for you to dig deep into one system for years.

I fall into this category myself.

I worked in SAP for 8 years jumping from one module to another.

Eventually I got bored out of them and then moved to Microsoft Dynamics.

Then to JD Edwards, Oracle, and Odoo.

ERP generalists usually end up working as Business Analysts or Project Managers.

The benefit of having multiple ERPs under your belt is that you can apply for more positions.

The disadvantage is that employers usually ask for 5+ years of experience in a required ERP.

I.e. they look for specialists. And it’s hard to compete with them.

But if you like to focus on certain area and have fun digging deep into that then you are a specialist.

You can work on a particular ERP for decades and become a great expert in it.

Typical career for a specialist is Analyst -> Consultant -> Solution Architect.

The good thing about being an expert in a specific ERP is that the market is tailored to you.

The world needs people like you. Open positions are for you.

The downside is that there are fewer roles that you can fill in. 

To sum up.

Listen to yourself. 

Don’t jump to another ERP if it’s not necessary.

The ERP Guy | SAP, Oracle, Microsoft D365, Odoo | 20+ years in ERP implementation

I knew this project was in trouble on my first week.

The PM kept warning me about the system integrator.

Not once.
Not casually.
Almost every day.

At first, I ignored it.

 I was brought in as a BA/QA contractor - my job was simple:
 crawl the data, prepare conversion, stay out of the drama.

But then the second red flag hit.

We were four months behind schedule,
 and nobody could explain how we’d ever get to go-live.

No plan.
 No urgency.
 Just… silence.

And then came the one that stopped me cold.

The PM started assigning work I knew - from experience - was pointless.

I tried to push back.
 He insisted.
 So I did the work anyway.
Weeks of effort.

And then he complained I took too long.

You know that feeling?

When you realize you’re being set up to fail,
 but you still keep trying to “be professional.”

That was me.

Around that time, I got another contract offer.
 
Better project, better rate.
But I turned it down.

Because my client promised me a six-month extension.

And I wanted to be loyal.
 I wanted to help.
 I didn’t want to be “the consultant who leaves when things get hard.”

Two weeks later, they changed their mind
 and let me go.

No explanation.
 No apology.
 Just… “Thanks, we’re done.”

And I’ll be honest — it hurt.
Not because I lost the contract.
 But because I ignored myself the entire time.
 
Here’s what I learned:

*When you see red flags, don’t wait for the “final confirmation.”
*Loyalty without reciprocity is just self-betrayal.
*If someone doesn’t value your expertise, leave before it costs you more than time.

Consultants are taught to “stick it out,”
 to be the strong ones,
 to fix everything.

But sometimes the smartest thing you can do
 is walk away.

You have a choice: go back to when you were 13 with your current knowledge,
Or get $10M tax free. 

I would take the latter.

Why? 

Because at 13 I was in such a disadvantage that my knowledge would not make a big difference. 

I lived in a small village of less than 2000 population in the middle of nowhere in Kazakhstan. 

My parents were making $10-$30 per month.

We grew cattle to have something to eat.

No computer, no extracurricular activities (except taking care of cows, pigs & chicken).

And now I come with a computer science degree and ERP implementation experience.

What to do with that? 

I would still be bullied in school. 

And then I would still go to university, learn English, get into ERP, immigrate to Canada.

So no. I’ll just keep the cash. Thank you.

What would you choose and why?

As a consultant you need these 3 things to get a contract extension

You got a contract. Yay!

But you need to start working on your extension right away.

1.     The most important thing you need to have is the scope of work

That’s what gives a client a reason to allocate a budget for your work.

You need to learn about it from the decision maker. They guy who approves your cheque.

This brings us to the next point.

2.     Have an internal champion

Most of the time this is the person who hired you.

You should become friends with them.

It’s best if you have an opportunity to meet in person.

Invite them for coffee or lunch. 

They need to engage with you on a personal level.

And now the most important point.

3.     You need to be the most likeable person in a room.

Being good at what to do goes without saying. But you also need to click with your boss and colleagues.

It does not mean that you need to be the heart of the company, tell the jokes and stories.

But here is the working recipe. 

3 don’ts:
·      Don’t interrupt
·      Don’t talk to much – this leaves no room for listening
·      Don’t pretend to be the smartest in a room

4 do’s:
·      Be patient. Don’t get frustrated if people don’t get it quickly.
·      Listen. That’s how you learn about your colleagues and client. 
·      Give compliments. Works like magic. But it’s another topic how to do them right.
·      Personal connection. Invite them for a walk, coffee, lunch.

There you go.

Be strategic and you will get your extension.

What’s the most important skill for an ERP consultant?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

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nicholas thickett

Slava Pisanka

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