RPCN’s Entrepreneurs Wall Of Fame Event, May 15, 2024!

We are celebrating the long-awaited return of our annual awards event. To kick off this celebration, we ask each of you to become aware of our five core awards and their purpose by clicking on our Award Nomination Form. We believe as you read those descriptions, someone you know will come to mind. Give your client or business connection a chance to be recognized by completing the form as directed.

Notice that four of these awards are focused on celebrating anyone who has added significantly to their company or our greater community. Only one award is for an RPCN member. 

We want the business community to know about those who are working diligently to make our area a place for growth and opportunity. Please participate and help us recognize those that you appreciate by clicking on our Award Nomination Form.

Become a Sponsor!

As part of this celebration, we provide a way for you to support the event and the RPCN mission through advertising in the Event Program.

• Promote your business to an enthusiastic audience of attendees who appreciate that there are people like you who want to ensure that people who bring something special to our area do not go unrecognized.
• For more information and options, please reach out to Tom Fecteau at tfecteau@epicventuresgroup.net .

Thank you for all that you do.

Meditation – Should This be a New Habit for 2024?

Meditation is an exercise to increase focus and reduce stress. Wikipedia describes it as, “Meditation is a practice of mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to train attention and awareness and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.”

I was first made aware of meditation practices about 45 years ago by a crazy Ph.D. grad student who was tutoring me in chemistry. I was complaining about college life and all the distractions outside trying to remember chemical bonds and equations. He told me it was a matter of focus and that I should practice meditating to improve my concentration. He gave me a small pamphlet book on Transcendental Meditation and guided me on the initial exercises. I was very skeptical but gave it a try since he was straight A student in engineering with a double major while being a leader in several campus clubs. The bottom line is it did work to my surprise. It never became a consistent habit though.

Reading various books on very successful people, the common thread is they all do some form of meditation on a daily basis. I practiced Tai Chi for a while which is a moving form of meditative exercises that reduce stress.

The most basic meditative exercise focuses on nothing but breathing in and out. An additional exercise may include not letting your mind wander by focusing on a single object or image held in your mind.

Meditation is practicing concentration and relaxing at the same time. It may take practice to perform this over a prolonged period of time, so be patient with yourself.

There are many forms of meditation exercises and information on how and why it works. Find the right one for you and start practicing.

The benefits to meditation are:

• Increased focus and concentration
• An increase in creativity
• An increase in learning ability and  the power of observation and awareness
• An increase  in your ability to recall information
• An increase in your happiness

Subsequently, meditation may reduce depression, stress, and anxiety, and improve your overall state of health. The benefits definitely outweigh the work involved in developing the practice of meditation. Give it a try!

—Mark Fling, RPSN President

Networking Pest or Best? Which are you?

Have you ever met a “networking pest” who ranted on and on about what they’re selling? Did they tell you how great they were while handing you a brochure and business card? I’ll bet you couldn’t get away fast enough and proceeded to dump it all in the trash.

A pest uses the “It’s all about ME” networking style, but that’s not for you. To be a “Networking Best,” try this approach.

Six Steps to Non-Pest Networking

1. Adopt the mindset: “It’s all about THEM,” not about you.
2. Ask, don’t sell. Discover their situation and their needs without talking about your business.
3. Think how you might help them, aside from your business.
4. Start helping them. Give referrals, advice, and so on.
5. When they ask about what you do (ideally after completing steps 1- 4), tell them about the value of your business. If it fits, connect your value to their needs. Conclude your conversation with “Here’s my card,” either in hardcopy or in a text. Tell them, “Let’s talk more if you have questions or want to further discuss your needs. Let’s connect on LinkedIn.”
6. Follow up promptly (e.g., a formal LinkedIn invitation to connect, a phone call, a text, or an e-mail). Always remind them where you met.   

Adapt these networking steps to in-person and online meetings. Make your goal to build relationships, not to “sell.” Become a “Networking Best” and you won’t be a “pest.”

—Bob Lurz

Member News

Business Coach and Author Takes Local Sales Group to the National Level
Sales Club USA Aims to Help Sales Leaders Become More Competitive

Denise Horan, a Capital Region New York-based sales consultant and coach, expands her local sales club to a national audience, calling it Sales Club USA. After fully being launched in late 2023, the national sales community includes events like conferences, interactive workshops, and presentations. Group members enjoy access to articles, videos, interactive content, and live events to improve their business skills.

The decision to expand her group nationally came shortly after publishing her book in 2021 titled, “Stories from the Sales Field: Navigating a Sales Career in a Post-Pandemic World.” The book is a culmination of Horan’s 30 years of experience training sales professionals.

Launching the book and its success was the proof she needed to expand her business activities and reach more professionals. Over the years, she has helped companies grow their sales teams and increase revenues. Horan’s local sales group was a vehicle for helping others further their careers and businesses.

“I am personally celebrating my 25th year in business. After some self-reflection, I am making some big changes this year. I focus on personal sales and business development skills for entrepreneurs, lawyers, wealth advisors, and sales professionals. I launched this sales platform – a community where sales and business development people can come to collaborate, gather resources for self-development, join a club, and attend a workshop. There will be great speakers and events each month. The online aspect allows me to expand nationwide and use all the new tools to attract attention and help those looking to build their businesses,” said Denise Horan, founder of Sales Club USA.

Enhancing Human Capital^TM (EHC^TM)
Lunch-n-Learn Updates

Last Month's Lunch-n-Learn

The EHC^TM Team held a good discussion on March 21, 2024, regarding Enhancing One’s Human Capital. Human capital is described as the collection of skills, knowledge, well-being, experience, and education that a person possesses. Participants were asked to compare their human capital to an investment account which grows with the accumulation of new skills, experience gained from education and training experiences, and various work-related positions that force us to add new skills.  We learned that employees who had many roles in their work lifetime generally improved their earning capacity by 40% as opposed to 30% for those with only one or two roles. Much discussion was centered around acquiring interpersonal and leadership skills in addition to education and formal training.

Upcoming Lunch-n-Learn:
April 18th, 2024
Leadership’s Role in Enhancing Human Capital
Facilitated by Dave Bassett

April’s topic is Leadership's Role in Enhancing Human Capital. Some people say that you should enhance the human capital of those around you and those you lead.  It sounds like a great goal but how does a leader actually accomplish it?  There have literally been hundreds, if not thousands, of books on just that subject although it's rarely stated that way.  Please join us on April 18th as we take a deep dive into some of the key concepts of leadership experts like the Coveys and General Robert W. Mixon, Jr.

RPCN’s Enhancing Human Capital^TM Lunch-n-Learns are held via Zoom on the third Thursday of every month, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm ET. Please join us for the next event FREE of charge. To get more information about EHC,^TM please see https://RochesterConsultants.org/EHC , or email the EHC team.