“PRESENTED at the ENTREPRENEUR MEETUP SERIES”
WPU FOR POSTS
I enjoyed the opportunity to speak at the Passaic County Entrepreneurs Meetup Series at William Paterson University Cotsakos College of Business. This is a monthly event designed to bring together local entrepreneurs, small business owners, and innovators to connect, share, and grow together.
I presented “Customer Engagement and Sales: Rethinking What Selling Is,” a session designed to help attendees reframe their perspective on selling and build greater confidence and comfort in a sales role. Participants gained actionable takeaways for engaging customers, effectively presenting products and services, and increasing sales. The session also explored how creating a positive customer experience across every touchpoint can contribute to business growth.
Thank you Dr. Sarbjeet Singh Rayat, Director of the Center for Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship and Innovation at William Paterson University, Melissa Rosario, Regional Director, The New Jersey Small Business Development Center at WPUNJ, and Giancarlo Di Lonardo, Economic Development Director, City of Passaic for inviting me.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Entrepreneurs MeetUp, or exploring a customized presentation for your organization or business, please feel free to contact me.
“What Do You Think About These Customer Engagement Beliefs?”
When I recently participated in a symposium on AI for university students, I shared that while AI knowledge and technical skills are increasingly important, employers also value cognitive and behavioral skills. These include critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, interpersonal effectiveness and teamwork.
That conversation reminded me of a few principles from my “Customer Engagement and Sales Beliefs” that reflect additional essential competencies:
- Every customer contact is an opportunity to make a positive impression to gain and keep a customer
- Whether our role is customer-facing or not, most of us contribute to customer engagement, business growth, or sales in some way
- Customer engagement and sales are one integrated process
- Building relationships and driving sales are interconnected activities
- Effective customer engagement is a core value and way of behaving for the entire organization
- Effectively engaging customers is personal choice and ownership
What do you think? Have you seen any of these beliefs show up in your own work or experiences?
If you’re interested in continuing this conversation, give me a call. We can help you with the following.
- Shift mindsets and comfort levels around business development and sales
- Implement a common narrative for customer engagement among all employees
- Enable employees to understand and embrace their role in contributing to business growth
“AraMgt’s 5Element™ Managing Change Model”
Employees often respond to organizational change with a spectrum of emotions and behaviors. Some embrace change with a sense of enthusiasm, optimism, and curiosity for potential gain. Others may feel uncertain, resistant, or even a sense of fear and loss of control.
AraMgt’s 5Element™ Managing Change Model is designed to assist organizations effectively ease transition and improve overall outcomes.
- Plan: Develop a clear roadmap for change.
- Inform: Communicate the vision and expectations.
- Involve: Engage employees in the process.
- Coach: Provide support and guidance.
- Understand: Assess impact and respond to concerns.
Does this resonate with you? I’d be interested to hear how this compares to what you’ve seen in practice…what has worked( or not worked)?
“Great Evening as a Panelist for Felician University’s 15th Annual Business Symposium 2026 The AI Factor”
I appreciated the opportunity to be a panelist at Felician University’s 15th Annual Business Symposium 2026 on “The AI Factor”. My discussion explored how organizations are integrating the technology and potential impact for the workforce. I addressed the audience questions on entering and navigating the AI-driven economy, valuable skills and behaviors, and strategies for managing and advancing their careers in an AI-enabled world.
Thank you Michael Omansky, Assoc. Prof. of the School of Business and Information Science, for inviting me to join other panelists Fred Munao, President of Select Records and Anthony J. Scardino, Assoc. Dean of Graduate Programs, SOBIS, and moderators Selma Jasarevic, Assoc. Dir. of Admissions, and Fanny Johnson, Assist. Dir. of ABSN Enrollment.
AI Adoption: A Change Management Blueprint
The process of introducing AI at your organization conceptually mirrors your past experience implementing technology or operational change in how you do business. During COVID we integrated virtual meeting platforms into employee and client communications. Using business intelligence systems to manage customer relations and develop strategy are now everyday practices.
There’s understandable concern about how AI might affect education, career choices, and the workforce. These changes are real—some roles will evolve, and others may disappear. Two core components of successful adoption are management taking an active leadership role and employee buy-in which are reflected in the following 5 elements:
- Justify and quantify reasons for change
- Select the stakeholder team
- Create and communicate the vision & solution plan including examples of AI applications
- Evaluate resistance and support for change
- Assess talent and training needs for new skill acquisition