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Business Member Spotlight: Preserve at ChampionsGate blends comfort, community, and convenience.

Preserve at ChampionsGate, located at 175 Pintail Lane, ChampionsGate, Florida, 33896, is owned and managed by a team that is devoted to building a community, and they look forward to working with the individuals and businesses that move our county forward. Since their opening, they have already begun moving in residents with whom they look forward to building an exceptional community. Leasing is now well underway, so feel free to stop by anytime Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, or Sunday from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM.

Living at Preserve at ChampionsGate is where you will feel at home in style. With resort-style amenities and upgraded residences with state-of-the-art appliances and finishes, Preserve at ChampionsGate embodies the upscale apartment living experience you deserve. Come home to the ultimate in relaxation, comfort, and style, and rest easy knowing that you are only minutes away from the best restaurants, schools, employers, and retail that ChampionsGate has to offer. They cultivated the ideal mix of resort-quality homes and family-friendly amenities in the heart of ChampionsGate, the foremost upcoming neighborhood in the Orlando metro area. The location is perfect for those who enjoy walkability to the center of town but crave the space to relax and unwind at home.

“We absolutely love our home at Preserve,” said James M. Chinn III, one of the first residents to move-in to Preserve at ChampionsGate. “ChampionsGate itself is a beautiful, intentionally designed community with so much to offer and the luxury experienced specifically at Preserve has made us feel confident in and happy with our choice of joining its growth and diversity.”

ChampionsGate is the best place to live in Central Florida, with exceptional walkability to restaurants, entertainment, major employers and household shopping. This new community offers everything you need to cultivate the upscale lifestyle you deserve. You can even play a round of golf on one of the many resort courses or hone your skills at the spectacular David Leadbetter Golf Academy at the Omni Resort, located just across ChampionsGate Blvd. ChampionsGate also offers top retail, shopping, and entertainment. From Publix and Walgreens to local favorites like 4 Corners Tavern and First Watch, Downtown ChampionsGate is the perfect place to cruise around with Preserve’s complimentary bike rentals and enjoy an afternoon in the sun or a night out with friends and family.

And if you would rather stay home for some fun, they have you covered with amazing amenities that make home feel like a vacation! Wake up and enjoy an invigorating workout in their state-of-the-art fitness center or swim some laps in the pool before going to work. Connect with family and friends in one of their engaging amenity spaces, like the clubroom, over a game of shuffleboard or ping pong. When it’s time to focus, head over to their coworking lounge for some peace and quiet. As the sun sets, make your way to their outdoor bar and grill area to enjoy a glass of wine at dusk and don’t forget to give your four-legged friends some exercise in the dog park before calling it a night.

Preserve at ChampionsGate is now offering spectacular move-in specials right now! These specials are subject to change, though, so make sure to stop by soon.

Business Member Spotlight: Mantis Shrimp Consulting helps businesses grow with bold, creative strategy.

If you could have a training for your team or group that was interactive, engaging, and fun, even on topics that may be tedious or detail-oriented and even boring, would you?  If you could add programming to your business or event schedule that individuals would be talking about for months or years later, would that be interesting to you?

Mantis Shrimp Consulting is available to work with you on the design and delivery of memorable, exciting programming.  They have conducted trainings engaging groups of all sizes in specialized learning opportunities and are excited to work with you, as well.  Day-long programs, multiple-session progressive programs over the course of weeks or months, 1-hour team-building programs, interactive symposia and conference presentations – they’ve done all of these and more on topics like:

  • Creative Collaboration,
  • Negotiation,
  • Stress Relief,
  • Communication Skills,
  • Customer Service,
  • Career Development,
  • Applied Improv, and more.

Additionally, Mantis Shrimp Consulting offers meeting facilitation services, helping teams gain a different perspective with a sense of humor and positivity.  Working with you to determine your needs and concerns in advance and craft a meeting agenda that can tackle the issues you would like to discuss, Mantis Shrimp Consulting helps keep the conversations productive but positive and collaborative.

In situations where you may find yourself as an individual leader needing some help navigating the management landscape, some assistance polishing up professional communication skills, determining the best way to lead a team through change, or understanding how to move up in a confusing work environment, Mantis Shrimp Consulting is here to listen and help you track out your individualized action plan with leadership consulting.  Leadership isn’t something just learned with “experience,” nor do many individuals have an opportunity to learn this skill set outside of work before they find themselves tasked with learning-on-the-go.  Mantis Shrimp Consulting is available to come in and work with an individual or individuals on their unique and specific leadership development goals through real-time business challenges.  Put your career on a growth fast-track while making your teams, those below you and above you, excited about working with you.

Additionally, Mantis Shrimp Consulting is available as a business coach and COO-on-demand.  They will work with you to help identify some of the larger or more complex problems that are holding your business back and talk you through identifying the component pieces of those problems, giving you specific and manageable tasks for you to tackle.  Depending on your needs, they can also help you identify a timeline for these actionable tasks and act as your accountability partner in the process.

Bringing to the table over a decade of experience navigating complex business problem solving, thousands of contracts worked from idea through negotiation and completion; 7 years as a national trainer; and extensive experience in specialized program development and delivery and individual career coaching, owner Jennifer McGinnis is a keynote speaker and stand-up and improv comedian known for her engaging presentation style and ability to break complex issues down into easy-to-understand tidbits.  Mantis Shrimp Consulting focuses on finding the positive ways to move people, processes, and companies forward.

Learn how to boost your sales skills from the HBC’s Wake Up Entrepreneur Series session.

The Hispanic Business Council presents a regular series of educational seminars titled “Wake Up Entrepreneur!”  This breakfast series covers all manner of topics helpful to those who do business in the area.  The latest installment of this series, hosted at the Amway Center by the Orlando Magic, was titled “Closing Sales in a Competitive Market.”  The following topics were tackled at this breakfast on October 3rd:

  • The Selling Process
  • Networking Effectively
  • Prospecting
  • Creating Relationships
  • What are you selling? (Going through the steps to a “yes”)
  • Doing business with the Orlando Magic

The Selling Process

A selling process is a sequence of stages each including repeatable steps, a conversion of a potential customer into a paying customer, and a roadmap to keep you on pace to a close.  Here are some tips to creating a sales process for yourself or your sales team:

  • Observe your sales reps and their competition.
  • Map your observations to a generic example.
  • Identify why the prospect advances to the next stage.
  • Adapt a generic sales procdss and make it your own.
  • Continually monitor and fine-tune your process based on market changes.

Networking Effectively

In the words of Carlos Velez, Senior Account Executive with the Orlando Magic, “Stop treating your schmoozing like a business card collection contest.  Start over with a new goal:  quality over quantity.”  Here are Carlos’  8 tips to network effectively:

Prospecting

Prospecting can mean “to search for gold.”  Here are some tips to strike gold in your search for a sale:

  • Prospect every day
  • Turn off distractions
  • Use every method available
  • Write scripts
  • Focus on the outcome – to open a new relationship
  • Get GREAT at cold calling
  • Nurture relationships over time

Creating Relationships

Jerry Maguire said “The key to this business is personal relationships,” and this advice can be applied to the sales industry in real life just as in the film.  Here are 11 pro tips from Carlos Velez:

  • Listen to your customer
  • Seek feedback from your customer
  • Use social media to learn about your customer
  • Respond promptly to the customer
  • Add value
  • Set an example for your reps
  • Have conversations, not pitches
  • Be genuine
  • Make the customer’s life easier
  • Be patient
  • Maintain your relationships

What are you selling?

You should start by selling a meeting, because the more chances you have of a face-to-face meeting, the better the odds of closing the sale.  It can take several yeses to get to the final “yes,” so find your way there through the conversations you have with your clients.

Michael Forde, the Magic’s Chief Sales Officer for Corporate Partnerships joined the event to speak a bit about the Magic and doing business with the Magic.  The breakfast was sponsored by Wyndham Destinations.  Be on the lookout for the HBC’s next Wake Up Entrepreneur! event.