Creating a Customer-Focused Organization

This professional development workshop is built on a foundation of timeless principles of “customer service.” Each principle is taught with references to historical examples and relevant case studies. Participants assess their organizations against these timeless principles and create goals for improvement.

Mark has helped many organizations, both public and private, better serve their customers through the delivery of this informative and fun program! Mark has even licensed this workshop to another professional development company to sell under their banner (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Creating and Delivering Professional Presentations

This workshop covers important aspects of both the creation and the delivery of professional presentations. Participants are given opportunities to practice the concepts covered in the workshop, real time, by first creating and then delivering from one to four presentations—depending on the duration and format of the workshop. Hundreds of people including business leaders, politicians, scientists, and sales professionals have dramatically improved their presentation skills as a result of attending Mark’s workshops. After attending this workshop, some participants have engaged Mark as a personal coach to help them raise their skills to even higher levels (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

Creating and Sustaining a Winning Team

We live in an era that is characterized by downsizing, rightsizing, restructuring—you choose the euphemism. In such an environment, where people are being asked to accomplish more quality results with fewer resources, it is imperative that people work together as a team if they desire to be successful.

In this powerful—and fun—program, Mark helps participants discover what a winning team really looks like. Many organizations think they have a winning team when, in fact, they have only a marginally effective group! Next, Mark outlines the steps for not only creating a winning team—but sustaining one. Creating and Sustaining a Winning Team is not an easy process, but it is well worth the effort (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Create Your Own Business!

Mark grew up in an entrepreneurial family, so the “entrepreneurial bug” bit him early! He sold address markers door-to-door in his teens, started selling his artwork during his university years, and operated his own one-man-band business later on. After attaining success in sales and sales management, Mark started his own professional development company. Mark’s current company, Daily Renaissance, was created in 2004.

Because Mark had always enjoyed being his own boss and making his own way in the world, he wanted to share all that he had learned about creating and growing a business with others. With an autobiographical backdrop, Mark shares the many lessons he has learned over the years on how to create and sustain a business. He covers numerous topics including market research, positioning products and services in the marketplace, “Do you have what it takes?”—and much more. Hundreds of people have attended and enjoyed the various versions of this workshop over the years (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

Designing and Conducting Effective Meetings

When you hear that a “meeting” has been scheduled, do you have an immediate emotional reaction like: “Boring”—”What a waste of time”—”Completely unnecessary”? If you do, you’re not alone! In my work as a consultant, trainer, and professional speaker, I often hear people complaining about the number and ineffectiveness of meetings they are required to attend.

Many of the meetings you and I are asked to attend do not accomplish what they were intended to accomplish. Many meetings are poorly planned—if planned at all. In addition, many meetings that are properly planned are poorly conducted. In short, many of the meetings you and I attend are basically a waste of our precious time. In this program, Mark discusses principles of both creating and conducting effective meetings—critical skill sets for all workers (offered as a half-day workshop or as a presentation).

How to Land a Top-Shelf Job in a Competitive Market

Mark used his 20+ years of personal experience as a career coach and workshop facilitator to create this comprehensive program. Topics covered include deciding what to do next, managing your mental landscape, creating resumes and cover letters, finding available jobs, networking, interviewing, and transitioning to a new job. Over his career, Mark has helped thousands of people successfully transition to compelling employment (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

How to Retain Your Best Employees

Every successful supervisor understands the importance of staffing their team with quality employees. In the final analysis, an organization can only be as good as the people it employs.

As the economy grows, people have more choices concerning where they want to work. The “best” employees in any organization often become prime targets of other organizations seeking to hire people who can help them become more successful. If you’re tired of hearing “I’m moving on.” from your best employees, this program is for you!

In this informative program, Mark discusses a number of timeless principles that smart organizations utilize to retain their top performers. These principles not only ensure that your best employees will want to stay with your organization, but they will help you inspire and motivate those employees to pursue excellence in their work, which will lead to more business success (offered as a full-day workshop or as a presentation).

It’s All About Communicating (principles of effective, interpersonal communication)

How important are good communication skills in today’s business world? Critically important!

When top executives are surveyed and asked to identify the factors most responsible for their success, communication skills are consistently cited in the mix. Good communication skills are crucial for success in business—and life. It is a proven fact, that those who possess superior communication skills land better jobs, make more sales, get promoted faster, and make more money than those who do not possess them.

Participants in this program will learn about many facets of the communication process—and get multiple opportunities to practice what they have learned! Because this is a program on communication, it has been designed to provide numerous opportunities for the participants to interact with each other. Many past participants have cited “the group interaction” and “role-playing activities” as the factors that made this program so useful for them (offered as a one- to three-day workshop or as a presentation).

Lead the Way—Timeless Principles of Leadership Success

This program reaches into the past to examine the philosophies and skills of some of the world’s greatest leaders. It then focuses on a selection of characteristics and skills that great leaders often possess. The program then discusses how those characteristics and skills can be useful in today’s business environment to create lasting success (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Manage Your Mental Landscape—The Foundation for Success and Happiness

The premise of this workshop is that all “success” in life—both private and public—begins with the right frame of mind. Philosophers throughout the Earth’s history have taught and promoted good mental habits. This workshop focuses on a core set of those mental habits and discusses why they are important, how to develop them, and how to achieve success and happiness as a result of their implementation. This powerful workshop is rich with research, case studies, and practical exercises designed to help participants create healthy thinking habits (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Mentoring Skills for Leaders and Managers

Talk to a person who has achieved success in any field and ask them how they achieved their success. You will likely hear the term “mentor” in their narrative. Each of us can readily identify our mentors—those who helped shape our lives both professionally and personally. In this workshop, Mark identifies important skills mentors utilize, and then discusses, demonstrates, and gives participants opportunities to practice those skills (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

Negotiate so Everyone Wins

Time and again, surveys identify “communication skills” as being critical for success in business—and life! Negotiation is nothing more than a specialized subset of communication skills—but a crucially important subset! Consider how many negotiations you engage in during an average day, and your own experience will confirm the truth of this assertion.

Through the use of various exercises and activities, participants in this program will develop skills that, if practiced, will help them increase their effectiveness as negotiators in all of life’s many arenas (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

Our Lives in the Balance (principles of time and life management)

Anciently, the Greek philosopher Diogenes said, “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” You and I live in an age that is becoming increasingly hectic as more and more people and things compete for our attention—and our time. As a result of all of these competing priorities, we often find our lives out of balance. When our lives are out of balance, we often feel unfulfilled and unhappy. Such feelings often lead to stress and depression.

In this program, Mark shares the powerful story of how he came to believe in the importance of life balance. Participants have an opportunity to determine their current state of life balance and gain powerful insights into what they would really like their lives to look like. Mark then shares with participants a number of strategies they can use to create and maintain balance in their lives (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Rediscovering Your Creative Genius

The thesis of this workshop is that all people are born with creative abilities. Unfortunately, our current education system doesn’t always encourage and develop “whole-brain” thinking—a cardinal trait of those we have labeled “geniuses.”

In this workshop, Mark begins the process of helping people reclaim and develop their “Creative Genius” through numerous informative, imaginative—and fun—exercises (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Secrets of Successful Supervisors

Have you ever worked under a supervisor who had a knack for bringing out the best in you—someone you really wanted to please? Chances are good, that they had mastered six core competencies shared by all great supervisors.

In an age characterized by hypervelocity change and ever-increasing competition, it is imperative that supervisors learn how to effectively lead and manage employees. In this informative and interactive program, participants are introduced to, and work to further develop, important supervisory skills (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Survive, Revive, and Thrive in Our Changing World

Change is not really a new phenomenon. However, the fact that change has always been a part of the fabric of existence does not suggest that the pace of change has always remained constant. Like it or not, you and I live in an age that is characterized by hypervelocity change. Those who accept the fact that change is here to stay, and learn how to proactively deal with it, will not just survive in the years ahead—but thrive!

In this informative program, participants will develop an historical perspective regarding change. They will learn about the psychology of the change process and how to lead themselves and others successfully through personal and organizational change. Additionally, participants will learn how to prepare themselves and others to proactively deal with the many challenges that are a part of living in our modern world (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Timeless Secrets of Sales Success

Learning how to effectively sell is one of the most important skills a person can develop. To be successful in any arena of life, sales skills are a necessity. During any given day, you and I often engage in selling. If we want to be successful, it is imperative that we understand the fact that selling is not only about moving products and services, but about promoting ideas, opinions—and ourselves!

Unfortunately, when many people hear the words “Sales and Selling,” they immediately conjure up images of less-than-pleasant experiences they’ve had with sales people (used-car salesperson, MLM reps., etc.). In stark contrast to the many sales programs that teach “slick” and manipulative techniques, this program is built upon a foundation of timeless principles that ethical sales people have utilized for centuries to create lasting sales success. Mark studied and utilized these principles to become both a successful sales professional and sales manager earlier in his career—and has used them ever since as a successful entrepreneur (offered as a one-day or two-day workshop or as a presentation).

Why We Do What We Do—How to Motivate Yourself and Others

Human motivation—why we do what we do—is an important topic to understand if we want to be successful in our work and in our personal lives. How often during an average day do you ask yourself the question: “How can I motivate so-and-so to do this or that?” And even more important than questions about how to motivate others, are the questions on how to motivate ourselves!

Since time immemorial, people have been creating theories to try to explain why we do what we do, and participants in this program will get to take a closer look at some of them. The foundation of Why We Do What We Do—Understanding Human Motivation is a simple—but powerful—motivational theory that is easy to understand and transformational in its application (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

World-Class Trainers Wear Three Hats

Have you ever attended a workshop where, when it was over, you found yourself craving more of the “experience” you had just been immersed in? The odds are that the trainer who presented that workshop wore “Three Hats”—and wore them all well! In this informative program, Mark starts by introducing participants to the “Three Hats” world-class trainers wear, and then takes them on an exciting journey where they will learn how to create and deliver workshops that inform, entertain, and inspire.

As a trainer and presenter, Mark Swain has been described as “World-Class” by many of his clients. One client went one step further by stating, “In my mind, he is a uniquely talented individual who has no peers.” Mark has taught and presented both domestically and internationally for many years (offered as a half-day or full-day workshop or as a presentation).

Topics Mark has taught and presented on for other professional development companies (some he wrote or helped write—all he customized during delivery):

* Business Development * Business Writing * Capturing Federal Business * Career Planning * Change Management * Effective Interpersonal Communication * Job Search Skills * Leadership Development * Managing Federal Proposals * Personality Theory * Presentation Skills * Project Management * Resilience * Resume Writing * Sales Skills * Starting Your Own Business * Technical Writing * Time and Life Management * Writing Commercial Proposals * Writing Federal Proposals

Pricing and Logistics

Workshops are priced from $200-$750/person/day depending on various factors (topic, degree of customization, in-person vs. virtual, duration, number of attendees, etc.). Most workshops can be delivered either in person or virtually. Prices are plus expenses (travel, lodging, etc.). Contact Mark to discuss your particular needs.

Customized presentations (30 to 90 minutes) can be delivered either in person or virtually. Pricing depends on various factors (topic, degree of customization, in-person vs. virtual, duration, number of attendees, etc.). Prices are plus expenses (travel, lodging, etc.). Contact Mark to discuss your particular needs.