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December 13, 2005
INNOVATIVE NEW CORPORATE SALES TRAINING PROGRAM OFFERED BY THE RUSS BERRIE INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL SALES AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY COMBINES WORKSHOPS IN SALES LAB, DISTANCE LEARNING AND AN ASSESSMENT PROCESS
—Role Playing in Technologically Advanced Sales Lab Enables Experts to Assess the Conduct and Actions of Salespeople
An innovative corporate sales training program that combines role playing in a sophisticated sales laboratory, Web-based distance learning and a follow-up period of assessment and coaching has been developed by the Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.
The Russ Berrie Institute customizes its new program with content and materials to meet each company’s needs for training sales representatives and managers. The courses, developed and taught by William Paterson University’s professional sales faculty and established sales leaders, offer participants experiential learning in an environment that simulates real-world situations.
“Effective sales training has grown more complex, in step with changes in the field of sales,” says Jim Brown, executive director of the Russ Berrie Institute. “Our rigorous program uniquely blends workshops in our lab with preliminary and follow-up work on the Web. Rather than using traditional sales training approaches, we developed a multi-faceted program that employs advanced technology to help us refine participants’ actions and conduct during the sales process.”
The backbone of the program is the Russ Berrie Professional Sales Lab, a technologically advanced, interactive facility that simulates five different business office environments. The lab features robotic digital cameras to record participants practicing sales presentations, one-way mirrors to allow viewing by workshop instructors and corporate sales managers, plasma screens for reviewing the recorded interactive sessions, and an editing room for creating electronic DVD portfolios.
“The Russ Berrie Institute program has become a very important part of our sales training program,” says Edward C. Eichhorn, senior vice president, development, at Medical Resources, Inc., a Bloomfield, New Jersey-based company that provides complex medical imaging services to physician office practices. “The distance learning coupled with the high-tech video role playing they provide with instantaneous feedback is an unbeatable combination. We have seen measurable improvements in performance for our sales reps who have attended the program.”
The new program begins with an assessment of each participant’s strengths and weaknesses. Preliminary coursework is then completed via distance learning, offering salespeople with limited time for training the opportunity to learn at their convenience.
Participants then engage in interactive workshops designed for sales professionals to role play challenges they will face in the field. The sales lab enables participants to watch replays of their performances on the plasma screen provided in each room and to receive instant feedback and coaching from workshop assessors.
“This step is crucial to changing behavior,” says Brown. “Participants are given the opportunity to step back and immediately view their role-play performance on a screen, helping them to better understand how they are being perceived, and identify the areas in which they need to strengthen their skills.”
At the end of the program, each participant receives an edited DVD of his or her sales performance for continued review and training reinforcement. He or she will also meet one-on-one with an assessor who will help develop an action plan that will be the basis of post-workshop follow-up, which includes an online discussion board moderated by William Paterson sales faculty members. Results are measured by Russ Berrie Institute instructors through surveys at 21, 60 and 90 days after course completion, and additional mentoring or coaching is provided, if needed, via distance learning.
The Russ Berrie Institute of Professional Sales at William Paterson University was created to advance the field of professional sales by providing high-quality educational, consulting and training opportunities for both students and practicing business people. The first program of its kind in the Northeast, the Institute was established by Russ Berrie, the late founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., one of the world’s premier lifestyle gift companies. In addition to training programs for sales professionals, a bachelor of science degree in professional sales—the first of its kind in the world—is offered through the Department of Professional Sales in the University’s Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business, which recently gained international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.
Customized programs for sales professionals are offered in a variety of content areas, including professional sales, sales leadership and strategic account management. For additional information, contact Jim Brown, executive director of the Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University, at 973-720-3865, or rbisales@wpunj.edu.
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