Latest evolution of sales training in plastics launched

The International Association of Plastics Distribution (IAPD) has launched the Excellence in Sales Level II Certificate Exam for plastics distribution industry professionals.

IAPD offered a sales training program (Advanced Inside Sales) written by renowned corporate trainer, Chuck Holmes, for more than 20 years. In 2011, IAPD collaborated with Holmes to develop its own-tiered training programme for sales professionals at IAPD member companies as well as those who work for other companies in the plastics industry. The first level of IAPD’s Excellence in Sales Certificate programme launched in 2012 and addresses separately the unique roles of inside and outside sales professionals. Realising the demand from plastics professionals for this in-depth level of sales training, the IAPD Education Committee and Holmes agreed to expand the programme. Excellence in Sales Level II is an intermediate course that presents a common scenario to the participant, then the sales professional to correctly define the problem in that scenario and devise an effective solution.

“IAPD is committed to offering plastics distributors educational programs that prepare and train them on the properties, benefits and applications of plastics as well as help them be more successful in their jobs and be a more valuable part of their company,” said Stephanie Neugebauer, IAPD Education Committee Chair.

“When working with Chuck Holmes on the first level of the Excellence in Sales programme, we were fully committed to developing a tiered sales training programme that went beyond the basics and wasn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. We continued this approach as we worked with Holmes again to develop Excellence in Sales Level II and took it a step further by including real-world scenarios that plastics distributors may face and have them draw from their expertise, work experience and company resources to formulate effective solutions.”

Participants in this course will leverage their plastics experience as well as new ideas to solve real-world problems. Upon completing the exam, participants will:

• Be able to work beyond the symptoms and correctly define the problem.
• Understand the interaction of distributor departments and use the resources of these departments properly.
• Structure sales and problem-solving plans in an organised manner so that each step contributes to the success of the next step.
• Deal with complex customer structures properly.
• Communicate their solutions to real-world problems effectively.

For more information visit www.iapd.org