Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/848272
16 How do you want to be trained? The popular 'fl eet nights' and after hours classes that have dominated aftermar- ket training for decades still exist, but they are no longer the only options for distributors eager to learn. In fact, when it comes to availability, the best place to fi nd training materials is online. "We have found a lot of our suppliers are starting to do webinars and YouTube videos and our guys seem to like that," says Marc Karon, president at Total Truck Parts. A long-time advocate of training, Karon says it is becoming increasingly harder to schedule on-site training due to increased demand. Supplier reps can only be in so many places at one time, but are omnipresent in online libraries. And while Karon admits it took time for all Total Truck Parts' salespeople to become acclimated with online learning — young employees took to it immedi- ately while veterans were reticent, he says — the wide scope of available methods has proved helpful in gaining buy-in. The webinars and videos have been particularly valuable, he believes, not just for their unrestricted availability, but be- cause of the visual learning component. With veteran salespeople who are used on on-site training, learning via video is a much easier transition than written literature and quizzes. CRW Parts has found success online as well, adds Willis, and has developed internal contests and incentive programs around online training to challenge employees to learn. Turning to online training also allows distributors to fall back on legwork done by their respective marketing group. VIPAR Heavy Duty and HDA Truck Pride each house comprehensive training libraries on their websites. Built in coop- eration with suppliers, these libraries are organized by vendor and product cat- egory so distributor employees can easily search and fi nd the training materials they want, the groups say. "Training has always been one of our pillars. We believe our members are most successful if they are highly trained on what they are doing. Any training mod- ules we can offer and make accessible to them helps them do that," says Nikki Paschall, marketing programs manager at HDA Truck Pride. "For as long as I've been in the in- dustry training has always been one of those things that was highly ranked as an industry need. The demand has always been there," adds Jeff Paul, VIPAR Heavy Duty vice president of marketing. "The website allows us to communicate what is available, and get that mission critical information to [the distributors]." When in-person training is preferred, scheduling looms as the biggest concern. Karon's reference to vendor availability is a real problem — some suppliers have scaled down their on-site education in lieu of online portals, while others are booked solid for months. And even when a training date is fi nalized, deciding whom to train, and when, can be an issue. Ryan says Point Spring's quarterly sales meetings are two identical meetings held on back-to-back days so "half our guys can come on one day the other half can come the next day." Parts for Trucks Product Manager Robert Siddall says his company has had success with "lunch and learns," where, like Ryan's meetings, employees rotate through the training so a store isn't forced to shut down. That's one area where all distributors T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | J u l y 2 0 1 7 For as long as I've been in the industry training has always been one of those things that was highly ranked as an industry need. The demand has always been there. – Jeff Paul, VIPAR Heavy Duty vice president of marketing Cover Story On-site supplier-led training remains the aftermarket's preferred method, but scheduling these courses can be diffi cult due to supplier availability.