Friday, January 25, 2008

2008 Annual Sales Meeting

The Tooling U sales staff recently held its annual sales meeting over the span of four days in Scottsdale Arizona. While initially it might appear to make most sense to hold meetings at our Cleveland headquarters, the sales staff unanimously agreed to give up low-30s temperatures, rain/snow mixes, and 2 ½ hours of daylight so that the sales team could focus on 2008 goals in a remote location free of distractions... except for gambling. That distraction was deemed allowable.

The location of the sales event was the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino, which provided comfortable rooms, tasteful dining options, and the adjacent casino for evening entertainment. Greg Herlevi, Director of Content Development, was also relieved to find out that he did not have to share bunk beds with Len Scaffidi, despite the numerous and contradictory reports made earlier from various salespeople.

The series of meetings kicked off on Thursday, January 10th with presentations focusing on updates and projections from both Content and Site Development. James Coufalik, Director of Marketing, also presented his activities for the year and unveiled the company's new logo and color scheme. Bryan Knaack, Director of Business Development, focused on the new roles of the Government and Education group, as well as training installations for new customers. The remaining meetings addressed standard processes and documentation for sales. Although the meetings were long, the ideas exchanged were very useful and engaging.

Friday night consisted of fine dining in the casino's steak house, followed by various scenes of entertainment: Toni Neary dancing, Chad Schron counting cards, and Dan Pruitt losing Mark O'Bryan's money.

Saturday afternoon, after wrapping up the group meeting sections of the agenda, the entire sales team participated in a team-building event that involved a two-hour cattle drive. Each person was paired with an appropriate horse and given the task of guiding cattle through the Arizona landscape. Hamid Farzad was in charge of guiding his horse "Rainbow" in circles, and Dan Pruitt could be viewed proudly riding his horse "Hummer H2." As is true with any team building event, the sales team learned a few key lessons: groin and glute soreness typically lasts three days, and horse droppings are green.

On Saturday night, after numerous appetizers, I presented my individual awards. Dan Sloan received the Diamond Award for Best Sales in 2007, and Cindy Bernosky, Toni Neary, Len Scaffidi, and Dan Sloan all received Star Achievement Awards for their individual contributions and superior efforts during the year. Steve Klein also received a Mediocre Fantasy Team award.

In general, the event was a noteworthy success, and the entire sales team looks to even greater successes in 2008. Thanks to all those key people who participated.

Director of Sales

The Tooling U staff continues to grow!

James Coufalik Added as Tooling U Marketing Director
Another key resolution for Tooling U in 2008 is to boost our marketing efforts. We have hired James Coufalik as our new Marketing Director. James is already working to solidify our brand identity, unveil our new logo, and plan our marketing and advertising campaign for the calendar year. James brings extensive experience helping consumer, business to business, and pharmaceutical companies communicate their brand in the US and Europe.

New Customer Service Representatives
Our customers want and deserve live support that matches our web-based training tools. We recently hired Michelle Robinson and Katie Strand as two new Customer Service Representatives. Michelle and Katie join our talented Customer Service Team and will be responsible for assisting our customers with their accounts, training new users on web site features, and working with prospects to help them identify the proper Tooling U training solution. Both Michelle and Katie will provide support for our individual customers needing assistance, as well as our corporate customers.

Gary Hill Added as West Coast Regional Sales Manager
We have also added Gary Hill as our new Regional Sales Manager for the west coast territory. Gary is excited to help increase sales and meet the unique needs of west coast manufacturers. He brings to us his knowledge and experience gained while selling training and IT technologies .

Director of Sales

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Tooling U Introduces Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) Classes

Cleveland, OH – Tooling U, a provider of online manufacturing training, has developed a series of online training classes that address programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These new PLC classes will be included with other classes that address electrical systems, motor controls, and mechanical systems to provide comprehensive training for maintenance professionals.

PLCs are used in a wide range of applications for automation and electrical control over industrial processes. The PLC itself is a software-driven device that detects input signals, processes these signals with a logic-based program, and then sends signals to the appropriate outputs. This allows the PLC to control traffic light signals, packaging processes, assembly lines, or any other application demanding automated control.

PLC training is a key topic for maintenance professionals. "Many of our customers have asked about PLC training, especially for their maintenance people. As equipment gets more complicated, the people that fix it really have to keep up with the learning curve," said Chad Schron, Vice President of Tooling U. "With these PLC classes, or any of our subjects, we work with industry experts to make sure the material is relevant and up-to-date for our audience," added Schron.

Tooling U provides a wide range of online training courses for people in the manufacturing industry. These courses are delivered through a powerful Learning Management System (LMS) that allows companies to assess training needs and track performance. In addition to the new PLC training titles, Tooling U offers training packages for mill/lathe operators, press operators, and assemblers, as well as custom-created training material for Fortune 500 manufacturers.

For more information about Tooling U and the new multi-language interface, visit www.toolingu.com or contact a Tooling U sales representative at 1-866-706-8665.