A few months ago, I attended a seminar titled “Intensive Training for New Salespeople,” offered through the Executive Education Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Novice and veteran salespeople came from across the country and from various industries to attend the four-day seminar. Participants said they walked away with some new ideas, some fresh strategies, and valuable role-playing experience.

The seminar’s content inspired this month’s cover story, “Foot in the Door,” in which SM looks at the steps involved in landing new business.

I came away from my classroom stint convinced that the best sales pros cash in on inherent people skills, but also invest — from time to time — in formal training.


This month’s issue also has news on the settlement between the big tissue producers and distributors, among others, following the 1997 paper price-fixing case. It appears some distributors may be recouping a lot of money — and a website is making it easier for them to do just that.

Speaking of websites, industry expert Robert Kravitz tells us in this month’s Tech Central section why content can be the anchor of any distributor’s website.




POSTED ON: 4/1/2002