Hundreds Respond to Unique Offer

In response to an unprecedented offer made by the ASA Education Foundation during the September 28th ASA Membership Meeting, literally hundreds of ASA wholesaler members' employees took advantage of the free on-line training programs during the one-month period.

“I'm really pleased with the response that our free offer generated, especially from companies who hadn't previously used any of our training programs,” said Joe Poehling of First Supply Group, the President of the ASA Education Foundation.

In a bold move by the Foundation Board of Trustees, the Education Foundation made a variety of on-line training programs available throughout the month of October, at no cost whatsoever, to members (wholesalers and manufacturers) wishing to try them out. This was made possible through the support of the Neupert Endowment Campaign.

“It was apparent from looking at our list of customers that there were a lot of members out there who hadn't even tried any of our programs, and maybe didn't even know they existed,” said Poehling. “We wanted to break down all the barriers and give them a good taste of the kind of quality training programs that our Foundation has to offer.”

Participants in this free trial period had a variety of training programs to choose from, and could also utilize the quizzes and post-training tests to gauge their retention and understanding of the lessons learned. Included in the free on-line trial were the on-line versions of:

  • “Essentials of Profitable PHCP Distribution”
  • “Customer Service: The Path to Higher Profits”
  • “Introduction to Pipe, Valves and Fittings” (ProductPro®)
  • “Introduction to Steel, Stainless Steel, Iron Pipe and Fittings (ProductPro®)
  • “Introduction to Copper Tube, Plastic Pipe and Fittings (ProductPro®)

    “We hope that now that so many of our members and their employees have experienced the kind of industry-specific and up-to-date training that the Education Foundation has to offer, that we'll see a significant increase in future participation,” said Paul Martin, the Foundation's executive vice president.

    For a complete catalog of the Education Foundation's training resources, visit www.asaef.org. “Although the free trial period has ended, these training materials are offered at very reasonable prices, and we do offer volume discounts,” added Paul Martin.

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