Asolo USA & W.L. Gore Sales Training Seminars hit the road in NE

Asolo USA & W.L. Gore Sales Training Seminars hit the road in New England
Huge staff support from North Cove Outfitters

Lebanon, NH – Monday, June 1, 2009 Asolo USA & W. L. Gore’s first co-sponsored Sales Training Seminar in the New England region was met with a strong embrace and high enthusiasm by the management and staff of North Cove Outfitters. Asolo and Gore have teamed up with Henry Barber of Mountain Ventures to support specialty retailers with a series of seminars designed to introduce to new staff, and refresh with veteran staff, the fundamentals of effective communication and selling.

“In today’s tough working environment we need to better communicate the value of products in the outdoor specialty channel, so we felt it was important to introduce a different style of training and provide another level of service and support to our retail customers,” said Bruce Franks, General Manager of both Asolo USA and Lowe Alpine.

The emphasis on this training is about 70% effective communication strategies and 30% Asolo and Gore-Tex® branding and product details. The seminars, developed by Henry Barber of Mountain Ventures, are structured to be very interactive with staff members. Each seminar is tailored to the participating retailer by beginning with an open discussion and listing of issues faced every day on the floor by that particular staff. “Every specialty store is a bit unique in both product mix and market dynamics,” noted Barber. “Starting the training by asking a lot of questions about the issues particular staff face every day, allows me to focus on areas or issues that are important to them.”

The seminars emphasize a communication model used by Barber that provide a logical process for retail staff to approach customers, engage them with opening questions, emphasize listening and confirming, understand their needs, and relate that back to products whose features and benefits best meet those needs. The seminars also focus on how and when to use closed-ended questions and how to ask for and complete the sale.

The North Cove seminar was attended by the entire management team and most of their general staff. “Our business is all about communicating with our customers, stated Jim Lockhart, manager of North Cove Outfitters. “We have a diversity of staff experience and there is always room for improvement.” “Henry did a great job of breaking down the process of interacting with customers for our newer staff, and it was a great refresher with some new twists for our more experienced employees.”

About Asolo USA
Since its inception in 1975, Asolo has gained an important worldwide leadership position in producing technical mountaineering shoes. The product range covers footwear from the most technical alpine demands to the more relaxed leisure activities. Asolo’s goal is to create great footwear for all your outdoor needs, in all conditions, and at all altitudes. Asolo has a long and recognized history of creating innovative technological advancements in outdoor footwear. For more information visit www.asolo-us.com

About W.L. Gore & Associates
Perhaps best known for its consumer products like GORE-TEX® fabric and ELIXER guitar strings, Gore is the leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets. The company is headquartered in Newark, Delaware, and employs approximately 8500 associates in 45 facilities around the world. For more information about W. L Gore & Associates, Inc. and GORE products, call 1-800-431-GORE or visit www.gore-tex.com

About Mountain Ventures
Henry Barber had a 23+ year career with Patagonia and eventually became the director of the North American wholesale division. He is a world renowned climber having climbed having climbed in over 30 countries and establishing first ascents in over half of them. Aside from his work with Patagonia he has done consulting and training with many market leaders in the outdoor industry as well as specialty retailers throughout the US. Henry can be reached at 603-356-6338 or barber@ncia.com