EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass., March 30, 2005 — LENOX, a leading manufacturer of premium band saw blades, power tool accessories and hand tools, today announces the launch of a new distributor training program intended to educate its sales force and distributors about the ins and outs of band saw machines and blades. The program, dubbed the "LENOX Band Saw Road Show," will begin on April 18 and will take LENOX experts to distributors in eight cities throughout the United States and Canada for one-on-one education sessions.
LENOX technical experts and product managers tour one city per week and meet with LENOX distributors and sales representatives in each city. The goal is to train salespeople and to boost their success through the "LENOX Guaranteed Trial Order (GTO) Challenge." The challenge will reward distributors who successfully sign up large numbers of new customers for GTOs through the end of the year with premium LENOX branded products.
Under the LENOX Guaranteed Trial Order program, LENOX guarantees to customers who agree to purchase a recommended LENOX blade for trial use that the blade will outperform the blade the customer is currently using or they get their money back. Distributors who excel under the program get points throughout the year good for LENOX-branded gear, including button-up and polo shirts, hats, trailer hitch covers, hard hats, clocks, golf balls and jackets.
The "LENOX Band Saw Road Show" will provide training to its sales force and distributors on several topics, including: sawing dynamics, how to work a band saw sale, band saw service, and the LENOX product portfolio.
"Band sawing is a very technical business, and there is a lot to know," said Chuck Wahr, director of band saw blade marketing, LENOX. "The more our distributors and sales force learn, the better service they can provide their customers. The expert technical staff at LENOX has the industry knowledge to provide value-added training to assist our sales force and distribution network so that they may educate their customers on the technical aspects of band sawing. This knowledge will ultimately help to increase their sales, but more importantly, it will help our customers to be more productive."
At the conclusion of the training, LENOX will leave a portfolio of all the training materials with the participants for their reference throughout the year. Each trainee will be invited to LENOX Band Saw School, which is a week-long, intensive band sawing training at LENOX corporate headquarters in East Longmeadow, Mass.