NORMAN, Okla. - Johnson Controls prepared 20 territory managers (TMs) for marketing combat during the first 2007 York® Boot Camp at the company’s corporate headquarters. The TMs who attended the specialized program participated in a variety of learning exercises during the week, including a presentation by Tom Huntington, vice president and general manager, Unitary Products (UP), Building Efficiency Group, and Gary Elekes, professional business trainer and faculty member with York Business Training University (BTU).

“Helping TMs understand the dealer-level business and marketing programs that are available is very important to us,” said Natalie DeRousse, Johnson Controls UP training manager, North America.

“The boot camps are designed to provide them with information that will improve their performance and become experts at explaining the programs to dealers.”

Participants spent two days learning about consultative selling and understanding the HVAC contracting business in the areas of finance, operations, marketing, and human resources.

The classroom-style boot camp also included an overview of UP and introduced TMs to York marketing programs and the York Liberties™ Program, which provides additional business support such as advertising and marketing materials and online e-business tools.

“I would definitely recommend this boot camp for new employees,” said Robert Porosky, a UP territory manager from Philadelphia. Porosky earned the highest combined quiz and final exam score among the TMs who attended the camp and received a $500 gift card from Best Buy in recognition of his achievement.

Boot camp participants who complete the basic training and score at least 85 percent on their final grade, and spend six months in the field following completion of the first boot camp are eligible to attend a Special Operations Training. The Special Ops program, Oct. 21-26, is by invitation only and includes one day of program reviews and four days of case study analysis of HVAC contractors.

A second Basic Boot Camp is being offered Nov. 4-10, and two additional camps will be held this year: the UP Basic Boot Camp, Sept. 9-14 and the Advanced Intelligence Boot Camp, Dec. 2-7.

For more information, contact Natalie DeRousse at 405-419-6551.

Publication date: 05/28/2007