Learning Industry Leaders Join Forces to Offer Unprecedented, Results-Oriented Sales Training in Blended Delivery Approach
Learning Industry Leaders Join Forces to Offer Unprecedented, Results-Oriented
Sales Training in Blended Delivery Approach
Mentergy, CRK Interactive, and Docent Deliver Case Studies and Proven Client
Results During Nine City Executive Briefing Road Show.
Salt Lake City, UT March 19, 2002 – Mentergyä, Ltd. [NASDAQ: MNTE], a
leading global provider of blended e-Learning solutions, today announced, in
conjunction with CRK Interactive and Docent, the formal launch of a program
designed to bring measurable, results oriented sales training to meet current
market needs for improved sales performance.
During a current nine-city road show entitled "Keep the Cash Flowing in
Tough Times," several noted authors and experts in sales training and eLearning
share actual case studies highlighting the results that major organizations
have achieved by adopting the solution presented through the Mentergy/CRK Interactive
partnership. This unique presentation argues that while no single vendor in
the marketplace has all the pieces to deliver improved sales performance efficiently,
this combined offering has a proven track record of documented results.
"Four years ago at the demand of a major client, we launched sales training
in a blended format, over Mentergy’s LearnLinc virtual classroom," adds
Len D’Innocenzo, CEO of CRK Interactive and co-author, with Jack Cullen CRK
Interactive’s Executive VP, of The Agile Manager’s Guide To Customer Focused
Selling, and also The Agile Manager’s Guide To Coaching to Maximize Performance,"and
we never looked back. The results have been dramatic."
"Our goal with the road show and the offering is to share with key sales
executives around the country one of the best kept secrets in sales training-a
proven program that has been producing measurable, proven results for the past
4 years," states Bill Byron Concevitch, President of Mentergy and author
of the best selling Increasing the Odds: Sales Is Not A Numbers Game.
CRK Interactive’s clients for the blended sales training include Computer Associates,
AT&T, WorldCom, Dell Computer, Toshiba, and many other major corporations.
D’Innocenzo continues, "Although some clients started adopting our blended
offering to cut hard costs, they soon began to realize that the blended approach
produced better results than a straight ‘bricks and mortar’ delivered program.
Sales increased, sales person confidence grew, and client retention rose."
Kevin Long, Computer Associate’s vice president of employee development, States,
"You want your salespeople out selling. We could not justify keeping our
new hires out of the field for so long. We wanted to find a way of delivering
effective training over a period of time once they returned to their home territories.
CRK Interactive really got on board and before long we were able to implement
a program where our new hires stayed in Islandia for half the length of time
they did before. Once they returned home, they were able to access live, instructor-led
courses over the Web from time to time over a five-week period using the LearnLinc
virtual campus."
Today, the program has been refined to take advantage of enhancements to the
LearnLinc virtual classroom, and also by using Docent’s Learning Management
System (LMS) to offer complete versatility in "anytime/anywhere" delivery
and in the creation of personal learning paths for each individual sales person.
Andy Snider, noted learning expert, lecturer, and President of Snider Associates
Consulting, provides perspective to this presentation through a model he has
developed by studying hundreds of e-learning initiatives and extracting the
factors that seem to be present in the solutions that have produced real operational
results. Snider comments, " For the next 10 years the most significant
determinant of competitive advantage will be the ability to leverage the abilities
of people throughout an organization. Although many eLearning companies claim
to offer the complete solution, the reality is that no one company can deliver
a complete solution. However, this is exactly what has come together in this
partnership-a world-class virtual classroom in LearnLinc, the best in proven
sales training content from CRK Interactive, and a highly advanced LMS from
Docent. It is partnerships like this that will drive eLearning to the next stage,
by changing the focus from the technology solutions to real strategic learning
objectives."
In addition to the case studies shared with participants and Snider’s presentation
on the state of eLearning, authors Concevitch, D’Innocenzo and Jack Cullen also
share proven sales techniques for increasing sales in this tough economic climate.
Jack Cullen comments, "We want to make sure all participants leave the
session with some proven techniques they can put to use with their sales force
to improve results immediately. Although we can’t offer the impact of a full
blown training session in the road show, we can provide solid value-and the
participants have already shared that we achieve this goal."
The road show has already concluded on the east coast and in the Midwest, and
continues this week on the West coast. For more information, visit www.mentergy.com
Members of the road show team are also available for private consultations and
presentations to associations and sales profession organizations. Webinars are
also available from Mentergy and CRK Interactive on the topic of "Increasing
Sales During Tough Economic Times."
About Mentergy
Mentergy, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNTE), formerly Gilat Communications, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GICOF),
is a full service worldwide e-Learning company, providing e-Learning products,
consulting, and courseware development services for large enterprises. With
over 21 years of expertise in the learning industry, Mentergy assists businesses
worldwide to make a cost-effective shift from traditional learning to a blended
e-Learning approach. Mentergy, Ltd.’s North American operations comprise the
Allen Communication Learning Services division and the LearnLinc Live e-Learning
division (Mentergy, Inc.), in addition to John Bryce Training in Israel and
Europe (Aris Education), and a global sales and marketing operation that includes
Mentergy Europe. Allen Communication Learning Services has provided courseware
development services and authoring and design tools to more than 60 percent
of the Fortune 500. LearnLinc Live e-Learning features live, collaborative Web-based
training via the LearnLincâ virtual classroom and TrainNet(tm), a live
broadband training platform delivered via computers, telephone, Internet connections
and broadband communications. John Bryce Training is Mentergy’s IT training
and content company, serving the Middle East and Europe with over 200 IT programs
and courses. Mentergy’s customers range from mid-size companies to Global 2000,
including Aetna, WorldCom, Nestle, Citibank, Countrywide, Rockwell Collins,
British Telecom and other industry leaders.
MentergyTM is a trademark and LearnLinc® is a registered trademark of Mentergy,
Ltd. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective
holders.
About CRK Interactive
CRKInteractive (CRKI), headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, offers diverse
training courses for sales, customer service, leadership and management that
have been proven to dramatically improve productivity, customer satisfaction
and employee retention for some of the world’s most reputable and results-oriented
organizations. CRKI delivers its curricula via multiple blended and flexible
delivery formats, including traditional classroom means, self-paced Web courses,
and live, instructor-led training over the Internet. CKRI clients include Compaq,
Computer Associates, Dell Computer, Lucent Technologies, Tech Data Corporation,
AT&T, Apple Computer, Toshiba America Information Systems, NCR Corporation,
General Electric, Polaroid, Allstate, Panasonic, Keebler, and Heller Financial.
For more information, please visit www.crkinteractive.com.
About Docent, Inc.
Docent Inc. (NASDAQ: DCNT) is a leading provider of eLearning software and services
for Global 2000 companies. Docent creates business advantage for organizations
by delivering the right knowledge to the right people at the right time. Docent
provides a complete infrastructure for developing, delivering, managing, and
measuring eLearning. Docent’s eLearning suite Docent Enterprise(tm) includes
the award-winning Docent Learning Management Server(tm), Docent Content Delivery
Server(tm), Docent Outliner(tm), Docent Peak Performance(tm) and Docent Mobile(tm).
Docent’s customer list features 295 companies, including more than 55 of the
Fortune Global 500.
Among global systems integration firms with which Docent has alliances are
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Deloitte Consulting, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Docent is headquartered in Mountain View, California with other offices throughout
the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit us
at www.docent.com, or call
650/934-9500.
Docent, Docent Enterprise, Docent Peak Performance and the marks relating to
Docent products and services referenced herein are either trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of Docent Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
About Snider Associates
Snider Associates helps large organizations develop strategies and implement
plans for achieving performance change through technology. Some of the organizations
that have worked with Andy Snider include: The American Cancer Society, American
Higher Education BellSouth, Commonwealth Financial, Cookson Electronics, Estee
Lauder, Forum Corporation, Harvard Business School Publishing, Putnam Investments,
Tricon, and Unilever. Snider Associates is located at 2 Canal Park in Cambridge,
MA-Phone (617) 374-9200 and www.SniderAssociates.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Roger Villareal
Benjamin | Weber Shandwick for Docent
415-354-8372
Certain statements made herein that are not historical are
forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. The words "estimate" "project" "intend"
"expect" "believe" and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, changes
in general economic and business conditions, inability to maintain market acceptance
to the Company’s products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies,
products and applications, rapid changes in the market for the Company’s products,
loss of market share and pressure on prices resulting from competition, introduction
of competing products by other companies, inability to manage growth and expansion,
loss of key OEM partners, inability to attract and retain qualified personnel,
inability to protect the Company’s proprietary technology and risks associated
with the Company’s international operations and its location in Israel. For
additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties associated
with the Company’s business, reference is made to the Company’s reports filed
from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.