Hey, DUDE: Kingsdown offers high-tech training

David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 18, 2013

MEBANE, N.C. - It's DUDE training time at Kingsdown.Kingsdown’s Joe Schmoeller stands with a kiosk that features the company’s new DUDE training program.
     No, the producer isn't aiming to turn out ranch-ready cowboys, but it is targeting its retail partners with a new high-tech, customizable electronic sales training program known as DUDE. That stands for "Delivering U Digital Education."
     Under the program, Kingsdown is producing short videobased "info-tainment" lessons on products and sleep research designed for retail sales associates. Sales teams can watch these videos together or individually. Each video will be followed up by a brief test to help track what the RSAs learned in the session, officials said.
     The cute name is no accident, dude.
    "Retail sales associates are vital to Kingsdown's success and we wanted to create a better way to train them," said Frank Hood, Kingsdown's president and CEO. "We think that RSAs will appreciate the humor built in to both our videos and quick quizzes. Even the name DUDE communicates a laid-back, fun attitude. We believe well-produced videos, combining news and entertainment, are a great format for learning."
    In the DUDE program, the videos can be accessed at any time, along with research documents and sleep studies, Kingsdown media placements, and sell-sheets that can be printed on-the-spot for consumers, the company said.
   The online learning system can be used via any Internetcapable device or by installing a kiosk in retail showrooms, which also serves as a portal for live, interactive meetings with Kingsdown representatives, the company said.
     "This is one-stop-shopping when it comes to learning about Kingsdown products and our recommended and proven sales approach," said Craig Wilson, Kingsdown's vice president of sales training and education. "Everything a retailer, its RSAs and customers need can be accessed in one convenient spot on the sales floor. Better yet, we'll customize each kiosk per retailer, so they only view information relevant to their store. We're also prepared to create oneof-a-kind sales training videos with a retailer's in-house educator for a truly personalized experience."
     Interactive online meetings, such as "Sleep to Live Institute, Live," in which Wilson and Dr. Robert Oexman, director of The Sleep to Live Institute, address key bedding issues with RSAs, will be taped and made available through the DUDE program for viewing later.