Stampede Presentation Products Inc. has made it even more special to be one of the company’s dealers by launching Stampede University, an exclusive benefit that provides users around-the-clock training and education on products as well as business trends such as mergers and acquisitions and new market development.

“We’re in the aggregation business so we have a responsibility to aggregate knowledge as part of that,” says Jeff Willis, Amherst, N.Y.-based Stampede’s vice president of marketing and product management. “This program is a central place, not only for features and products, but also how to spec products and solutions, time management, running a better dealership, and much more.”

The offerings also include tips on helping residential dealers move into the commercial world and vice versa. Stampede University uses webinars, how-to videos, white papers and other media

Stampede University is open exclusively to Stampede dealers, who work on pro A/V, IT and residential projects, Willis says. Among the first courses posted was a primer on video conferencing, a 30-minute session that can help viewers “quickly get up to speed” on what they need to know about the technology, Willis says. Some sessions run as long as 60 minutes, he says. Most of the offerings are eligible for CTS renewal credits.

“The goal is to have the courses have an immediate impact,” Willis says.

In many ways, Stampede University is the next logical step in the company’s outreach and education efforts that started four years ago with The Big Book of AV and continued with the tour of the same name, which makes stops in 13 cities 2012.

Stampede University is open only to Stampede dealers for now, but Willis sees the potential for expansion in the future. And, while the goal is to help dealers become better at their jobs, there are benefits for Stampede staffers too, he says.

“It helps our sales and engineering staff become better at what they do,” says Willis.

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D. Craig MacCormack

Craig MacCormack is a veteran journalist with more than 15 years experience covering local and national news and sports as well as architecture and engineering. He joined Commercial Integrator in January 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @CraigMacCormack.

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