Paint retailers should use the current lockdown period for their sales staff to be trained online as certified paint and coatings advisors, urges Deryck Spence, executive director of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association (SAPMA), which has formulated a special training course for such personnel.
“There is generally an alarming lack of knowledge among paint sales staff in South Africa. Many paint retailers realise this but, under normal trading conditions, have failed to use the online training provided by SAPMA, claiming that it was difficult to allow staff to study online at the workplace while the stores are busy. Now, with lockdown having forced the sales staff to stay at home, the employers should immediately register their staff to upgrade their skills via SAPMA’s special video on-line ‘webinar’ training programme,” he states.
Spence says by taking advantage of the SAPMA Retail Video Training Programme, paint sales personnel can study at home and be transformed from seller to specialist. “The retailer’s paint sales experts – and the store - will be armed with a SAPMA-backed Certificate of Competence to keep customers happy and boost paint sales in the crucial post-lockdown period when lost income will have to be speedily recovered.”
He says experience in the USA has shown that, after training their sales staff, paint hardware stores not only regained market shares but also increased their turnovers in paint and ancillary product sales by up to 50% and boosted store profits overall. “Paint, after all, is among the priciest commodities in a hardware store,” Spence pointed out.
The SAPMA on-line training is open to all retailers, including non-SAPMA members. For further information, e-mail training@sapma.org.za or visit www.sapma.org.za and click on the “Education and Training” tab.