Jayco Hosts 500 Retail Trainees in Middlebury

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Jayco Inc. management (from left) Sid Johnson, Dave Eash and Derald Bontrager, stand behind some of the graduates of this year's Master RV Product Training Session.

Jayco Inc. Wednesday completed its Master RV Product Training Session during which the company hosted almost 500 sales personnel representing 175 dealers over the past two weeks in two sessions at its Middlebury, Ind., manufacturing complex.

To save money in the flagging economy, this is the first time Jayco has had sales representatives to the factory en masse since 2007.

Jayco RV President and COO Derald Bontrager speaks at Jayco's Master RV Product Training graduation dinner.

Jayco, which has 320 dealers nationwide, held a graduation dinner Wednesday night (Sept. 29) at the South Bend Marriott Hotel for those attending this week’s session after three days of training..

The first wave of reps were in Middlebury Sept. 20-22 where they toured Jayco’s assembly line and were instructed on all of Jayco’s products.

”Basically, we break the people down into 10 groups with about 25 in each and spend an hour to an hour and a half in each session,” said Sid Johnson, Jayco marketing director. ”They see how the unit is built and get a thorough walk-around to highlight the major selling features.”

Jayco also brings in about 20 competitive producst for comparison, Johnson said, adding that the sessions allow sales personnel to become more knowlegable about Jayco products and the company itself.

”That is a very valuable asset because it allows them to talk to the customer with a degree of credibility that they wouldn’t have if they weren’t here to see how we do things,” Johnson said. ”We sell Jayco as much as the product itself.

Tony Eisenbeil of Campers Barn RV in Kingston, New York gives the thumbs up after receiving his Jayco's Master RV Product Training certificate at a graduation dinner held at the Marriott Hotel in South Bend on Sept. 29.

The sessions also are designed to build loyalty and show the company’s commitment. ”It about building a relationship with our dealers,” Johnson said.