DPA Buying Group Launches DPA University

DPA – Distributor Partners of America has cut the ribbon to unveil DPA University (www.DPAUniversity.com), the group’s new online educational portal which offers free product training and soft-skills courses to all DPA distributors and their employees.

“Studies have shown that people are more likely to sell what they know. That’s why we are investing in our distributors and manufacturers with this powerful technology. Product training and knowledge is an integral part of our members’ sales growth and success,” said Zachary T. Haines, DPA’s CEO. 

DPA partnered with BlueVolt, an industry-leading Learning Management System (LMS) to create a cutting-edge online learning platform for its membership. It was designed to enhance employee knowledge, build DPA manufacturer brand awareness, and increase sales. There are currently more than 70 product-specific courses on the platform, each ranging from 5 minutes to over an hour in duration. Several of the courses contain recap summaries and even quizzes at the end of the presentation to ensure knowledge is retained.

“We are actively working with the group’s manufacturers to add new content and training courses to our growing library. Whenever a new supplier participates, distributors will be notified that those learning modules are available.”

In addition to product training, DPA distributors also have access to over 1,000 soft-skills courses that include customer service, sales training, workplace safety, leadership training, courses on finance, technology, time management, human resources, and more. “One of the courses is titled ‘Closing the Sale.’ Imagine how much more profitable a distributor might be if their salespeople just took two or three of these courses,” Haines remarked.

DPA University is free for all DPA distributor members. Owners and department heads can utilize this resource for the greater benefit of the organization, no matter the industry. They will have the ability to customize individual “learning tracks” for their team members and track their completion results.

A phased rollout of DPA University began with the group’s Safety, Industrial, and Automotive membership. In the coming months, the group will open its doors to all distributors in the Janitorial/Sanitation and Packaging divisions.