As you by now know, if you’ve read my previous articles, we spend an awful lot of time, effort and money to hire the best salespeople in our industry. Of the thousands of resumes we receive for positions in the Sales department, only a very small percentage are ultimately offered a position. We also “grow our own” Sales Engineers via a strong and complete internship program, with the interns coming from the best music technology and recording programs in the country. A sidenote: Our “interns” would be front-line salespeople at many of our competitors. We take the time to round out their product knowledge and professionalism and develop them to the point that they can run with the best in the industry when they move into a Sales Engineer position following their internship.

Having said this, the fact remains that when we bring a new employee onboard in the Sales department, we can’t expect them to know everything about all the products that we sell. This is really where Sweetwater University comes into play. Here, we have the opportunity to very thoroughly cover all aspects of the technology and applications of the products we represent. In the process, we can brush away any of the misconceptions and audio myths that the School of Hard Knocks might have planted as fact in the minds of new employees before they came on board. Personally, I view Sweetwater U. as the graduate level course not offered in traditional schools that is really required to receive a true “Audio Professional” Doctorate degree. Sweetwater University is open to all Sweetwater employees. We regularly have folks from departments other than Sales attending the classes so they can learn to get more out of their equipment (yes, we have “gear heads” all over the company). Presently, there are three distinct “sections” to the curriculum, “MIDI and Electronic Musical Instruments,” “Audio” and “Digital Audio and Integration” (combines previous sections). The curriculum has been refined and is continually being enhanced by our Technical Training Coordinator, Greg Baitz. Here’s how it works . . . Tuesday, 6:15 p.m. – Pizza! Yes, we feed them first; having folks keel over from hunger while they are trying to learn just doesn’t make for productive class time. Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. – Sweetwater University begins. Study materials from the previous class are handed out and there is a brief Q&A regarding said materials and the information covered in the previous class. When we are comfortable that everybody is on the same page, we then move on to the current coursework. Sweetwater U. is not a “lecture and listen only” environment. While we do have various instructors that do lecture for a portion of the class, the reality is that this is a very open forum. Every instructor is strong enough to veer away from the planned materials to dig in deeper on specific topics as necessary (more on the instructors later). We also have “Labs” scheduled as part of the curriculum which might be held in our on-site studio (complete with a Euphonix console, M-20s, ProTools and more). For example, we might have a blind microphone listening session or a monitor shoot-out. We might configure and hook up large MIDI systems or do installations on K2500s to ensure that we know the gear inside as well as out.

“Who teaches these high level classes?” you might ask. We are very fortunate to have fantastic instructors in-house. David Stewart, our Creative Marketing Director teaches the bulk of the “Audio” sections and has the background to do so quite effectively. I know that David doesn’t like to blow his own horn, so I will (he’ll hunt me down and kill me later). He’s been in the industry for a long time (some of you have probably enjoyed having David as your Sales Engineer). I’ve known David since he was working at another store many years ago). He also owns a 24-track facility in Kentucky, has a degree in Physics, managed our Service Department, writes the “inSync” electronic newsletter (posted on our Web site daily) and frankly is as big a “gearhead” as I’ve had the privilege to know. David is also one of the original “Deans” of SWU, helping it grow with our old friend Mitch Gallagher, now the Technical Editor at Keyboard Magazine.

Other instructors include Robert Dorion and Bruce Hendrix. These two gentlemen cover the bulk of the “MIDI and Electronic Musical Instruments” section. Robert is a senior member of our Sales staff and heads up our Education Task Force which focuses on bringing music technology to the education market. Robert has a degree in Music Synthesis from Berklee School of Music, has worked for Young Chang as a Technical Writer and has also worked professionally writing jingles for a studio in Pennsylvania. Bruce supervises our amazing Product Support Department and is arguably one of the top Kurzweil experts in the world. Beyond these folks, we might have a key factory technology expert to come in to cover specific topics or to assist in Labs.

What are we trying to accomplish at Sweetwater University? First, we want to ensure that every “student” develops a solid foundation. For example, when we are talking about dynamics processing (compressors, limiters, gates, levelers, etc.) we start out with the basics; making sure that everybody understands how this gear works. What is a VCA? What is a feedback circuit? What does Threshold, Ratio, etc. mean?

Next, we talk about applications so when you call in with a question about a weird (or normal) application for a compressor, limiter, etc., we can respond with confidence and provide you with a solution to your problem(s). Finally, we discuss the various applicable products we carry based on the coursework and the differences technically and functionally of these products. This helps ensure that when you call us with an application we will recommend exactly the right product.

Regular quizzes and several larger tests are given to confirm that the information covered is locked in for good. It’s worth mentioning here that every Sales Engineer at Sweetwater is required to pass a technical examination and that this exam is the most comprehensive I’ve ever seen. The bottom line is our commitment to our customers to provide them with the most knowledgeable sales staff in the industry. It’s great if you are a gear head and read every trade magazine and follow every news group on the Internet. Unfortunately, the reality is that you still won’t be able to have the latest “factory direct” information that we are privy to because of our regular contact with the manufacturers. You also won’t have the advantage of the feedback we can provide from our hundreds of thousands of customers (we know very quickly if a product is bulletproof or if it is problematic based on customer feedback to our Sales Engineers and Product Support personnel, as well as our own rigorous testing).

So, am I proud of the overall level of knowledge my sales team has? You bet. I don’t know of a harder working, more knowledgeable and more professional sales team in our industry. Do each of them know everything about everything? No way. Try as we might to know everything, sometimes we have to do a little research to answer your questions completely and accurately. Will each of them typically know more than other salespeople in our industry? Absolutely! (Have I mentioned that I’m enormously proud of this group?)

In the next issue of Sweet Notes, I’ll cover our Thursday morning Sales Meeting — will the thrills never end? Until then, Rock and Roll!

Jeff Radke is Vice President of Sales at Sweetwater.