SLIM partners Nations Trust Bank to develop sales force

Monday, 6 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

From left: Nations Trust Bank’s Sales and Services Training Manager Devapriya Perera, Chief Manager Consumer Sales Randil Boteju and Head of HR Mevan Balalle. SLIM CEO/Executive Director Sanath Senanayake, Assistant General Manager Marketing Chinthaka Wanasinghe, Head of Business Development Mihirinie Fonseka and Manger Education Gayan Maldeniya The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for Marketing in Sri Lanka, signed a MoU with Nations Trust Bank with a view to training sales staff of Nations Trust Bank and qualifying them with the SLIM Diploma in Professional Selling (DPS). The signing of the MoU took place at Nations Trust Bank’s Nawam Mawatha, Colombo branch. The occasion was graced by Nations Trust Bank’s Head of HR Mevan Balalle, Sales and Services Training Manager Devapriya Perera and Chief Manager Consumer Sales Randil Boteju. The representatives from SLIM were SLIM CEO/Executive Director Sanath Senanayake, Assistant General Manager Marketing Chinthaka Wanasinghe, Head of Business Development Mihirinie Fonseka and Manger Education Gayan Maldeniya. The first batch from Nations Trust Bank for the DPS program comprises 25 employees. Through a very practical training schedule, they will be endowed with the knowledge and skills to achieve greater heights in sales, adding value to their company’s revenue growth and sustainability. A co-branded certificate by SLIM and Nations Trust Bank will be awarded to every participant at the end of the program. SLIM, aside from mentoring school leavers, aspiring marketers and marketing personnel with its world-class educational products on Sales and Marketing, ventures into specific corporate projects as these to add value to companies in Sri Lanka. With its DPS program, SLIM during the past four years has enhanced the skills of the sales forces in diverse spheres such as insurance, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, mobile telecommunication and banking. A bonus for the participants too is on offer. For the people who have completed DPS, SLIM offers exemptions for those students who have passed out to pursue the National Diploma in Sales Management. Expressing his views, SLIM President Kalana Rathnayaka said: “Sri Lankan organisations in the present context pay great emphasis towards skills development tof their employees and SLIM caters to this need effectively. I must give due credit to companies that are proactively involved in reaping benefits from these customised programs specifically designed by SLIM. Apart from the DPS program, which is designed to enhance the skills of sales personnel, the PCM (Preliminary Certificate in Marketing) is designed by SLIM towards grooming aspiring marketers. There is a tremendous response to these two study areas from the corporate sector,” he said. SLIM Senior Vice President Ruwan Liyanagamage said the corporate sector had kept its confidence in the DPS and PCM programs of SLIM since these programs effectively contribute towards enhancing the performance of their employees. “We alter educational products to suit the dynamic requirements of our corporate partners. Thus our services are personalised. Employees who participate in SLIM programs have demonstrated exceptional skills in sales and marketing to bring more revenue to their respective organisations. Furthermore, they have showcased abilities of maintaining healthier relationships with customers. The corporate sector with these experiences has endorsed the credibility of SLIM educational products thus their relationship with SLIM has become robust. From the referrals of these loyal customers of SLIM, we are now receiving fresh requests from other organisations to groom their employees,” Liyanagamage revealed. “Satisfying customer’s expectations is the core competency of SLIM and the institute has gained recognition from students and the corporate sector over the decade,” said SLIM CEO/Executive Director Sanath Senanayake. “SLIM has been bringing innovation to its educational products and presently uses an online learning system as a tool to cater to the training needs of the corporate sector. This showcases the flexibility of the entity towards providing convenience to its customers,” added Senanayake. Commenting on this, Head of Human Resources of Nations Trust Bank Mevan Balalle stated: “We have always endured to instill a strong service and sales oriented culture amongst our employees, facilitating a pathway to enhance their career and personal development. I am pleased to announce that the bank, together with SLIM, has developed a customised diploma program for our sales force, creating a structured method for Business Development Officers to grow within the bank.”