A Q&A with Chris Budion on the Philadelphia Regional Training Summit

Chris Budion is National Sales Director at Hollander and one of those spearheading the Northeast Regional Training Summit in Philadelphia. Chris took some time to sit down and answer some questions surrounding the Summit for those thinking about attending, the second in a series of Q&A's done on Hollander Excellence. The Summit is slated for Saturday, June 27th, and offers three category tracks, Inventory, System Management and Advanced Powerlink Reporting. Chris is responsible for getting the resources together making sure attendees leave the summit more skilled and informed than when they came in. After the interview keep scrolling to check out our session descriptions! Which are also available on our registration site.

Q: What is the purpose of the new training category, “Advanced Powerlink Reporting”?

A: Since I joined Hollander in 2012, one of the consistent requests I have heard from customers is for more reporting capability in Powerlink. Owners want more and better data to make business decisions and Ad Hoc Reporting is our solution to this challenge. Users will learn how to use report templates, customize them, even create brand new custom reports tailored to their needs.

Q: How many Hollander employees will be in attendance, and from what departments within Hollander?

A: Hollander will have 12 employees at the Summit, and an eBay Motors Account Manager will be joining us as well. The group includes Technical Support, Installation & Training, Marketing, Product Management and Sales.

Q: What advantage can I gain from attending? Is there a certain skill level that benefits most from the sessions?

A: The goal of the Regional Training Summits is to help Powerlink customers get the most from their system, either through features that they may have forgotten about since their original training, or new features that have been added. Our goal with the session content is to address the needs of as wide a range of users as possible, whether you are brand-new to Powerlink or have been using it for years.

Q: What will be improved upon from the first Regional Summit?

A: Based on attendee feedback we have added more advanced training content, including an entirely new track for Ad Hoc Reporting. We have also moved the networking reception to Saturday afternoon, to give attendees more time to interact and discuss what they have learned during the day.

Q: How much training concerns Powerlink? Will other Hollander products be covered in detail?

A: While the core training is focused on Powerlink, we definitely address other solutions that customers can utilize in their business: Snap-It, eLink, Storefront, CoreConnect, Production Manager and PartsView to name a few.

Q: To what capacity can I receive individual training concerning my own yard? Will there be time to talk about my yard’s specific needs?

A: Definitely! We are bringing the Technology Test Drive Center to the Summits, enabling customers to ask their questions one on one with technical support, eBay, and sales. And of course the sessions are intended for open questions with the instructors.

Q: Do I have to commit to one specific track or can I change tracks on a session-by-session basis?

A: You can absolutely pick and choose which sessions in each track you want to attend. To get the most benefit from each track, it is best to have more than one person attend from the business, that way you can get all of the available information and share it when you get back home.

Q: Will there be information concerning new and upcoming products?

A: We will definitely be sharing some “previews of coming attractions” for attendees.

Q: What is the recommended number of users to bring?

A: That really depends on each customer’s situation. If you have several employees who have never received one-on-one or classroom training on Powerlink, they will all benefit from the Summit. If everyone has the basics and you want to learn more about advanced functionality, two people can attend System Management and Advanced Powerlink Reporting.

Q: Can enough useful training be covered in one day?

A: Yes, absolutely! The Hollander team has actively solicited input from Powerlink customers on what they want included in this training, and we believe that this is the absolute best value for your dollar in terms of how much is covered and the expertise available to Summit attendees.