Richardson and Sun Microsystems Form Strategic Learning Alliance; Two Industry Leaders Join Forces to Offer end-to-end Sales Training Solutions

Business Wire, June 4, 2002

Business Editors

ASTD Conference and Exposition

Booth 825

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2002

Richardson, a leading sales training and consulting firm, today announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Sun Educational Services, the training arm of Sun Microsystems, Inc. and a recognized provider of enterprise learning technologies, content, and services.

The alliance will allow the two companies to collaboratively provide clients with end-to-end sales training solutions.

The alliance was created to address the expansive needs of global organizations for comprehensive, flexible, and integrated training solutions for sales professionals.

The combination of the Sun(TM) Enterprise Learning Platform and the Richardson QuickSkills(TM) eLearning sales library, offers important new training opportunities to every level of a sales function -- from senior executives to new hires.

The Sun(TM) Enterprise Learning Platform incorporates learning management, skills management, assessment, and collaboration, and will be used to host, manage, and launch the Richardson QuickSkills on a client-specific basis. There are currently over 70 Richardson QuickSkills courses available on the topics of sales skills, process, sales management, and service.

Each Richardson QuickSkills is AICC and SCORM compliant and is made up of two parts -- a 20-minute interactive learning course and 30-minutes of robust training resources. The full library will help sales professionals:

-- Shorten cycle times

-- Exceed targets and quotas

-- Achieve a higher percentage of sales team targets

-- Build and strengthen long-term relationships

-- Improve customer satisfaction

"We are thrilled will our alliance with Sun Microsystems. We believe that there is no limit to the potential to use the Web as a teacher and a coach," stated Linda Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Richardson. "There are virtually no boundaries in delivering our QuickSkills(TM) courses and coaching to our client's sales forces. Our sales, sales management, and service eLearning curriculum is based on 25 years of instructor-led training programs with industry-leading global organizations. The Sun(TM) Enterprise Learning Platform gives us the opportunity to provide our clients with flawless delivery of our sales performance solutions."

"It is critical for companies to have highly skilled sales organizations to help them drive improved competitiveness," stated Terry Erdle, Vice President of Sun Educational Services Americas. "An effective learning environment is a strategic asset in today's economy. The agreement with Richardson will provide an important element to Sun's overall enterprise learning goals of helping businesses better manage their talent to improve bottom-line performance."

The new alliance will be showcased at this year's American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) Conference and Exposition, June 3rd to June 5th in New Orleans, LA. ASTD is the premier conference and exposition for the $6 billion training industry. Richardson's booth is number 825 and Sun Educational Microsystems' booth is number 2000

About Richardson

Richardson is a leading sales training and consulting firm. We accelerate the productivity of sales competing in changing markets. Utilizing our comprehensive curriculum and our method of coaching to individuals and teams, we help develop the processes and critical skills sales organizations need to win.

Our curriculum includes sales, sales management, strategy, negotiations, and service training delivered through seminars, one-on-one and team coaching, and interactive eLearning.

Leveraging more than 25 years of seminar and consulting experience, Richardson now offers eLearning Richardson QuickSkills as a flexible, interactive, high-impact eLearning alternative to our clients worldwide. The Richardson QuickSkills are available through the Sun(tm) Enterprise Learning Platform, offered by Sun Educational Services, the training group of Sun Microsystems Inc.

In addition, Richardson also partners with Centra to deliver synchronous learning events and real deal coaching. Centra (NASDAQ:CTRA) is the world's leading provider of software infrastructure and ASP services for eLearning and business collaboration.