Core Competencies

The ICP curriculum reflects extensive research on skills and knowledge needed to succeed in industrial distribution, including:

• Expert review of existing literature.
• Delineation of practices by a panel of subject-matter experts.
• Focus groups with subject-matter experts to define skills and knowledge base of successful inside and outside sales representatives.
• Critical incident interviews with industry executives.
• Validation through detailed, written surveys of inside and outside sales reps.

Based on input from a panel of subject-matter experts, the curriculum defines skill blocks for beginner, entry-level and intermediate professionals:

• Core work activities.
• Logical learning sequence.
• Knowledge, skills, attitudes and other requirements.

Skill Block 1: Beginner

Core Work Activities
(in order of recommended instruction)

• Communicate and interact professionally with team members, customers and suppliers.
• Follow company ethics policy, practices and procedures.
• Respond to customer inquires (written and verbal).
• Calculate and verify customer price.
• Communicate product or component quote to customer.
• Check/verify customer credit.
• State terms and conditions of sale (including extent of liability).
• Follow-up on quotes in a timely manner.
• Express appreciation for order (written and verbal).
• Make customer aware of new, promotional and/or related products or components.
• Maintain customer and supplier files and records.
• Reference and control engineering drawings (standard 2-view/3-view mechanical prints and orthographic projections).
• Determine and record product/component size and weight.

Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Other Requirements

• Basic skills, knowledge, behaviors and conditions of work.
• Communicate information using telephone, fax and e-mail and search for information using Internet.
• Know basic keyboarding functions and use a computer with related software and spreadsheets.
• Know company ethics policy and business practices.
• Know company product lines and communicate with internal technical resources.
• Know company warehousing, stocking and expediting practices and procedures.
• Know how to find account codes for suppliers and customers.
• Read industry and trade publications.
• Understand basic telemarketing techniques and etiquette.
• Understand order cancellation and product return polices and practices.

Skill Block 2: Entry-Level
Skill Block 3: Intermediate

Download all skill blocks.