One room in the Northwestern Mutual Sales and Research Lab in the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration has a new name.
The lab’s training room is now the Van Eaton and Romero, a Latter & Blum Company, Sales Training Room. The designation was announced during a dedication ceremony Monday night in Moody Hall.
Bob Merrick, Latter & Blum owner and CEO, presented a $60,000 check on behalf of the company. He also made a personal donation of $60,000 to the college.
“You all are training the future business leaders of this community and others,” Merrick said during the dedication.
The Northwestern Mutual Sales and Research Lab is used by students, faculty and business professionals, who receive traditional instruction, conduct research and receive sales training. The lab is funded with a mix of state, University and private funds.
“This training room could not be named after a better company in our community in terms of the leadership, values and corporate climate,” said Dr. Geoffrey Stewart, head of the University’s Department of Marketing and Hospitality.
The sales and research lab also has a 22-seat classroom and three soundproof rooms for conducting mock sales scenarios. It’s outfitted with audio and video equipment that enables students to polish their skills.
“We have a resource that I believe is unparalleled in the country,” Stewart said.
Students get feedback from professors and business professionals, and can see and hear what they are doing right and wrong, said Dr. Duleep Delpechitre, the lab’s director.
“Selling a product, in a 20-minute window, when you have people watching you and grading you, is not easy,” said Delpechitre, an assistant professor of marketing.
Megan Martin, a junior marketing student from New Iberia, said training at the lab helped her win first place overall at the annual collegiate National Sales Challenge in November in Wayne, N.J.
“Once you can master your nerves about being videotaped at school, you can carry that experience with you anywhere,” she said during the dedication ceremony.