Manufacturers using distributors or manufacturers' representatives pay attention!
Salespeople sell what they know (and what sells easily).
Yet most manufacturers' "training" consists of a binder full of catalog sheets and perhaps a plant tour to see yet another CNC (I know you paid a million dollars for that machine, but it really isn't any different than any other CNC machine).
Why not take advantage of new media (podcasting and web video) to organize more comprehensive training? Here's a great video about podcasting:
One of the best training videos we had as a rep was a home made VHS tape I'm sure was shot by someone with the DT's, it was shaking that bad. It showed, in excruciating detail, how a water line is laid from the water main in the street to the house. But it also showed how a corp stop and a curb stop (two valves used by water departments) were actually used. Editing in those days wasn't something you did easily.
Digital camcorders cost less than $200. Both Windows (Moviemaker) and Mac (iMovie) have video editing software. Don't get hung up on too much editing, just chop out the really bad parts. YouTube will host your video (who knows maybe a future customer will see it and be interested in your product).
Several years ago Berman Information Systems did a survey that showed the average rep spends 17 hours a week in their car.
Why not do podcasts (that's a fancy name for an audio recording) with product information? Even better, why not also do podcasts that show your strengths and weaknesses relative to your competitors. Yes its ok to have weaknesses. If a salesperson knows about them in advance, they can sell around them.
Even if you give your salespeople MP3 players (which you can buy for less than $50 each, even as little as $17.50 for one designed for the car), you are going to sell a lot more product.
Its not that hard to create this kind of training, so what's keeping you from starting?