Phillip Russell was formally educated as a theologian and spent some time as an ordained minister, social worker and counselor of a large Protestant congregation.

Russell still addresses large groups of people, and when he speaks people listen.

But his talks these days are to business sales and management people and his topics are on sales and behavioral issues, management productivity, and other motivational programs concerning selling.

During the past 17 years, Russell has been president of Professional Development Resources Inc., a training and development firm specializing in worldwide seminars and video-based educational programs.

Russell, who is internationally known as a sales and motivational speaker, will be guest speaker during a World Class Selling Seminar to be held Feb. 5 at the Drury Lodge.

"This will be a first-class seminar," said Judy Moss, industrial development director for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring the four-hour presentation that begins at 8:30 a.m.

"People would normally have to go to St. Louis or Memphis for this type of meeting," said Moss. "And they could expect to pay from $100 to $150 for the workshop."

Cost of the Cape Girardeau workshop is $60 for early registration and $70 at the door.

"We feel we're fortunate to have a speaker like Russell," she said. "He's a dynamic individual."

Russell has appeared before crowds of thousands at his selling seminars.

"I have conducted sales seminars throughout the world," he told the Southeast Missourian recently. "In 1987 I did seminars in more than 100 cities."

That includes such areas as Brisbane and Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Hong Kong and Singapore in Asia; Chicago, New York and Las Vegas.

Russell devoted much of his time in 1989 to newspaper Satellite programs.

"We put together a business television newspaper satellite network service program," he said. "We were pretty busy getting it established."

Russell resumed his World Class Selling Seminars last fall.

"We have about 30 cities scheduled for 1992," he said. "We provide participants with a participation workbook to follow along in the program, which is interactive.

"We feel the programs have been successful," he said. "They are enjoyable, entertaining, and motivating. We'll be focusing on value-oriented selling."

The 1990s decade is one of values," said Russell. "Consumers and businesses are more interested in values today than at any other time."

Technology was the emphasis during the decade of the 1970s, said Russell. "People were involved in new technology and how to improve on it. That grew into the 1980s, a decade of service."

Russell said a number of topics are covered during his seminars.

"We talk about a number of things," he said. "Competence in selling comes from knowing how to gather data and what to do with it once you have it. That's one of the things we want to relay.

"We'll also be talking about self-image, which is a key to motivation. We really focus on three elements self-image, knowledge, and commitments. If sales people follow the basic principles we discuss, they can enjoy selling and achieve good success."

He said the course is designed for all levels of selling.