For any company or organisation to have success financially it must have a desirable product. This product must be of need to a large proportion of the general public. Advertising, using all available media outlets, should get the message across. But the most important link after the manufacturing and advertising (marketing) is the salesperson/sales representative - The person who actually sells the product to the consumer. Without him, the financial/corporate world would come to a halt! 

This course will take you from developing a strong personality (confidence and knowledge) through to communication, marketing, dealing with upper management, getting to know your product, the A B C of selling, the opening and closing or a sale, stress management, how to increase your company's profits, etc.

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Developing Sales Concepts
   • Goods & Services, Ways of Managing Sales, Developing a Sales Concept, Planning Ahead, Understanding Selling, Understanding Buyers, Steps in the Sales Order, Increasing Sales
2. Developing Sales Relationships
   • Sales Methods, Presentation & the Selling Personality (personality traits of a salesperson), Communication skills and conversational selling
3. Sales Ethics
   • The Law and Ethics, Social Problems, Pricing, Deceit, High Pressure Sales, Poor Quality Products, Predetermined Obsolescence, The Impact of Marketing and Selling on Society, Public Responses to Modern Marketing Trends (eg. Consumerism, Environmentalism etc), Enlightened Marketing
4. Building Product Knowledge
   • Good & Bad Features (eg. Make/trade name; Model; Purpose or use; How & where it is manufactured; Materials used; Wholesale/retail price; Guarantees; Warranty; Spare parts (availability and location); Service Costs)
   • Knowing the Competition etc.
5. Developing a Customer Strategy
   • Types of Buyers, Buyer Motivation, Difficult Buyers, Key Rules for Every Salesperson
6. Presentation Strategy Options
   • Displays (eg. Locating Your Displays For Best Results), Shop Layout, Trade Displays etc.
7. Closing a Sale
   • Difficulties with closing a sale & solutions, importance of the personal approach.
8. Managing Yourself
   • Time management, Territory management, Record Management, Sales Records, Stress Management
9. Managing a Sales Team
   • Building quality partnerships.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Explain how a sales concept reflects and aids the marketing goals of an organization.
• Identify key ways to develop good sales relationships with customers and others.
• Identify ethical and legal considerations in sales.
• Explain the importance of product knowledge and what it includes.
• Explain the role of a developed customer strategy and how to create one.
• Identify elements of good product presentation.
• Explain the stages of a sale and how to achieve results.
• Describe the importance of self-management to sales success.
• Identify and explain key methods for managing a sales team.
• Identify and explain key methods for managing a sales team.