Today, there are no shortages of opportunities for skilled salespeople. In good times or bad, companies never stop looking for sales representatives that can help them meet their financial goals. If you've always dreamed of becoming successful in sales, this course is exactly what you need. You'll learn how to turn prospects into buyers, how to provide proper customer service, how to develop a sales plan, and more!

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

During our first lesson, we'll unlock the secret to your success as a sales professional. There's no magic in this procedure, and you're not predestined for success or failure. Good sales reps aren't born that way. This course will guide you to success in your sales efforts via planning, hard work, feedback, and practice.

Friday - Lesson 02

In this lesson, we'll examine three major components of a successful time management program: setting priorities, planning your time, and using commercially available time management tools. Mastering those concepts will enable you to build a meaningful time management system and integrate it into your schedule. Granted, many people have demands on their time that don't allow them all the flexibility they would like, so we'll spend some time discussing that, too.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Your sales process begins with marketing. So in this lesson, we're going to sharpen our skills in basic marketing techniques. We'll talk about how to get off to the right start, and then we'll build on that by examining cost versus benefits. Finally, we'll explore tactics associated with tracking the results of your marketing efforts.

Friday - Lesson 04

Most new sales reps are intimidated by the thought of prospecting. In today's lesson, you'll gain the basic tools that you need to excel at the art of prospecting to help you become the best prospector in your company. There are a variety of ways to prospect, including using the phone, direct mail, faxing, e-mails, and old-fashioned cold calling. We'll discuss the basic components of each in this lesson, and you'll learn how to maximize your time while prospecting. After today's lesson, I hope you'll see that prospecting isn't just easy to do—it can also be quite enjoyable!

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, we'll address the challenge of pipeline management by exploring three important areas. First, we'll discuss how to create your first pipeline management system. Next, we'll go further into the details of a prospect database—the core of your pipeline management system. Finally, we'll identify and define the key components of your system.

Friday - Lesson 06

In this lesson, we'll focus on an innovative approach in the sales world, called the "initial call." If you must select a single lesson in this course to master, this would be the one! As we go through this lesson, we'll begin by studying the structure of your first call. Second, we'll talk about a unique approach called a "site study" that will help move you toward closing the sale. Finally, we'll talk about preparing for the next step in the sales process.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Today's topic is intended to give you the material you need to separate you from the majority of your competition by helping you with the art of executing a professional proposal. The first step is creating the proposal. There's a methodology to professional proposal creation, and in this lesson, you'll learn all the information you need to know to develop top-notch proposals. Proposal refinement and delivery are also important parts of, the process, and we'll go over those in detail, too.

Friday - Lesson 08

A lot of sales professionals say that presentations are the most enjoyable part of the sales cycle. When you hire into a new company, this may be what they teach you first. Everyone is (or should be) proud of their product or service, and so they're excited to share it with others. In today's lesson, we'll go over how to develop the most effective presentation techniques—the ones that will give you the greatest chance of winning the sale. We'll start by discussing presentation options, then we'll move on to the structure of your presentation. Finally, we'll examine some of the presentation tools available to you.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

This lesson will focus on the art of negotiating in the sales process. Sales negotiations are quite different from standard negotiations because you, the sales representative, are always doing a fine balancing act, trying to sell your prospect while negotiating a win-win-win situation. Sometimes the negotiating process can cause conflicts, so in this lesson, we'll discuss how to identify and deal with these conflicts.

Friday - Lesson 10

If you were to ask professional sales reps about the aspect of sales they dread the most, a good percentage would respond, "Closing the sale!" However, if you were to ask the same professional sales reps about the aspect of sales they enjoy the most, an equal percentage may very well reply, "Closing the sale!" Why is there such a difference? The answer can be summarized in three words: training, confidence, and technique. By the time you finish this lesson, you'll be equipped with all three.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

The greatest resource any sales representative will ever have is a current list of customers. The company probably expended a great deal of effort and expense into acquiring these clients, so it makes sense that you should put a good deal of effort into retaining these clients. In this lesson, we'll discuss how to protect this valuable asset. Most people think of their clients in the singular sense of people who are currently using their products. You should try to expand this thinking to include all people who have used your products or services. If they made a decision to buy your product at some time in the past, they remain your odds-on favorites to buy again in the future.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our final lesson, we'll go over the major components of your secrets to sales success. If you've paid close attention to all the basics that we covered in the previous lessons, you already know these secrets. By developing a comprehensive action plan that incorporates these strategies into your daily activities, you'll ensure your long-term success in the world of sales.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Dave Paquin.

With a Master of Science degree in Training and Learning Technology, and extensive experience as a Human Resources Manager, Dave Paquin has been training, coaching and managing sales personnel for more than ten years.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

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