SALES MANAGEMENT
ONLINE SHORT COURSE
Gain the skills needed to structure, train, and lead a sales team in order to make an impact in your business.
9 weeks, excluding orientation.
8–10 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.
Email: uctonline@getsmarter.com
Call: +27 87 551 8063
About This Course
Successful sales managers need to master compelling sales techniques and leadership skills to lead the way with a competitive strategy. On the course, students will learn to implement management best practices to benefit their business. From forecasting and budgets to recruitment and performance evaluation, this University of Cape Town (UCT) Sales Management online short course covers a broad range of skills designed to equip effective sales managers.
What This Course Covers
During this nine-week online short course, you’ll identify the context and principles that underpin the customer focus in sales and marketing. Guided by UCT faculty, you’ll outline personal selling best practices for different circumstances, and show how each stage contributes to closing a sale and strengthening customer relationships. By the end of the course, you’ll have developed the skills to design a training programme, justify the need for integrating technology and CRM systems in sales management planning, and assess performance from a business perspective.
A Powerful Collaboration
Since 2007, the University of Cape Town (UCT) has partnered with digital learning experts GetSmarter to take its renowned education online. This move is driven by UCT’s goal to broaden access to the research and information developed at Africa’s leading university, and make it available to those previously excluded due to geographical constraints. UCT’s scope extends to all areas of sub-Saharan Africa, providing both the institution and its future students with opportunities for further growth.
ABOUT UCT
Founded in 1829, UCT has a proud tradition of academic excellence and effecting social change and development through its pioneering scholarship, faculty, and students. UCT’s reputation for excellence is underpinned by its distinctive research, led by its distinguished faculty, many of whom are leaders in their field.
ABOUT GETSMARTER
GetSmarter, part of edX, helps working professionals gain verifiable skills from leading global universities and institutions to thrive in an ever-changing work environment.
Technology meets academic rigour in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
As a student of this course, you will also gain unlimited access to edX’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll be welcomed to the course and begin connecting with fellow students, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You’ll be required to complete your student profile, confirm your email address for the delivery of your digital certificate, and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during course development.
Explore the nature of sales and marketing in the 21st century.
- Discuss the relationship between sales and marketing
- Outline the stages in the evolution of the marketing concept and the dimensions of the marketing mix
- Identify the context and principles that underpin sales and marketing
- Identify the importance of customer focus in sales management
- Identify the objective of each stage in the strategic planning process
Recognise the role of the personal selling function in maintaining customer relationships.
- Identify the advantages and disadvantages of personal selling
- Indicate how personal selling has evolved over the past few decades and how it is likely to change in the future
- Highlight the different types of selling jobs, and the opportunities for career mobility
- Outline personal selling best practices
- Discuss which activities ‘good’ salespeople spend their time on
Explore the seven stages in the personal selling process, and how to successfully handle negotiations.
- Identify lead generation techniques
- Review how leads are qualified
- Explain how to approach leads in a considered manner
- Summarise elements of a sales presentation
- Describe recommended practices for handling objections during a sales presentation
- Practise handling objections
- Show how each stage of the personal selling process contributes to closing a sale and strengthening customer relationships
- Review the elements of successful negotiation
Discover how to forecast sales targets and set accurate budgets.
- Describe sales forecasting and the potential indicators that affect it
- Identify the steps involved in completing a market-opportunity analysis
- Articulate the differences between qualitative and quantitative forecasting techniques
- Apply appropriate sales forecasting techniques
- Select appropriate sales forecasting or budgeting techniques
- Identify how different pricing strategies are used
- Determine the correct application of different types of pricing strategies
Explore the principles of recruiting and structuring an effective sales team.
- Explain the two main approaches of organisational theory
- Describe the principles of organising a sales-oriented organisation
- Identify the characteristics of a ‘good’ sales organisation
- Show why sales organisations focus on key account management and business development
- Articulate the benefits and challenges of selecting an effective sales team
- Analyse an organisation's sales planning and recruitment practices
Explore the need for conducting frequent sales training, and the components necessary to create an outline for a sales training programme.
- Identify the advantages, objectives, and challenges associated with conducting sales training
- Discuss the need for skills development in the sales industry
- Outline the difference between sales training presented by internal versus external trainers
- Choose how to determine the timing and location for conducting sales training
- Analyse the effectiveness of different types of sales training techniques
- Create a sales training programme overview
- Articulate the need for succession planning in a sales organisation
Investigate how businesses can improve customer relationships through information and CRM systems.
- Explain the importance of collecting and disseminating information in sales management
- Outline why businesses should consider making use of information technology to organise their data
- Determine the guidelines for implementing information technology in an organisation
- Choose appropriate CRM systems to improve customer relations
- Classify CRM systems according to their functions
- Justify the need for implementing technology and CRM systems in sales management planning
Learn how to motivate sales teams through recommended leadership practices and types of compensation.
- Describe the attributes of a good leader
- Identify the advantages and disadvantages of different leadership and supervision styles
- Outline some of the main theories of motivation
- Articulate the role of quotas in motivating a sales team
- Determine why sales team motivation relies on a detailed compensation plan
- Compare different compensation methods and decide which is most appropriate for sales teams
- Decide on an appropriate leadership approach and compensation plan for a sales team
Explore how to analyse a business’s sales profitability.
- Indicate the components and characteristics of an effective sales performance evaluation programme
- Determine the variables involved in analysing sales volume
- Show how types of marketing cost analysis contribute to determining a business's profitability
- Deduce which variables to take into account when completing a profitability analysis
- Assess sales performance from a business perspective and against customer expectation
WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE
Those currently working in sales, and those aspiring to advance or validate their managerial and strategic capabilities, would benefit from participating in this course. It’s also suited to those wanting to transition into a role in sales, as it equips students with a comprehensive set of management-level sales techniques, processes, and strategies. Past students have had titles within business development, customer service, sales and marketing, account management, and come from a variety of industries.
THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO:
ADVANCE YOUR SKILLS
Advance your sales skills by learning best practices in modern sales techniques, strategies, and leadership to ensure you’re performing your sales role to the best of your ability.
DEVELOP NEW COMPETENCIES
Gain confidence in your ability to effectively lead and direct the sales function within any organisation.
IMPROVE SALES PROCESSES
Learn practical skills in sales management, such as how to select forecasting methods, create a sales budget, build a sales team, choose appropriate CRM systems, perform cost analysis, and identify pricing strategies.
About the Certificate
Earn a certificate of completion from the University of Cape Town, Africa’s leading university, as recognition of your newly developed skills.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with a digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.
Your digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you upon successful completion of the course, as per the stipulated requirements. Please note, due to additional administrative requirements, at times UCT course certificate delivery may be delayed by several weeks/months.
Who You’ll Learn From
These subject matter experts from UCT guide the course design and appear in a number of course videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.
YOUR COURSE CONVENOR
Nkosivile Madinga
Marketing Lecturer, School of Management Studies, UCT
YOUR HEAD TUTOR
Gareth Cotten
Entrepreneur, Qualified Accountant, and Financial Consultant
How You’ll Learn
Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in the expertise to forecast sales targets and set accurate budgets
YOUR SUCCESS TEAM
GetSmarter, with whom UCT is collaborating to deliver this online course, provides a personalised approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.
HEAD TUTOR
A subject expert who’ll guide you through content-related challenges.
SUCCESS ADVISOR
Your one-on-one support available during university hours (8am–5pm SAST) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.
GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM
Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.
“A strong relationship between marketing and sales is critical to any business's success. By learning how your company can increase efficiency through inbound selling techniques, your sales team will stay better connected to your marketing team — this relationship has the power to significantly boost conversions and sales.”*
*Hubspot (Mar, 2019).
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Basic Requirements
In order to complete this course, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
Browser Requirements
We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to course material. This browser can be downloaded here.
Additional Requirements
Certain courses may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the course. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our course delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing course content. Please check with a Enrolment Advisor before registering for this course if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.
