SALES MANAGEMENT & MARKETING

STUDY AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT   

This Program provides the route to career success in a wide range of sales and marketing posts, as well as providing essential skills and knowledgeable for business people, entrepreneurs, managers and directors.  Whether involved in specific elements of sales or selling, dealing with customers, marketing or research, this Program provides the path to becoming an effective and valuable sales and marketing professional.

Marketing is often viewed as the most important function of any organisation; without effective marketing activities an organisation will be out of touch with customer needs, market situations and developments; and customers will not know about or have access to the products and services of the business.  Along with the top-class selling ability required for success, knowledge is needed about markets, market research, distribution channels, marketing strategies, advertising, publicity, public relations, pricing strategies and more. Sales/marketing managers must also manage staff: recruit, motivate, guide, train and control them, and plan and organize their activities.  This practical Program provides training on the wide-ranging duties of sales and marketing managers in the highly competitive world of business.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR TOPICS COVERED INCLUDE:

• The principles of selling and salesmanship.
• Internal sales personnel and commercial travelling salespeople.
• The methods of selling: creating interest, giving demonstrations, making sales transactions.
• Types and categories of consumers, commercial and corporate buyers.
• Making ongoing sales, building customer relationships, generating and following up sales leads.
• The principles of management: recruiting, training, remunerating, controlling and motivating sales personnel.
• Building effective sales teams, setting and monitoring sales targets, deciding upon sales areas.
• The organisation and control of sales teams, and the special issues regarding travelling salesmen.
• Market research: consumer research, market surveys, advertising research.
• The importance of research, and the activities involved.
• Reasons for undertaking and the types of test marketing.
• Techniques and importance of sales forecasting.
• Planning, budgeting, budgetary control in sales and marketing, variances and their implications.
• Segmentation of markets, the role of brands, psychology in sales and marketing.
• Channels of distribution; which to choose, advantages and disadvantages; wholesale, retail, franchise.
• Credit and setting terms, credit limits, control over credit customers.
• The types and purposes of different discounts allowed: trade, quantity, cash, others.
• Sales forecasting and planning in connection with the product life cycle (PLC).
• Pricing strategies, factors in setting prices, the objectives of pricing.
• Direct and indirect advertising and publicity.
• Media and their importance, sales promotion, roles and management of public relations.
• Sales letters & literature, direct marketing.
• The Internet as a marketing and sales tool; website design, social media.
• The sales office, records, graphs, statistics, collection and analysis of data, computerised sales data.
• Export selling, international marketing, customs duties.
• Researching overseas markets, expansion of markets and the customer-base.