Customer-Centric Selling Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Account Managers, Business Development Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-S-040

Before you join: This intermediate course assumes participants have prior experience in a customer-facing sales, account management or business development role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Customer-centric selling shifts the sales conversation from product claims and seller targets to the customer’s priorities, risks, desired outcomes and decision process. This matters when buyers involve multiple stakeholders, formal procurement, technical review, budget approval and implementation teams. Salespeople must identify the business problem behind the initial request, quantify the consequences of inaction and build a recommendation that earns trust without making unsupported promises.

This five-day course develops a disciplined approach to customer-focused B2B, public-sector and institutional selling. Participants map buying journeys, segment accounts, develop customer personas, conduct structured discovery and create value propositions linked to measurable business outcomes. They use SPIN questioning, Jobs to Be Done, the Value Proposition Canvas and MEDDICC qualification to improve opportunity choices, stakeholder engagement and sales conversations. The course also covers co-creating solutions, presenting business cases, managing objections, negotiating mutual value and planning account growth after the initial sale.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings, realistic cases, peer discussion, group analysis, sales conversation simulations and individual application planning. Cases can be adapted to banking, government, NGOs, technology, professional services, industrial supply and other complex sales settings. Participants leave with a practical customer-centric selling toolkit, including a customer journey map, discovery guide, opportunity qualification sheet, value case structure and 90-day application plan. Delivery is available in classroom locations across 50+ cities or live online, with five training days running from 08:30 to 16:30 and approximately 32.5 contact hours. Participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to sales professionals who already manage customer conversations and now need stronger methods for consultative, multi-stakeholder and value-based selling.

What you will be able to do

  • Map customer buying journeys using Jobs to Be Done evidence and persona data
  • Segment accounts using customer need, value potential and relationship criteria
  • Conduct SPIN discovery conversations that reveal priorities, constraints and decision criteria
  • Build quantified value propositions using the Value Proposition Canvas
  • Qualify complex opportunities using MEDDICC evidence and stakeholder analysis
  • Design customer recommendations with mutual action plans and implementation commitments
  • Present business cases that connect proposed solutions to measurable customer outcomes
  • Create a 90-day customer-centric selling application plan for active opportunities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Ask discovery questions that uncover decision criteria beyond stated requirements
  • Build credible value cases instead of relying on feature-led sales presentations
  • Recognise weak opportunities earlier and focus time on qualified customer priorities
  • Handle objections through diagnosis, evidence and mutually acceptable trade-offs
  • Plan account growth around customer outcomes, adoption and renewal risks

For your organisation

  • Improves opportunity qualification and reduces time spent on low-probability pursuits
  • Creates more consistent customer discovery notes, value messages and next-step plans
  • Raises proposal relevance by linking recommendations to buyer priorities and evidence
  • Strengthens cross-functional handoffs between sales, delivery and customer success teams
  • Supports retention and account growth through structured customer outcome reviews

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish customer-centric selling from product-led selling and define customer progress clearly.

  • Customer-centric selling principles contrasted with product-led and transaction-led sales approaches
  • Customer buying processes mapped from trigger through adoption and renewal
  • Jobs to Be Done interviews distinguish functional, social, and emotional progress
  • Voice of Customer evidence separated from assumptions, anecdotes, and internal opinions
  • Buyer personas defined using role, context, priorities, and success measures
  • Ethical customer focus balances buyer outcomes, seller commitments, and margin

Participants can prioritise accounts using customer need, value potential and relationship evidence.

  • Segmentation criteria combine needs, value potential, access, and service requirements
  • Ideal customer profiles distinguish strategic fit from simple revenue size
  • Buying committees analysed through influence, risk, information, and approval roles
  • Account prioritisation matrices rank opportunity value against relationship strength
  • White-space analysis identifies unmet needs within existing customer portfolios
  • Territory choices align coverage effort with customer potential and complexity

Participants can create evidence-based value propositions tied to customer business results.

  • Value Proposition Canvas links customer pains, gains, jobs, and offerings
  • Quantified value hypotheses connect operational improvements to financial consequences
  • Outcome statements replace feature claims with measurable customer business results
  • Proof points selected from evidence, references, pilots, and implementation data
  • Value messages tailored for economic buyers, users, and technical evaluators
  • Claims tested for credibility, relevance, differentiation, and delivery feasibility

Participants can run structured discovery meetings that reveal customer priorities and constraints.

  • SPIN questioning sequences situation, problem, implication, and need-payoff questions
  • Opening contracts establish purpose, agenda, roles, and desired conversation outcomes
  • Active listening captures facts, meanings, concerns, and unstated decision criteria
  • Follow-up questions expose root causes, constraints, and consequences of inaction
  • Conversation summaries confirm priorities, evidence, ownership, and next steps
  • Discovery notes separate customer language from seller interpretation and assumptions

Participants can assess opportunity quality and build engagement plans for key stakeholders.

  • MEDDICC qualification tests metrics, economic buyer, decision process, pain, and champions
  • Stakeholder maps plot influence, attitude, access, and information needs
  • Decision processes traced across technical validation, procurement, legal, and approval
  • Mutual action plans assign milestones, owners, dependencies, and review dates
  • Opportunity risks assessed through status quo preference and competing priorities
  • CRM opportunity records document evidence, commitments, confidence, and next actions

Participants can develop recommendations that reflect customer priorities, constraints and implementation realities.

  • Co-creation workshops translate discovery evidence into prioritised solution requirements
  • Solution options compared against customer outcomes, constraints, and implementation effort
  • Recommendation logic connects capabilities, services, partners, and customer responsibilities
  • Pilot scopes define hypotheses, measures, governance, timeline, and exit criteria
  • Implementation handoffs clarify sales, delivery, customer success, and sponsor roles
  • Scope discipline protects agreed outcomes while managing change requests transparently

Participants can present a persuasive business case grounded in customer evidence and quantified value.

  • Executive narratives frame urgency, stakes, choices, and recommended action
  • Business cases calculate costs, benefits, payback, risks, and assumptions
  • Value stories combine customer evidence, quantified impact, and credible proof
  • Proposal structures mirror buying criteria, decision sequence, and evaluation language
  • Demonstrations follow customer scenarios rather than generic product tours
  • Presentation close plans secure decisions, commitments, and defined next meetings

Participants can address customer concerns and negotiate agreements that protect mutual value.

  • Objections classified as value, risk, authority, timing, or implementation concerns
  • Diagnostic responses acknowledge concerns before testing evidence and underlying interests
  • Principled negotiation separates people, interests, options, and objective criteria
  • Concession plans trade conditional value rather than reduce price prematurely
  • Procurement conversations protect customer outcomes, commercial terms, and delivery viability
  • Closing questions confirm decision readiness without manufactured urgency or pressure

Participants can create account plans that support customer outcomes, renewal and responsible growth.

  • Account plans connect customer strategy, stakeholder priorities, and growth hypotheses
  • Customer health indicators track adoption, value realised, sentiment, and renewal risk
  • Quarterly business reviews assess outcomes, issues, commitments, and future priorities
  • Expansion opportunities arise from adjacent jobs, new stakeholders, and capability gaps
  • Service recovery conversations restore trust through ownership, evidence, and corrective action
  • Referral requests follow demonstrated outcomes and explicit customer advocacy signals

Participants can establish practical routines for applying customer-centric selling to live opportunities.

  • Personal selling scorecards track discovery quality, pipeline evidence, and customer outcomes
  • Call plans specify hypotheses, questions, stakeholder roles, and next-step commitments
  • Deal reviews challenge assumptions using evidence, risks, and alternative customer actions
  • Manager coaching uses observable behaviours, call evidence, and agreed improvement goals
  • Weekly habits convert account priorities into disciplined preparation and follow-through
  • Ninety-day application plans set targets, milestones, feedback, and review rhythms

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Customer buying journey map
  2. Ideal customer profile and account prioritisation matrix
  3. SPIN discovery conversation guide
  4. MEDDICC opportunity qualification sheet
  5. Value Proposition Canvas and quantified value case
  6. 90-day customer-centric selling application plan

Who should attend

  • Account Managers — build deeper customer relationships and expand strategic accounts
  • Business Development Managers — improve qualification and value conversations for new opportunities
  • Sales Executives — move from product presentations to evidence-based customer recommendations
  • Key Account Managers — coordinate multiple stakeholders around shared account priorities
  • Sales Managers — coach customer-focused behaviours using observable sales evidence
  • Client Relationship Managers — strengthen retention, renewal and cross-selling conversations

Skills and tools covered

Customer journey mappingValue-based sellingConsultative discoveryStakeholder managementOpportunity qualificationAccount growth planning

Tools and standards

SPIN Selling, Jobs to Be Done, Value Proposition Canvas, MEDDICC

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case analysis, group exercises, sales conversation simulations and structured feedback. Participants apply customer journey mapping, SPIN discovery, MEDDICC qualification and value-case development to realistic selling situations. Cases examine multi-stakeholder buying groups, formal evaluation processes, objections, procurement discussions and account growth decisions. Individual application planning helps participants transfer the methods to current accounts, opportunities and customer meetings after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

This intermediate course assumes participants have prior experience in a customer-facing sales, account management or business development role. They should be familiar with their organisation’s products or services, typical customer types and basic sales stages. Experience preparing proposals, conducting customer meetings or managing a pipeline is useful. Participants do not need prior training in SPIN, MEDDICC, Jobs to Be Done, negotiation theory, financial modelling or formal market research. The course does not require advanced spreadsheet, CRM administration or presentation design skills.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have experience in sales, account management, client relationship management or business development. No previous knowledge of SPIN, MEDDICC, Jobs to Be Done or formal negotiation models is required.

Participants should bring details of one current customer account or active sales opportunity, without sharing confidential information. This provides useful material for the application planning elements of the course.

The course suits professionals selling products, services or solutions through customer meetings, proposals and account reviews. It is particularly relevant where several customer stakeholders influence the buying decision.

Product training focuses on what an organisation offers, while this course focuses on how customers define needs, assess value and make decisions. It also goes beyond basic sales process training by addressing stakeholder strategy, quantified value and post-sale account growth.

Participants can use the discovery guide in their next customer meeting, assess active opportunities with MEDDICC and strengthen upcoming proposals with a quantified value case. The final application plan identifies specific actions, milestones and review points.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided among instructor input, case work, group exercises, simulations, feedback and application planning across the ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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