Professional Sales Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Sales Managers, Newly Appointed Sales Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-S-033

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience selling products or services in a business-to-business, institutional, channel or key-account setting.

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

Sales managers are expected to deliver predictable revenue while improving the quality of customer conversations, opportunity selection and team performance. The role requires more than monitoring targets: managers must translate commercial strategy into clear quotas, territories, account priorities, sales stages, coaching routines and reliable forecasts. Poorly defined sales processes, weak qualification and irregular performance management commonly produce inflated pipelines, uneven results and avoidable customer churn.

This course develops the practical management methods needed to lead a sales team against revenue, margin, retention and growth objectives. Participants work with sales operating rhythms, territory and account planning, pipeline governance, opportunity qualification, forecasting, pricing discipline, negotiation oversight, coaching and performance management. They learn to use CRM evidence to inspect sales activity and deal health, run structured one-to-ones and reviews, diagnose capability gaps, and intervene appropriately in strategic opportunities.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with cases, group analysis, sales-management simulations and application planning. Participants progressively build a sales management plan using their own market, customer portfolio or representative business case. The final capstone brings together team goals, territory priorities, account plans, pipeline rules, forecast logic, coaching cadence and performance measures into a practical operating plan ready for workplace use.

The course suits experienced sales professionals moving into management, current sales managers seeking a more disciplined operating model, and commercial leaders responsible for improving sales execution. It is relevant to business-to-business, key-account, institutional, channel and service sales teams.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a sales operating plan linking commercial targets, team activity and review cadence
  • Set quotas and territory priorities using market potential, account value and capacity data
  • Apply SPIN Selling and MEDDICC to inspect opportunity quality and sales-stage evidence
  • Produce weighted and commit forecasts using CRM evidence, conversion rates and deal risks
  • Conduct structured sales coaching conversations using the GROW model and call evidence
  • Manage key accounts through account plans, stakeholder maps, mutual action plans and reviews
  • Address underperformance through documented expectations, improvement plans and follow-up
  • Present an integrated sales management plan covering execution, forecasting and team development

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A repeatable weekly and monthly rhythm for managing sales execution
  • Greater confidence challenging weak opportunities and inflated forecasts
  • Practical coaching methods for improving seller capability and accountability
  • Clearer judgement on when to support, inspect or exit a deal
  • A completed sales management plan for immediate workplace use

For your organisation

  • More credible revenue forecasts supported by defined evidence and deal risk reviews
  • Higher pipeline quality through consistent qualification and stage-exit criteria
  • Improved sales-manager coaching frequency, quality and documented follow-through
  • Stronger account coverage and retention planning for priority customers
  • Earlier intervention on underperformance, pricing risk and stalled opportunities

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Define the sales manager role, priorities and leadership boundaries against commercial objectives.

  • Sales manager accountabilities: revenue, margin, retention, pipeline quality and forecast accuracy
  • Translating annual commercial targets into team quotas, behaviours and operating rhythms
  • Distinguishing sales leadership, coaching, inspection and direct deal intervention
  • Manager time allocation using revenue impact and urgency criteria
  • Ethical selling expectations, conflicts, customer commitments and escalation boundaries
  • Personal leadership baseline against credibility, consistency, accountability and customer focus

Design a sales operating rhythm that connects activity, pipeline, forecasting and performance reviews.

  • Weekly, monthly and quarterly sales management rhythms linked to decisions
  • Defining meeting purposes, inputs, participants, decisions and documented actions
  • Sales huddles focused on priorities, obstacles, commitments and customer movement
  • Pipeline reviews separated from forecast calls and coaching conversations
  • Quarterly business reviews using performance trends, account risks and recovery actions
  • RACI assignments for sales, marketing, customer success and commercial leadership

Set defensible team quotas using targets, conversion evidence and seller capacity.

  • Top-down and bottom-up quota setting reconciled through capacity assumptions
  • Quota allocation using historical attainment, territory potential and role maturity
  • Calculating required pipeline from win rate, deal size and sales cycle
  • Activity standards derived from conversion rates rather than arbitrary call counts
  • Stretch targets, threshold performance and incentive-plan behavioural effects
  • Quota communication conversations that establish ownership, evidence and support needs

Prioritise territories and coverage models using opportunity, workload and strategic fit.

  • Territory potential estimated from customer spend, share, growth and accessibility
  • Segmenting accounts by value, potential, complexity and service requirements
  • Coverage models for field sales, inside sales, partners and key accounts
  • White-space analysis identifying underserved accounts, segments and geographic areas
  • Balancing territories using revenue potential, travel time and account workload
  • Territory transition plans protecting relationships, data quality and active opportunities

Guide sellers to match customer segments with relevant value propositions and proof.

  • Ideal customer profile defined through need, fit, economics and buying readiness
  • Segmentation criteria separating strategic, growth, maintenance and transactional accounts
  • Customer value propositions built from pains, gains, outcomes and differentiators
  • Value messaging linked to customer roles, priorities, metrics and objections
  • Proof points using quantified outcomes, references, demonstrations and implementation evidence
  • Manager review of seller messaging for clarity, relevance and commercial credibility

Establish a controlled sales process with clear stages, evidence and manager actions.

  • Sales stages defined by customer progress rather than seller activity
  • Exit criteria specifying evidence, buyer actions, risks and next commitments
  • Stage ageing reports identifying stalled deals and unproductive seller effort
  • Opportunity inspection questions matched to discovery, evaluation and decision stages
  • CRM field standards supporting consistent reporting, review and forecast confidence
  • Exception rules for strategic pursuits, renewals, tenders and partner-led deals

Assess opportunity quality using MEDDICC evidence and qualification-based pursuit decisions.

  • MEDDICC components applied to complex business-to-business opportunity qualification
  • Metrics quantified through financial, operational, risk and customer-experience outcomes
  • Economic buyer access assessed through authority, priorities and decision influence
  • Decision criteria and process mapped from customer evidence, not assumptions
  • Identifying pain, champion strength, competition and procurement barriers early
  • Pursuit, nurture and exit decisions documented through qualification scorecards

Coach sellers to conduct structured discovery that produces decision-relevant customer insight.

  • SPIN Selling questions sequenced from situation through need-payoff exploration
  • Discovery agendas agreed with customer participants, objectives and decision context
  • Question funnels moving from broad context to quantified business impact
  • Active listening techniques: paraphrasing, probing, summarising and confirming priorities
  • Customer problem statements recorded in customer language and measurable terms
  • Manager call reviews using evidence, questioning balance and agreed next steps

Manage pipeline creation through focused prospecting plans, conversion measures and inspection routines.

  • Pipeline coverage ratios calculated against quota, cycle length and conversion
  • Prospecting plans segmented by target accounts, contacts, channels and messages
  • Leading indicators tracked through meetings, qualified opportunities and progression rates
  • Campaign follow-up rules defining response times, ownership and disposition codes
  • Outbound activity quality inspected through account relevance and conversation outcomes
  • Early-warning indicators for insufficient pipeline, low conversion and concentration risk

Produce evidence-based sales forecasts and explain variance, risk and recovery actions.

  • Forecast categories defined as pipeline, best case, commit and closed
  • Weighted forecasts calculated from stage probabilities and evidence-based adjustments
  • Commit criteria requiring customer confirmation, commercial agreement and dated next steps
  • Forecast calls focused on variance, deal risk, dependencies and recovery actions
  • Historical conversion and cycle-time data used to test forecast assumptions
  • Forecast accuracy tracked by seller, segment, period and forecast category

Use CRM data and sales metrics to identify performance patterns and management priorities.

  • CRM data standards for account ownership, contacts, stages, values and close dates
  • Sales dashboards combining attainment, pipeline coverage, conversion and activity trends
  • Funnel analysis locating drop-off points between lead, opportunity and closed sale
  • Cohort comparisons separating tenure effects, territory conditions and capability gaps
  • Data-quality audits detecting duplicate records, stale opportunities and missing fields
  • Manager actions derived from leading indicators rather than end-period surprises

Create account plans that protect retention and identify structured growth opportunities.

  • Strategic account selection using revenue, potential, risk and relationship importance
  • Account profiles covering business priorities, financial context, contracts and service history
  • Stakeholder maps showing influence, attitude, access, interests and relationship strength
  • Whitespace opportunities identified through sites, functions, products and unmet needs
  • Mutual action plans aligning customer outcomes, milestones, owners and review dates
  • Account review agendas covering value delivered, risks, expansion and executive sponsorship

Direct multi-stakeholder sales strategies using influence analysis and engagement plans.

  • Buying committees mapped across users, technical evaluators, finance and procurement
  • Power-interest grids used to prioritise engagement and sponsorship actions
  • Stakeholder hypotheses tested through direct questions and observed customer behaviour
  • Champion development based on credibility, motivation, access and internal influence
  • Executive-to-executive engagement planned around strategic value and decision timing
  • Relationship risk assessed when contact coverage depends on one individual

Manage pricing decisions while protecting margin, value communication and approval controls.

  • Price floors established from costs, target margin and contractual obligations
  • Discount requests assessed against strategic value, volume, risk and precedent
  • Value-based pricing conversations linked to quantified customer outcomes and alternatives
  • Concession planning trades price against scope, term, volume or payment conditions
  • Approval matrices controlling non-standard pricing, terms and commercial commitments
  • Margin leakage monitored through discounting, service costs and contract deviations

Support sellers through structured negotiation planning and controlled concession decisions.

  • Negotiation preparation covering objectives, BATNA, limits, trades and decision authority
  • BATNA and reservation points distinguished from aspirational opening positions
  • Issue matrices ranking customer demands by value, risk and negotiability
  • Give-get principles preventing unilateral concessions and unrecorded commercial commitments
  • Manager escalation during negotiations based on authority, value and relationship risk
  • Post-negotiation reviews capturing lessons, commitments, approvals and implementation handovers

Run coaching conversations that improve seller judgement, skills and follow-through.

  • GROW coaching conversations structured around goal, reality, options and will
  • Coaching diagnosis separates knowledge, skill, motivation and resource barriers
  • Observation plans use call recordings, meeting notes and opportunity evidence
  • Feedback models distinguish observed behaviour, customer impact and required change
  • Coaching agreements specify practice actions, measures, support and review dates
  • One-to-one records track commitments, progress, patterns and unresolved obstacles

Address sales performance issues through clear expectations, evidence and proportionate action.

  • Performance standards combine results, pipeline health, activity quality and conduct
  • Root-cause analysis separates territory constraints from capability and effort issues
  • Performance conversations address facts, impact, expectations and employee response
  • Improvement plans define measurable outcomes, support actions, checkpoints and consequences
  • Documentation standards record evidence, agreements, feedback and follow-up decisions
  • Recognition practices reinforce desired selling behaviours, collaboration and customer stewardship

Build a practical approach to selecting, onboarding and developing sales talent.

  • Role scorecards define outcomes, competencies, experience and behavioural expectations
  • Structured interviews test prospecting, discovery, account management and resilience
  • Work-sample assessments evaluate sales judgement, preparation and communication quality
  • Ninety-day onboarding plans sequence product knowledge, process, customers and field exposure
  • Skill matrices identify team capability gaps across sales stages and roles
  • Development plans combine coaching, peer practice, observation and targeted learning

Coordinate sales with marketing, operations and customer teams to improve customer outcomes.

  • Lead handoff agreements define qualification, ownership, timing and feedback requirements
  • Sales-marketing service levels measured through lead quality, conversion and response times
  • Implementation handovers transfer scope, commitments, risks and stakeholder expectations
  • Customer success collaboration identifies adoption risks, renewal signals and expansion opportunities
  • Escalation paths resolve delivery concerns before they damage commercial relationships
  • Closed-loop feedback informs messaging, product priorities and process improvements

Build, review and present a complete sales management plan for a defined team, territory or portfolio.

  • Commercial objectives translated into quotas, territory priorities and coverage choices
  • Sales process, MEDDICC evidence and stage-exit rules documented for governance
  • Pipeline generation plan linked to activity measures, conversion and capacity
  • Forecast model presents commit logic, risks, assumptions and recovery actions
  • Account priorities supported by stakeholder maps, mutual actions and retention measures
  • Coaching, performance and review cadence integrated into implementation milestones

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

What you take back to work

  1. Sales management operating rhythm template
  2. Quota and territory planning model
  3. MEDDICC opportunity qualification scorecard
  4. Weighted sales forecast worksheet
  5. Strategic account plan template
  6. Integrated sales management plan

Who should attend

  • Sales Managers — need disciplined methods for leading targets, pipelines and people
  • Newly Appointed Sales Managers — need a practical operating model for their first management role
  • Regional Sales Managers — need consistent territory, forecast and coaching routines
  • Key Account Managers — need stronger account planning and stakeholder management methods
  • Business Development Managers — need better qualification, pursuit planning and deal control
  • Commercial Directors — need common management standards across sales teams

Skills and tools covered

Sales planningPipeline governanceForecast managementSales coachingKey account managementPerformance management

Tools and standards

MEDDICC, SPIN Selling, GROW model, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by cases drawn from business-to-business, institutional and key-account selling. Participants analyse CRM data, diagnose pipelines, prepare account plans, conduct coaching conversations and make forecast decisions in facilitated simulations. Group work tests competing commercial choices, including resource allocation, deal escalation and performance action. Individual application planning connects each module to participants' teams, territories or customer portfolios. Instructor feedback focuses on evidence, commercial judgement and practical implementation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience selling products or services in a business-to-business, institutional, channel or key-account setting. They should understand their organisation's basic sales process, customer types, commercial targets and CRM records. Current or planned responsibility for leading salespeople, account managers or business development staff is strongly recommended. Participants do not need a business degree, formal sales qualification, advanced financial modelling skills or prior management training. No specialist software expertise is required, although familiarity with CRM reports and spreadsheets will help.

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 understand the basics of business-to-business or account-based selling and have experience working with customers, opportunities or CRM data. The course is most useful for current sales managers, newly appointed managers and senior sellers preparing for management responsibility.

Participants should bring their sales targets, sales-process stages, CRM reports or representative pipeline data where permitted by their employer. Confidential names and figures can be removed or replaced with realistic equivalents.

It is designed for managers leading direct sales, business development, key-account or channel sales teams. Commercial leaders responsible for improving forecast discipline, coaching quality or territory coverage will also benefit.

Sales skills training focuses on the individual seller's conversations and deal techniques, while key account management concentrates on strategic customer growth. This course focuses on the manager's role in setting direction, inspecting execution, coaching people and managing commercial performance.

Participants build plans, scorecards, review structures and coaching tools that can be adapted to their own teams. The capstone sales management plan provides a practical starting point for implementation with line-manager or commercial-leadership support.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours, excluding breaks. The first part establishes the sales management system and core commercial controls; the later part develops coaching, performance, cross-functional execution and the capstone plan.

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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