Professional Sales Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Sales Executives, Business Development 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-031

Before you join: Participants should have at least six months of customer-facing sales, business development, account management or relationship management experience.

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

Professional sales performance depends on more than product knowledge and confident conversation. Salespeople must identify worthwhile accounts, secure access to decision-makers, uncover commercial priorities, build a credible value case and move opportunities through often complex buying processes. Poor qualification, weak discovery, unstructured proposals and unrecorded next steps waste selling time and reduce forecast reliability. This course addresses those problems with a disciplined sales process that can be applied to new business, key accounts, renewals and competitive tenders.

Participants learn how to plan territories and accounts, define an ideal customer profile, research target organisations and create outreach sequences. They use MEDDICC and BANT selectively to qualify opportunities, SPIN Selling to conduct discovery, and stakeholder mapping to manage buying committees. The course covers value articulation, ROI cases, buyer-centred presentations, objection handling, proposal development, negotiation, closing, account growth and CRM-based forecasting. Participants also address ethical selling, data privacy, anti-bribery controls and the particular demands of procurement-led sales.

Instruction combines concise briefings with cases, group analysis, sales conversations, objection-handling simulations and structured planning work. Participants apply each method to a selected account, opportunity or realistic case from their sector. By the final module, they assemble and present a complete account and opportunity plan containing research, qualification evidence, stakeholder analysis, discovery findings, value case, proposal approach, negotiation strategy and mutual action plan. They receive a certificate of completion after the 10-day instructor-led course, delivered in a classroom in 50+ cities or live online.

The course suits sales professionals with existing customer-facing experience who need a repeatable approach for larger, more demanding or higher-value opportunities. It is particularly relevant to B2B, institutional, public-sector, banking, technology, professional services, industrial and NGO sales roles.

What you will be able to do

  • Build territory and account plans using customer segmentation, trigger events and activity targets
  • Qualify sales opportunities using MEDDICC, BANT, disqualification criteria and opportunity scoring
  • Conduct structured discovery conversations using SPIN questions, active listening and impact analysis
  • Create quantified value cases using ROI, proof points and buyer-specific benefit statements
  • Present proposals and demonstrations using buyer-centred messaging and decision-focused close plans
  • Handle objections and negotiate commercial terms using LAER, BATNA and concession strategies
  • Forecast pipeline accurately using CRM evidence, stage criteria and weighted opportunity analysis
  • Produce and present a complete account and opportunity plan for a target customer

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A repeatable structure for moving opportunities from prospecting to close
  • Greater confidence leading discovery, proposal and negotiation conversations
  • Stronger evidence for discussing price without defaulting to discounts
  • A practical account plan for a live or target customer
  • More credible pipeline updates and forecast discussions with managers

For your organisation

  • Improved qualification reduces time spent on low-probability opportunities
  • More consistent discovery produces proposals tied to customer priorities
  • Stronger value cases support pricing discipline and protect margin
  • Better CRM evidence improves forecast accuracy and management visibility
  • Structured account plans identify retention, renewal and expansion opportunities

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can organise their sales work around clear priorities, stages, activity measures and review routines.

  • Revenue goals translated into territory, account and opportunity priorities
  • Buyer roles mapped through the buying committee and decision process
  • Sales stages defined with observable exit criteria and evidence
  • Pipeline coverage calculated from conversion rates and quota requirements
  • Weekly activity plans tied to leading indicators and calendar blocks
  • Personal sales operating rhythm for prospecting, follow-up and review

Participants can identify attractive target accounts and prepare focused research briefs before contact.

  • Customer segments prioritised by fit, need, value and accessibility
  • Ideal customer profile built from firmographic, situational and behavioural criteria
  • Trigger events identified from filings, announcements, hiring and technology changes
  • Account research brief separates facts, hypotheses, stakeholders and open questions
  • Public-sector procurement signals distinguished from early relationship-building opportunities
  • Banking, NGO and corporate examples used to test segment choices

Participants can create and execute relevant outreach that earns initial sales conversations.

  • Multi-channel outreach sequence combines email, phone, referral and social contact
  • Cold-call opening earns permission through relevance, credibility and concise reason
  • Email subject lines and messages follow problem, proof, call-to-action structure
  • Referrals requested using specific context, mutual value and low-pressure language
  • Objections to first meetings handled with acknowledge, clarify and redirect
  • Prospecting metrics distinguish volume, connection, conversation and meeting conversion

Participants can assess opportunity quality, identify gaps and decide where selling effort is justified.

  • MEDDICC qualification assesses metrics, economic buyer, criteria, process, pain and champion
  • BANT used selectively for early conversations with shorter transactional sales cycles
  • Disqualification criteria protect selling time, pricing discipline and forecast integrity
  • Mutual action plans confirm milestones, owners, dates and buyer commitments
  • Opportunity scoring model ranks fit, urgency, access, competition and risk
  • Qualification evidence recorded without confusing seller assumptions with buyer commitments

Participants can lead discovery conversations that uncover needs, priorities, consequences and decision conditions.

  • SPIN questioning sequences situation, problem, implication and need-payoff questions
  • Open, probing and confirming questions uncover business, technical and personal needs
  • Active listening uses paraphrasing, labelling, silence and accurate note-taking
  • Discovery agenda sets purpose, priorities, timing and next-step expectations
  • Impact questions quantify cost, risk, delay and missed opportunity
  • Stakeholder interviews surface competing priorities and unspoken decision concerns

Participants can convert customer needs into a quantified and evidence-based value case.

  • Value hypothesis links customer priorities to measurable business outcomes
  • Benefit statements connect features, capabilities, consequences and customer evidence
  • ROI calculation compares investment, savings, revenue gain and payback period
  • Value cases address financial returns, operational effects and strategic priorities
  • Proof points selected from relevant cases, data, demonstrations and references
  • Executive messages frame urgency, value, risk and requested decision

Participants can deliver presentations and demonstrations that support buyer decisions and agreed next actions.

  • Buyer-centred presentation structure follows context, problem, value, proof and action
  • Demonstrations follow show, explain, confirm and connect-to-need sequence
  • Visual evidence supports decisions without replacing the sales conversation
  • Executive briefings separate strategic messages from technical detail
  • Questions during presentations handled through clarification, response and confirmation
  • Presentation close secures agreement on decision process and next action

Participants can respond to objections constructively while protecting value and maintaining sales momentum.

  • Objection types classified as need, value, trust, authority, timing or competition
  • LAER method applies listen, acknowledge, explore and respond
  • Price objections reframed against outcomes, alternatives and cost of inaction
  • Competitive claims tested with criteria rather than defensive product comparisons
  • Risk concerns addressed through evidence, implementation plans and stakeholder references
  • Objection log identifies recurring patterns, response gaps and content needs

Participants can build support across complex buying groups while managing political and commercial risk.

  • Buying committees mapped by role, influence, attitude and access
  • Power-interest grid determines stakeholder engagement priorities and communication approaches
  • Champions developed through credibility, coaching and shared internal objectives
  • Economic buyers engaged with concise commercial rationale and decision options
  • Multithreading plan creates appropriate contact paths across the account
  • Political risk monitored through stakeholder changes, blockers and competing initiatives

Participants can produce proposals that reflect buyer priorities, evaluation criteria and commercial realities.

  • Proposal structure mirrors buyer requirements, evaluation criteria and decision timeline
  • Win themes translate differentiated evidence into buyer-relevant messages
  • Scope, assumptions, exclusions and responsibilities stated to prevent delivery disputes
  • RFP response plan assigns owners, evidence sources, reviews and deadlines
  • Pricing options link commercial terms to value, risk and choice
  • Mutual action plan incorporated into proposals to maintain momentum

Participants can prepare and conduct negotiations that protect margin, customer value and long-term relationships.

  • Negotiation preparation sets objectives, reservation points, tradables and concessions
  • BATNA analysis establishes alternatives and protects minimum acceptable outcomes
  • Concession strategy trades value rather than granting unilateral discounts
  • Package proposals combine price, scope, term, service and payment variables
  • Procurement tactics recognised without abandoning customer value or margin
  • Agreement summaries document commitments, conditions, owners and implementation handoffs

Participants can secure clear commitments, hand over won work and learn systematically from losses.

  • Trial closes test readiness without forcing premature commitment
  • Closing questions invite a decision, commitment or identified condition
  • Decision process reconfirmed before contracts, approvals and procurement steps
  • Stalled opportunities restarted through changed priorities, evidence or stakeholder access
  • Loss analysis separates controllable selling gaps from market conditions
  • Closed-won handoff transfers promises, risks, stakeholders and success measures

Participants can manage existing accounts through structured growth, renewal and service recovery plans.

  • Account plans connect customer objectives, whitespace, risks and growth actions
  • Stakeholder maps updated after organisational changes, renewals and service issues
  • QBR agendas review outcomes, adoption, risks, priorities and expansion opportunities
  • Cross-sell proposals start with unmet needs and credible value
  • Renewal plans address usage, value evidence, budget timing and alternatives
  • Service recovery conversations protect trust through ownership and clear commitments

Participants can maintain credible opportunity records and communicate forecasts based on evidence.

  • CRM records distinguish facts, next actions, risks and forecast evidence
  • Opportunity stages updated only when agreed exit criteria are met
  • Weighted pipeline forecasts combine stage probability, value and close date
  • Commit, best-case and pipeline categories separate confidence from aspiration
  • Forecast calls explain movement, risks, actions and required management support
  • Data hygiene routines improve follow-up reliability and management decisions

Participants can recognise and manage ethical, privacy and compliance issues in sales activity.

  • Customer claims tested for accuracy, relevance, substantiation and approval
  • Conflicts of interest disclosed before recommendations, gifts or procurement discussions
  • Data privacy requirements applied to prospect records, consent and communications
  • Anti-bribery controls guide hospitality, intermediaries and public-sector interactions
  • Fair dealing protects pricing integrity, competition rules and customer trust
  • Escalation paths used when requests exceed authority or policy

Participants can build, review and present a complete account and opportunity plan for a selected customer.

  • Selected account assessed through research, qualification evidence and stakeholder mapping
  • Discovery findings converted into quantified priorities, risks and decision criteria
  • Value case combines outcome measures, proof points, proposal and pricing
  • Mutual action plan schedules decision milestones, owners and close actions
  • Negotiation strategy defines objectives, tradables, risks and approval requirements
  • Capstone account plan presented, peer-reviewed and revised against buyer criteria

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

What you take back to work

  1. Ideal customer profile template
  2. MEDDICC opportunity qualification scorecard
  3. SPIN discovery question planner
  4. Customer value and ROI case model
  5. Mutual action plan template
  6. Complete account and opportunity plan

Who should attend

  • Sales Executives — need a repeatable method for progressing qualified opportunities
  • Business Development Managers — need stronger prospecting, discovery and proposal discipline
  • Key Account Managers — need structured plans for retention, growth and renewal conversations
  • Relationship Managers — need to manage complex stakeholder groups and commercial decisions
  • Sales Managers — need consistent qualification, coaching and forecasting standards
  • Technical Sales Specialists — need to translate technical capabilities into customer value

Skills and tools covered

Opportunity qualificationConsultative discoveryValue sellingCommercial negotiationAccount planningPipeline forecasting

Tools and standards

MEDDICC, BANT, SPIN Selling, BATNA

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by sales cases, group analysis, structured conversation practice and simulations. Participants work with account research, qualification evidence, discovery questions, value calculations, proposals and negotiation scenarios. Trainer feedback focuses on preparation, questioning, listening, commercial judgement and next-step discipline. Application planning runs throughout the programme so that each participant progressively develops material for a live account or a realistic sector case. Live online delivery uses facilitated breakout rooms, shared templates and instructor-led review.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least six months of customer-facing sales, business development, account management or relationship management experience. They should be familiar with their organisation's products or services, typical customers and basic sales terminology such as pipeline, prospect, proposal and quota. Experience using a CRM system is useful but not essential. No formal sales qualification, finance qualification or advanced negotiation training is required. Participants do not need to bring live customer data, although a current account or opportunity provides useful material for application planning.

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

The course assumes at least six months of customer-facing sales, business development or account management experience. Participants should understand their own products, customers and basic sales terms, but no formal sales qualification is required.

Bring a laptop or tablet for planning work and, where permitted, non-confidential information about a current account or target customer. You may instead use the sector cases supplied by the instructor.

It is designed for sales executives, business development managers, relationship managers, technical sales specialists and key account managers. It is most useful for people selling B2B, institutional, public-sector or higher-value solutions.

This course assumes participants already have customer-facing experience and focuses on structured opportunity management. It goes beyond introductory communication techniques to cover qualification, buying committees, value cases, proposals, negotiation, forecasting and account growth.

Participants build material around a selected account, opportunity or realistic case throughout the programme. The final account and opportunity plan can be adapted for use in pipeline reviews, customer meetings and internal proposal discussions.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme is organised into 16 modules, beginning with planning and prospecting, then progressing through discovery, value, negotiation, account management and a final capstone presentation.

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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