An effective sales management team is the backbone of any company, which is why sales manager employment rates keep growing year by year. In fact, it’s expected to grow by 7% by 2030.
If you’re a sales representative looking to step up your career or simply someone who wants to acquire new skills, sales management is a great path.
The good news is there are plenty of online sales management courses available. To ensure you don’t get overwhelmed with the choices though, we’ve created this list!
Table of Contents
Top 6 Online Sales Management Courses to Boost Your Career
The sales management courses listed below aren’t ranked in any particular order. We’ve also included options for beginners all the way through to intermediate sales managers.
1. Sales and Relationship Management in Financial Services – Udemy
- Cost: $24.99
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
Anyone interested in financial and banking services can kickstart a new career with the Sales and Relationship Management in Financial Services course offered by Udemy.
The program is split into two parts – Sales and Relationships, and it covers topics such as market opportunity analysis, the sales process, success principles and metrics, internal and external importance of sales and relationship management.
The course consists of pre-recorded, on-demand short video lessons (from seven up to ten minutes long) oriented towards a specific topic. Learners can benefit from 20+ downloadable resources, a thriving community of sales management learners, and occasional knowledge-verification quizzes. Lectures are available both on the web page and on smartphones.
2. Strategic Sales Management Specialization – Coursera
- Cost: 7-day free trial; $39 per month
- Duration: +-5 months
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
Sales managers who wish to upgrade their expertise may want to check out one of Coursera’s most popular specializations on the topic. This program allows you to add more value to your career by applying models, concepts, and frameworks to boost your sales planning.
This online sales management course consists of five modules (Sales Models, Strategy, Overview, Support Planning, and Marketing Alignment) and a final project that students can work on independently.
A four-hour per week learning pace is recommended to work through the pre-recorded video lessons. Plenty of assignments, quizzes, and discussions are available to support the learning process too.
3. Sales Management Masterclass for Sales Managers and Management – Udemy
- Cost: $19.99
- Duration: 2 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
This course is perfect for existing sales managers or anyone who plans to start a sales team.
Learn how to create, manage, and grow a successful sales team from scratch by completing the basics of important components in the sales management process. The course consists of nine sections and 30 lectures comprised of short videos (from two up to 23 minutes).
Students can use the Q&A section, quizzes, free consultations, direct messaging, case studies, and assignments to reinforce the learning process. Study material can be accessed via smartphones, smart TVs, or desktop devices.
4. Become a Sales Manager – LinkedIn Learning
- Cost: One month free, then $29.99 per month
- Duration: 8 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
This sales management learning path is oriented towards aspiring and beginner sales managers who wish to learn about directing team focus, data analysis,and sales plan development.
This is one of the most comprehensive learning paths that treats all aspects of the sales management process. Some of the modules include Sales Management Foundations, Transitioning to Management for Salespeople, Identify Sales Growth Opportunities, and Salesforce for Sales Managers.
There are nine modules in total, each focusing on a specific learning goal. The videos consist of pre-recorded lectures and slides totaling around eight hours of video content. All students who complete the program receive a certificate of completion.
5. Sales Management Training: Certification for Developing a Successful Modern Sales Team – HubSpot Academy
- Cost: Free
- Duration: 3 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
HubSpot Academy’s most popular sales management course is dedicated to salespeople who wish to transition into a managerial role.
The main focus of the course is defining a target market, creating scalable sales processes, building training, hiring, coaching, and similar techniques. Students also learn how to create a hiring strategy to elevate their teams.
This course consists of six lessons spread over 18 videos, six quizzes, and three hours’ worth of content. The course material also comes with transcripts, reading materials, and other valuable resources.
6. Cornell Certificate Program – Sales Growth
- Cost: Upon request
- Duration: 3 months
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
If you’re in for a more serious learning experience, Cornell offers a sales growth program consisting of five modules aimed at sales managers, sales representatives, account managers, and organizational leaders who want to master the art of sales management.
The focus is on building actionable roadmaps for boosting sales growth, conducting micro-market analysis, finding new strategies for streamlining go-to-market processes, and much more.
The entire program takes three months, with each module lasting two weeks. Unlike most other courses on our list, this one is led by instructors in a virtual classroom with no more than 35 students. The course is completely online, and students who complete the entire program earn a Cornell Johnson School of Management’s Sales Growth Certificate.
Top 4 Sales Management Training Topics to Focus On
Many people think sales is easy, but it’s more realistic to consider sales as an art and skill that takes practice and time to improve. The best way to ensure you’re successful in sales is to get enough training and to keep learning. These are the skills you should focus on the most:
- Communication. When salespeople talk to a customer, they have to find a perfect balance between listening and talking. Hard selling isn’t the way to go, as it’s very off-putting to the client. Instead, you should focus on boosting your communication skills so you can be effective at transferring meaningful messages based on who you’re talking to.
- Sales Strategies. There are thousands of ways to sell products or services. Some businesses may share similar strategies that work across the industry, while others need to be more creative. It’s important to try out different tactics and develop a selling strategy that works best for you and your specific customers.
- Product or Service Know-How. Sales managers need to know everything about the products or services they sell. Knowing the ins and outs allows you to highlight the features in a way that benefits the customer. Plus, it helps gain customer trust. Make sure to spend enough time on product and service training before proceeding to the sales process.
- Ideal Client Representation. Each product should have its ideal customer, also known as a buyer persona. Thorough market research can help you develop an ideal profile on which to plan your approach and content. Plus, it’s an excellent method for customizing your sales and messaging strategy.
Conclusion
Sales management is a dynamic and prosperous career path packed with opportunities. Sales managers, account managers, and anyone interested in kickstarting a new career in this direction can benefit from high-quality online sales management courses and training to have an easier time adjusting to the new position.
The best sales management course for you ultimately comes down to your schedule, budget, and desirable learning outcomes. If you want to look at even more options, don’t forget to browse the Coursary site.