Certificate in Professional Selling

Overview: The opportunities for employment in professional selling are growing at a rapid rate. Business to
Business (B2B) sales skills are becoming increasingly important, as companies are reinventing the way they sell,
meeting customer needs in new and innovative ways, and lastly becoming the “face” that many companies deal with
in an ever growing global marketplace. Careers in the fields of sales, customer relationship and account
management are paying handsomely, often at rates far above traditional business programs such as accounting and
project management.

This certificate program will provide students a practical approach to selling coupled with course offerings in
professional selling, sales management, customer relationship management (CRM), and the capstone project. This
certificate is designed to prepare students to enter this B2B sales arena and achieve success early and often. It is
driven by instructor experience, flexibility to students’ schedules and a capstone project showcasing their skills and
abilities in the sales arena. Visit www.spscc.ctc.edu and go to on-line courses to enroll.

Course offerings:

Business 145—Professional Selling --This course provides an introduction to professional selling in a diverse
economic environment. The entire sales process is examined including; building trust and sales ethics,
understanding buyer behavior, communication skills, strategic prospecting, handling objections, building an effective
sales presentation, making the sales call, expanding customer relationships. Focuses also on preparing and
delivering a final sales presentation.

Business 146—Sales Management—Introduces the student to an organization’s personal selling function. Sales
managers are involved in both strategic (planning) and people (implementation) aspects of personal selling as well
as evaluating and directing personal selling activities. Examines the development, direction and performance
aspects of these sales management roles. Discussion will include organizational strategies, sales organization
structure and deployment as well as recruitment and sales training. Finally, we will look at motivation and reward
system management.
Business 147—Customer Relationship Management (CRM)-- Introduces Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) and its’ importance in today’s business environment. Looks at CRM’s history and evolution as a key business
strategy in today’s progressive business firms. Emphasizes CRM’s specific applications to sales strategies. Explores
data management, technologies and data platforms. Evaluates Program Measurement, Tools and Privacy
Considerations & Issues, especially relative to customer data. Considers the future of CRM and its new horizons to
use as a technology tool for enhancing an organization’s sales productivity and assured survival in today’s
competitive marketplace.

Business 148—Capstone Project for Sales Certification Program-- Introduces the final class in the Sales
Certificate Program, Capstone Project, which will forge together student skills learned in prior classes of; sales, sales
management, and customer relationship management. These techniques will be applied in a real life sales
environment.
Students will manage and design the Leads Generation Business model that will enhance local firms’ efforts in
accelerating their leads/prospecting efforts.
The LGB model will be sold by students and managed by students. Regional businesses will be engaged by students
(with faculty oversight). All efforts are captured in a CRM-type system for monitoring results and effectiveness of
the program. Each student will be required to journal their experiences and present their findings at the end of the
quarter. In addition to hands-on efforts and weekly meetings we will be studying appropriate written material.

Faculty: Leon Chickering

lchickering@spscc.ctc.edu
360-888-4725
http://lchickering.spscc.edu