Marketing is about identifying potential customers, researching their needs, developing products to suit customer requirements, organising marketing programmes and promotional activities, branding products and services, managing distribution and providing customer satisfaction. The course aims to increase your skills in all these areas and aims to advance your planning and strategic skills so that you can become an effective sales and marketing planner. The sales and marketing skills acquired allows students from all industry backgrounds to gain an edge over competitors, as they learn how to apply marketing principles and techniques to their sales strategy. Most importantly the course allows you to discover new ways to penetrate new markets, developing existing accounts and increase sales. Finally the course will help you meet and exceed targets so that you can experience real job satisfaction and increased rewards.

Certificate in Sales and Marketing - Core Subjects
There are 2 core subjects to study:

1. Sales
2. Marketing

Course Overview
Section I: Sales
Personal Selling involves communication with a prospect and existing customer. It is a process of developing customer relationships, discovering customer needs, matching the appropriate products with these needs, and communicating benefits and ‘You Appeal’ through informing, reminding and persuading. The Sales part of the course aims to advance your selling skills and provide a structure, so that you have a purpose to your contact with clients. You will also advance your communication skills so that you can meet your sales objectives and achieve success.

Course Content

• Managing a sales territory
• Identifying and targeting new business
• Personal selling, Identifying and targeting new business
• Exploiting new areas of opportunity
• Defining call objectives, Time/territory management & Journey Planning
• Planning and prioritise meetings
• Sales Milestones,
• Identify various milestones that lead to your objective
• Sales Situations & Selling Styles
• Sales Strategies, Self-Analysis
• Sales Preparation & Research
• Information Gathering - Questioning Techniques
• Sales presentation skills and stages in the sales process
• Structured Sales Model
• Sales People with the wrong approach
• Getting Attention & Opening the call
• Prospecting and Business development
• Sales presentation skills and stages in the sales process
• Opening the Call, Investigating customer needs – asking the right questions
• Use effective questioning and listening techniques to uncover customer needs
• Analysing your Offer, How to answering customer objections 
• Handling Customer objections effectively, Preparing answers
• The Customer Motivation Model
• Handling & Communicating with Buyers
• Ways to Handle Difficult Buyers
• Using products to solve Clients problems
• Closing the Sale in a professional manner, Gaining Commitment
• Key Account Management
• Presentation Planning Project
• Customer Service
• Personal Action Plan

Section II: Marketing
Students learn the theory and practice of marketing and learn how to segment markets, put together a marketing programme and apply marketing techniques to achieve agreed objectives. Participants gain a thorough understanding of the purpose and practice of marketing and you are equipped with the necessary knowledge for further study in this area.

Course Content

• Introduction to Marketing
• Marketing environment
• Macro and Micro Environment
• Consumer buyer behavior
• Market research process
• The Marketing mix,
• Market Segmentation
• Targeting Consumers
• Positioning Products & Brands
• Market segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Developing a marketing plan
• Product & Services Branding
• Consumer-Brand relationship
• Brand equity and value
• Pricing decisions
• Developing and implementing marketing programmes
• Internet: Managing & Marketing web-sites
• Cyber Marketing
• Direct Marketing, Sales Promotion, Customer Service
• Marketing Distribution and channel decisions
• International Marketing
• Case Studies

Methodology
The principle method of learning is through assignments, case studies, course notes, lectures and an exam. You are expected to read recommended books to accelerate your learning.

Cost and duration
The cost of the Certificate in Sales and Marketing is 950.00 Euro. Students can sit ICM exams which can lead to a professional Diploma in Marketing, PR, Advertising & Sales qualification. Exam fees are 200 euro extra.

Scheduled Dates 2008
Saturday 11 October 2008, 10:00-13:00, 10WKS.