• Sales managers or executives looking to effectively coach a team and build a high-performing sales engine
• Entrepreneurs looking to build a sales team and acquire customers
• Business leaders who would like to be more persuasive and influential
• Business development professionals who play a role in sales and managing relationships
• Professionals making a horizontal career shift into sales from another functional role

To maximize impact, sales teams are encouraged to participate as a group. Special pricing is available for group enrollments. To learn more, contact group-enrollments@emeritus.org.

• Learn proven techniques for being an effective salesperson, based on the faculty’s research and experience with some of the world’s most successful B2B and B2C companies
• Put more than 30 different tools into practice, building a personal Sales Toolkit designed to help you at each phase of your sales process: preparation, contact, and scale
• Assess your current knowledge, skill, and discipline as a salesperson and get a roadmap for how to develop meaningful, lasting habits for you and your team
• Learn best practices for recruiting, training, building and managing high-performing teams
• Receive a Certificate of Completion from Kellogg School of Management Executive Education

Module 1: Enhancing your Selling and Persuasion Skills

The knowledge, skill and discipline of selling

• Explore the foundations of artful selling – knowledge, skill and discipline – and how to combine these to become a high-performing salesperson
• Interview with Daniel Pink, Ted Talk speaker and author of six books including, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing – “High-Impact Selling Skills”

Sales tools used: Knowledge, Skills, Discipline Assessment; Vitamin or Painkiller?; Walk and Talk

Module 2: Targeting

Engage in stakeholder mapping, creating personas, planning your week, and talking about your competitors

• Learn how to identify and filter your target markets’ specific pain points and create a clear vision of who your customers are
• Develop your competitive talking points

Sales tools used: Filtering your Target Market; Stakeholder Map; Competitive Talking Points; Weekly Cadence

Module 3: Lead Generation Tactics

Discover how to build your network, improve cold calls, create effective introductory emails, and apply proactive pursuit

• Learn how to create a sales framework, qualify leads, put together talking points and schedule a cadence
• Develop a stakeholder map, prospecting script, and introductory email
• Interview with Jim McAvoy, Founder and President of JWMcAvoy & Company, Ltd. – “Cold Calling”

Sales tools used: Proactive Pursuit; Prospecting Script; Email Blueprint; Sales Conversation

Module 4: Nurturing Prospects

Explore methods for qualifying prospects, listening and asking questions, and acing the meeting

• Learn the questions that drive great sales conversations and qualify prospects quickly by using 4 different types of questions and 3 levels of listening
• Role play with Andrew W. Sykes, Adjunct Lecturer of Innovation and Entrepreneurship – “Handling Objections”

Sales tools used: Personas; Qualifying Questions; Asking the Right Questions; Perfect Sales Meeting; Objections Matrix

Module 5: Telling the Right Story at the Right Time for the Right Reasons

Understand the power that stories play in persuasion

• Discover the 4 key types of stories
• Learn how to capture and categorize stories
• Develop your own "Story Matrix"

Sales tools used: Story Matrix; Story Canvas

Module 6: Presenting Like a Pro

Discover how to engage your audience and win business

• Learn how to utilize your personal presentation strengths
• Employ the “4 Ps” of presentation to make compelling sales pitches

Sales tools used: Presenting with Panache; Visuals/Placemats

Module 7: Closing the Deal and Getting Deals Unstuck

Learn how to get a deal unstuck and understand that closing is simply the natural outcome of a sale done well

Sales tools used: Getting a Deal Unstuck; Closing Well; Team Selling for Impact

Module 8: Going Above and Beyond

Realize the power of delighting clients

• Recognize the importance of the phase that follows a sale
• Utilize the tools required to truly delight your customers over the long term
• Fireside chat with Suzanne Muchin, Clinical Associate Professor of Kellogg Architectures of Collaboration Initiative (KACI) – “Gender Differences and Personality Traits in Sales”

Sales tools used: Win/Loss Debrief; Above & Beyond; Client Delight Index

Module 9: Team Selling, Giving Feedback and Optimizing the Weekly One-on-One

Examine the roles required for high-impact team selling including the critical role that feedback plays in the weekly one-on-one meetings

• Role play with Andew W. Sykes – “Giving and Receiving Feedback”
• Fireside chat with Helen Calvin, Chief Revenue Officer, Jellyvision – “Sales Leadership and Hiring”
• Fireside chat with Shane Holland, Managing Director, Central & Eastern Europe, Google – “Sales Leadership and Coaching”

Sales tools used: Giving (& Receiving) Feedback; Weekly One-on-One

Module 10: Putting Your Powerful Sales Toolkit into Action

Absorb the key lessons, review learnings, and complete the individual capstone project designed to help you teach these tools to others

• Fireside chat with Thomas Stovall, Facilitator, Intention Mastery, and Think Like a Startup; Founder, ImBlackInTech Membership Network; Google Entrepreneur-in-Residence – “Attraction-Based Marketing and Sales”
• Fireside chat with Andrew W. Sykes – “Habits”

Sales tools used: Knowledge, Skill, & Discipline: Current Assessment; Learn. Teach. Do.; My Quarterly Dashboard

Craig Wortmann - Academic Director; Clinical Professor of Marketing; Executive Director, Kellogg Sales Institute

What is the program about?

Mastering Sales: A Toolkit for Success delivers a comprehensive set of sales tools and techniques enabling individuals and teams to reach their full selling potential. Participants will learn to improve their selling skills and best practices for recruiting, training, building, and managing high-performing sales teams.

What is the learning experience?

Your learning experience will consist of tools and frameworks delivered via video lectures, live webinars, real world examples and downloadable content. You will put your learning into action through weekly activities, customized assignments and quizzes, discussion boards, and faculty engagement. The program culminates with a capstone project, bringing together all of the key concepts from the program.

What is the program format?

The program consists of 10 modules delivered over 11 weeks online. Learners can expect to dedicate 6-8 hours per week to watch videos, complete assignments and participate in discussions. Each module is opened weekly, allowing a flexible but structured approach to learning, with quizzes/assessments delivered at the module’s conclusion. Learners may choose to engage with the program module all in one sitting or in smaller segments of time throughout the week.

Could a learner choose to opt out of some topics?

No. This is an online program in which a topic module is introduced each week and the learner is expected to watch the video lectures, participate in the live webinars, complete the exercises/activities and take the mastery quiz at the end of each week to progress to the subsequent week’s topic.

Are any of the sessions delivered in real time (live)?

There will be 2-3 live sessions, led by faculty and/or subject matter experts, delivered during the course of the program via a video conferencing platform. These sessions provide learners an opportunity to listen and ask questions, and while they are valuable in enhancing the overall experience, attendance is not mandatory. All live sessions are recorded for later viewing.

What methods will be used for grading and evaluations?

Kellogg program leaders will review assignments, discussions and exercises to determine participants’ understanding of the material.

How much time is allocated to complete assignments

The due date for submitting assignments is typically within 7 days of the module opening, but can be as long as 14 days, depending on the scope of the assignment. However, learners may request deadline extensions to accommodate for business and personal conflicts that may arise during the program timeframe. Reach out to the program leader to discuss any challenges you may have in completing assignments.

Can participation in this program be counted as credit toward a degree, either at Kellogg, Northwestern University or another academic institution?

No. Executive Education offers only non-degree programs and participants who meet the requirements receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program. This certificate does not count as credit toward a degree. In addition, at this time, our online programs do not count as credit toward a Kellogg Executive Scholar Certificate.

Does the program offer community engagement for learners?

Yes, participants can create a profile, connect and collaborate with peers and interact with academic/industry experts such as program leaders and teaching assistants. Office hours will be held during the program and all participants are welcome to join in with questions or to discuss assignments.

What are the requirements for accessing the program?

Participants will need the following to access the program:

• Valid email address
• Computing device connected to the internet (Mac/PC/laptop, tablet or smartphone)
• The latest version of your preferred browser to access our learning platform (Chrome and Firefox are preferred for accessing Canvas)
• Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) and PDF viewer to access content such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts
• Additional software and resources may be required for certain programs – this will be communicated upon registration and/or at the beginning of the program
• PLEASE NOTE: Google, Vimeo and Youtube may be utilized in the program delivery

Do the programs offer a certificate?

Yes. Participants will receive a digital certificate of completion from Kellogg following a successful conclusion to the program. Since this program is graded as a pass or fail, participants must receive an 80% to pass and obtain the certificate. This digital certificate can be shared with colleagues and posted on LinkedIn. (PLEASE NOTE: We do not provide reports of assessments, or “transcripts,” since this is a non-degree program.)

Who is Emeritus and what is their relationship with Kellogg Executive Education?

Kellogg Executive Education is partnering with Emeritus Institute of Management, an online education provider, to develop and deliver this program. By working with Emeritus, we are able to provide broader access to Executive Education, beyond our on-campus offerings, in a collaborative and engaging format that is consistent with Kellogg’s standard of quality.

Additional questions?

Please contact us by calling 847-467-6018 or email us at execedonline@kellogg.northwestern.edu.