The Essential Online Training Resources for Sales Professionals
The COVID-19 lockdown has given sales professionals across the UK plenty of food for thought, especially in terms of future career plans. With many businesses putting their commercial plans on pause, ambitious salespeople are suddenly finding themselves with heaps of time to think about where their next steps might lead them.
However, taking stock isn’t the same thing as standing still - and the hungriest candidates know this. That’s why sales pros all over the country are looking at the current situation as a golden opportunity to develop their skills, acquire additional industry knowledge and gain new accreditations - meaning they’ll be raring to go for the jugular with their job searches once lockdown ends!
To help this process along, the government and top industry organisations have released a series of free online training resources for sales professionals during the lockdown. These expert-authored courses will provide sales staff with all the tools they’ll need to maximise their capabilities and bulk up their CVs in readiness for the return of business as usual.
Explore these courses and programmes below to make the biggest possible splash in the post-lockdown hiring market!
General Training Resources
The Skills Toolkit
Launched by the National Careers Service, the Skills Toolkit is a government-backed programme designed to help British professionals to brush up their basic, intermediate and advanced skills from home. It’s packed with content to keep you going throughout the lockdown - and probably beyond!
Focusing on digital and numeracy skills, this resource is regularly updated with courses that you can work through at your own pace, including professionally-accredited programmes from top organisations like The Open University, FutureLearn, Lloyds Bank, the University of Leeds, Cisco Networking Academy and more.
With topics ranging from maths proficiency to coding and social media use, the Skills Toolkit is perfect for helping you broaden your professional capabilities and add to your sales expertise, giving you an even better shot at a top role.
Coronavirus Course Essentials
Even as the national lockdown ends, the coronavirus crisis is sure to shake up the world of business in a big way - and this means any professionals who are trained and ready for these changes will have a leg up on the competition straight away!
In this respect, the Coronavirus Course Essentials database from Learning Pool is a perfect aid. This library of free CPD-accredited e-learning modules includes information on effective remote working, conference call etiquette, and the best ways to work from home in a way that’s physically and mentally healthy.
These are the vital skills that businesses and individuals will need to thrive in a post-COVID-19 world, so by spending some time training for this new normal, you’ll have a brand new way of making yourself indispensable to your future employer.
Sales Training Resources
Alison Sales Courses
If you’re looking for free sales training online, then Alison is a reliable go-to source. The company has been providing free access to online professional learning resources for more than a decade, and you can get access to all the modules you need at no cost by signing up to the service.
This library of training resources will really help you up your sales game, covering topics including effective sales techniques, customer psychology, buying cycles and the art of negotiation. You can also learn about some of the most common tools and technologies available to support your sales processes, helping you stay ahead of the curve in a fast-evolving market.
OpenLearn Business Courses
Broaden your business horizons by logging in with The Open University, which hosts more than 1,000 free online courses across eight different subject areas. The organisation offers modules on all aspects of business strategy, marketing and entrepreneurship, giving you a chance to really put your skills to the test.
If you want to expand your knowledge beyond your core sales expertise, this is a great place to start, with the service’s Money & Business course library offering up educational programmes for all levels of expertise.
By learning about crucial sales-related topics like marketing strategies, project management, business culture and commercial analysis, you can give yourself a real leg up over the competition!
FutureLearn Business Courses
FutureLearn provides access to a wide selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions around the world - a real treasure trove of educational content for ambitious sales professionals.
Get stuck into hundreds of free short courses on business and management to expand your understanding of your chosen market, with modules on every aspect of business management and commercial thinking. By adding more strings to your bow, you’ll be putting yourself in a great position to thrive in even the most competitive hiring market!