Acquiring sales certifications adds a competitive edge to your resume with verification that you thoroughly understand a selling technique, sales strategy, software tool, or the sales process as a whole. Furthermore, specialized training shows hiring managers your talent potential and can lead to better job opportunities, compensation, and performance. Here are the best sales certification courses to enroll in to expand and refresh your knowledge in the sales world.
1. HubSpot Academy Inside Sales Certification
Designed for: Sales managers and sales reps
Cost: Free
Course layout: Consists of five lessons and quizzes along with 22 videos totaling two hours and 12 minutes
HubSpot Inside Sales Certification courses (Source: HubSpot Academy )
Created by the popular customer relationship management (CRM) software provider HubSpot , the HubSpot academy offers a broad range of free courses on sales and sales technology. Within that realm is the Inside Sales Certification, which focuses on sales development activities such as identifying the top contacts and decision-makers, engaging with high-quality leads, and how to best conduct your sales calls and presentations.
Visit HubSpot Academy
2. Salesforce Certified Administrator
Designed for: Salesforce users and sales reps looking to gain technical knowledge on a CRM system
Cost: $200
Course layout: 68 hours and 25 mins of courses consisting of 21 modules, 13 projects, and various tasks throughout, followed by a 60-question exam
Salesforce Certified Administrator home (Source: Salesforce )
Businesses that use Salesforce as their CRM system love to see this certification in a candidates profile. As Salesforce is one of the most popular platforms used by organizations of all sizes, a long course that offers in-depth knowledge on setting up and operating the features, integrating with other tools, and handling maintenance in the system is extremely valuable.
Visit Salesforce
3. The Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process Specialization Certification
Designed for: Sales professionals and managers looking to improve their deal closing rates and overall performance of their team
Cost: Free for audit, $49 per month for Coursera subscription and certification.
Course layout: Fully online course workable at your desired pace, consists of four main sections and takes an average of four months to complete
Mastering the Selling Process course home (Source: Coursera )
Offered by Northwestern through Coursera, The Art of Sales course focuses on improving the effectiveness of your sales process . The courses go into customer segmentation, prospecting, lead engagement, giving a sales pitch, and closing the deal. There are also insights on building a sales toolkit you can reference for your sales process.
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4. Customer Service & Sales-certified Specialist
Designed for: Customer service reps, account managers, and sales reps with emphasis on those interested or working in the retail industry
Cost: $125
Course layout: 14-hour course consisting of five sections
Customer Service & Sales certification home (Source: NRF Foundation )
The National Retail Federation (NRF) sponsors this certification and focuses on providing resources to those interested in careers in the retail industry. During this course, you develop skills needed for customer service and sales roles to understand the customer lifecycle, engage customers to assess their needs properly, and close deals. Theres also teaching on reading body language, problem-solving, and increasing customer retention .
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5. SPIN Sales Training Account Strategy Certification
Designed for: Sales reps and account managers who handle face-to-face interactions and want to increase lifetime customer value
Cost: Varies; contact for pricing
Course layout: Seven solution training suite programs with activities and resources that take around 20 to 30 minutes to complete, plus virtual training sessions that are four hours each
SPIN suite training program (Source: Huthwaite International )
In conjunction with SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need) selling, which focuses on the types of questions sales reps need to ask prospects to understand their priorities, Huthwaite International also teaches account strategy. This focuses on managing the customer journey before a buying decision and pairs well with the multicourse training program that develops long-term customer value and improves the sales process.
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6. Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
Designed for: Sales professionals, executives, CEOs, and business owners looking for a competitive advantage in sales
Cost: $695
Course layout: Six-week training program with a final exam to earn the certification
CPSP certification home page (Source: NASP )
This program is designed to teach and certify effective sales habitsmany of which are used by Fortune 500 companies. The courses focus on guiding prospects through the sales process, implementing behavior in sales proven to be effective, and exercising customer-centric communication skills. By obtaining a CPSP certification, you learn the best ways to shorten your sales cycle, overcome objections , and close more deals.
Visit National Association of Sales Professionals
7. Certified Professional Sales Leader (CPSL)
Designed for: Presidents, VPs of sales, directors of sales, sales management professionals, business owners, and anyone interested in becoming a sales leader
Costs: $795
Course layout: Six-week training program with a final exam to earn the certification
CPSL certification home page (Source: NASP )
Like the CPSP certification, this program is also offered by the National Association of Sales Professionals . This one, however, is designed to teach influencing team behavior and increasing performance . Throughout this sales training program, participants learn how to use effective communication channels, modern leadership strategies, and habits to build a high-performing sales team.
Visit National Association of Sales Professionals
8. HubSpot Academy Sales Enablement Training Certification
Designed for: Marketing and sales managers
Cost: Free
Course layout: 12 lesson classes with quizzes following each one, plus 40 videos totaling four hours and 29 minutes
HubSpot Sales Enablement training (Source: HubSpot Academy )
This HubSpot Academy certification is designed to help teams align around business goals, target customers using personas and task management, and implement processes to keep a steady flow of high-quality leads. Ultimately, this sales training focuses on enabling sales opportunities by aligning both sales and marketing departments to put reps in the best possible closing positions.
Visit HubSpot Academy
9. HubSpot Academy Sales Management Training Certification
Designed for: Sales managers or sales reps heading into a sales management role
Cost: Free
Course layout: Three hours and six minutes total, with six courses and quizzes along with 18 videos
HubSpot Academy Sales Management Training curriculum (Source: HubSpot Academy )
Another excellent, free option for sales managers, this certification can accelerate your capabilities from being good at sales to you being able to make others thrive in sales. This training goes through activities common for a sales manager, like mapping a sales process, training and coaching others, hiring new reps , and the sales rep onboarding process .
Visit HubSpot Academy
Pro tip: Use project management software such as Trello or Monday.com to track certification progress for yourself and your team. These platforms let you organize and collaborate on various tasks while also providing visuals on what needs to be completed. This lets your sales team easily update and track where they are in their certification program.
Trello Kanban view (Source: Trello )
Monday.com timeline view (Source: Monday.com )
Benefits of Sales Certifications
Earning a certification doesnt just come with specialized sales knowledge, its also proven to enhance the outcomes of your income and career development. These objective benefits are backed up with real-world data:
Pro tip: Encourage your sales reps to pursue continuous learning opportunities and professional accreditations by rewarding them for their completion. Tools like Tango Card , for instance, offer a rewards system that allows you to easily incentivize performance or task completion. You can give out gift cards, prepaid credits cards, or donations to charitable organizations while tracking the rewards youve given out with only a few clicks.
Tango Card rewards catalog (Source: Technology Advice )
Bottom Line
The courses weve featured enhance and verify your knowledge on specialized sales topics through interactive training modules, videos, classes, and course examinations. Our picks for the best sales certification courses will help you in all stages and positions of a sales career and offer the underlying benefits of higher pay, better individual performance, and the ability to take priority over other candidates who lack the credentials employers look for.
What are sales certificates
A sales certification is a designation given to a channel professional once he or she has gained an amount of expertise that a vendor considers necessary to sell a given product .
What certificates should I get for sales
5 Best Sales Certifications to Better Your Career
- Top five certifications, by the numbers.
- Job site search results.
- Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP)
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
- Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP) (The Sales Management Association)
- HubSpot Inbound Sales.
Are sales certificates worth it
As you progress in your sales career, these leadership skills will more often than not help fast-track you into a sales leadership role. So, getting a sales certification can prove to be extremely beneficial both in the short-term and long-term in your sales career .
What are the best certification courses for sales and marketing
Five Sales Certifications to Help Advance Your Career
- 1) Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
- 2) Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP)
- 3) SPIN Selling.
- 4) Challenger Development Program.
- 5) Software Certifications.
- Demonstrating Excellence.