Pioneering partnership with Cranfield University on sales strategy and leadership

The Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP) is forging closer ties with Cranfield University by endorsing two of the School of Management’s flagship courses, covering key account management and sales leadership.

Both programmes are designed to increase business profitability by developing high-performing sales operations, helping to turn businesses into adaptable, customer-centric organisations that clients love.

For the past 20 years, Cranfield has led Europe in developing a proven process for managing key accounts more profitably. The university’s prestigious programme is based on processes and tools developed by many world-leading businesses who are members of the university’s school of management, best-practice research club.

The Key Account Management Best Practice (KAMBP) course, offers a practical approach to planning, analysing, and implementing a closer relationship with strategic accounts. This helps delegates, who generally join the course from senior sales roles, to:

:: Identify and prioritise key accounts to measure their profitability.

:: Develop customer-focused strategies.

:: Create powerful value propositions that deepen customer relationships.

The second course, Cranfield’s Strategic Sales Leadership Programme is the only researched-based programme for sales leaders in Europe. It focuses on the skills and tools needed to lead sales teams, develop strong sales operations, and engage with customers.

Amongst other things, the strategic leadership programme is designed to:

:: Increase profitability through a clear, sales strategy.

:: Align sales and business strategies.

:: Understand and then reverse areas where sales is under performing.

:: Focus on strategic selling to develop a sustained competitive advantage.

:: Help candidates make the personal transition from sales manager to sales director (or give them the confidence to do so).

Dr Sue Holt, KAMBP programme director said: “The endorsement of our KAMBP programme is part of an exciting association between Cranfield and the Institute of Sales Professionals and will create a great value-add for our delegates. It is a significant collaboration with a professional body that is focused on developing sales skills and knowledge across the industry.

“Our key account management programme runs twice a year and is open to delegates from any organisation that is interested in building long-term strategic relationships with their customers, distributors and even not-for-profit partners and we look forward to working closely with the ISP to develop an increasingly attractive offer for our delegates.”

Patrick Joiner, managing director of the Institute of Sales Professionals, commented: “Both of these programmes offer an exciting opportunity for sales managers and leaders to learn essential skills. The courses both start from a simple premise, to make selling easier and more productive, but they do so in an engaging and informative way using in-house research and industry experts, and by developing the ability and confidence of candidates to influence, manage and motivate sales teams.

“This is just the sort of high-level sales education that the ISP is delighted to endorse to lead change, and ultimately to increase sales revenues. We look forward to seeing a succession of enthusiastic delegates learning new skills to take them, their business performance, and their organisations to the next level.”

Cranfield University is a specialist postgraduate university with world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships that are creating technology and management leaders across the globe.