Today’s business environment has become increasingly competitive, with everyone striving to gain an inch in the market wherever they can. This is particularly true in the fields of both traditional and online marketing and sales.
As an entrepreneur, you may wonder how best to give your team members that competitive edge they need to succeed. The short answer? Online sales and marketing courses.
These days the Internet offers seemingly unlimited choices when it comes to online sales training or free online marketing classes. Investing in sales and marketing courses is a big decision and you want to make sure you’re choosing the best.
So how can you be certain that you’ve found the best sales courses for your team members and employees? With so many companies offering their marketing online courses free of charge, how do you know which one is best?
Well, that’s where Selling Revolution comes in! We’ve done the research for you and today we’ll be looking at the best sales and marketing courses available online.
Which Course is Best for Sales and Marketing?
So, where can you find the best free marketing courses for your sales/marketing team? After all, not all sales and marketing courses offer the same benefits to your team members. You need educational tools that will empower your team to take things to the next level and reach their potential.
Of course, it would also be nice to identify a few sales courses that won’t strain your training budget. Oh, and offering a sense of accomplishment with a sales certificate at the end isn’t a bad thing, either.
So, the best sales and marketing courses are the ones which provide you with the biggest return on your investment. They help your team members learn how to market and make sales quickly and efficiently.
To put it simply, the best sales and marketing courses would include the top 12 that we’ve listed below. So let’s get started!
FREE Online Sales and Marketing Courses
Here are some of the finest free sales courses and free marketing classes available (listed in no particular order):
Sales and CRM Overview–Coursera
Sales and CRM Overview–CourseraThis course is the first in a series of sales classes designed to give students a foundational understanding of Salesforce. This course is intended for entry-level team members with no background in sales being necessary to successfully complete the modules.
This particular class is one of the general sales and marketing courses that comprise the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate.
And did we mention that it’s free?
Sales Discovery Training–LinkedIn Learning
One of the most important skills that should be taught in any online sales class worth pursuing is sales discovery. This is the method by which a sales team member identifies and qualifies a potential customer before making their pitch.
With LinkedIn’s Sales Discovery Training, students learn how to wield that vital skill at all levels of the sales process. And the best part? Successful completion of LinkedIn’s sales and marketing courses leads to certificates that students can print or share online.
InDesign 2020: Essential Training–LinkedIn Learning
You may be surprised to see InDesign listed among the best sales and marketing courses on our shortlist. However, using engaging page layouts for e-books, blog posts and other content marketing is critical to your company’s success.
Sales training courses that leave out this skill just aren’t worth your time or investment. You need a sales team that is fluent in all areas of marketing. That’s why this course from LinkedIn Learning earns a special spot on our top 12 list.
Video Marketing Course–HubSpot Academy
HubSpot Academy offers video selling training courses online that teach everything from production to metric tracking and analysis. This course only takes about two hours to complete but offers a wealth of knowledge for any aspiring video marketers.
Other benefits to this course include an internationally recognized certificate upon completion and modules fully personalized to your specific needs.
Event Marketing Course and Certification–Eventbrite
This six-hour course offers certificates in event marketing in addition to a “badge” that can be displayed on LinkedIn accounts. The course consists of videos, quizzes and exercises designed to teach skills like web conversion and event discovery.
Other skills gained from this course include email marketing and familiarity with paid advertising. A certificate of completion is offered to successful students at the end of the course.
Event Sponsorship Course and Certification–Eventbrite
Imagine learning the secret to successful event sponsorship in only about an hour! That’s what Eventbrite offers in this easy online course which combines engaging readings with exercises and insightful videos.
Much like other sales courses, this program shows students how to identify potential sponsors and then pitch their events. Crucially, this course also provides insightful tips on how to close the deal, guaranteeing event success and profitable ongoing relationships.
After learning the steps to effective event sponsorship, your team members will take a quiz before being awarded a certificate.
YouTube Ads Certification–YouTube
YouTube has jumped into the world of online selling and marketing courses with its own ads training program. This course teaches how to begin video marketing on YouTube by setting up a channel and then creating video ads.
From there it’s simply a matter of setting up a campaign and then tracking the results. See the video marketing course by HubSpot Academy above for more on how to create winning video ads.
Internet Marketing for Smart People–Copyblogger
Forget those books written for “idiots”–Copyblogger now offers your (obviously smart) sales team the secrets to effective lead generation. By bringing together the worlds of SEO, social media, and of course content marketing, they’ll master the art effortlessly!
This course is divided between a set of 20 emails received incrementally and 16 engaging e-books. And like all the best things in life, this online course is totally free.
Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content–Coursera
Another amazing course from Coursera, this class is free to enroll in and offers a certificate after completion (about four hours). Everyone dreams of releasing the next “viral” product, and this course promises to teach you how to do just that.
Going “viral” in marketing means wielding social media to create buzz and influence the market. This course is taught by an author who managed to do just that with his book Contagious: Why Things Catch On.
By the end of the class, your sales team will be better able to combine social media and traditional online marketing. The result? Sales campaigns and brand recognition that can only be described as viral!
The Strategy of Content Marketing–Coursera
This course can be considered appropriate for team members at an intermediate level in their sales careers. At just about 19 hours, it’s certainly effective, with 33 percent of participants reporting real, measurable career improvements after completion.
Skills taught in this course include copywriting and management in addition to effectively tracking and analyzing campaign and sales results. Team members will better understand how to build brand recognition and transform suggestions and ideas into powerful action items.
If your writing team only takes one marketing course this quarter, it needs to be Coursera’s Strategy of Content Marketing.
Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises–Udemy
Udemy offers this practical marketing course designed to instill your team members with a fundamental understanding of marketing from end to end. Other skills taught include identifying industry influencers your business should connect with and utilizing technologies and products to advance campaigns.
For best results, sales team members taking this course should have some experience with social media. Not intended for beginners, it’s also recommended that sales students hold a moderate grasp of marketing ideas/concepts before starting.
This course features 19 lectures which should take just under an hour to complete. As with other Udemy courses, this class is free to take, although a paid version offers extras like a certificate.
Semrush Content Marketing Toolkit Course–Semrush
File this one under must-complete sales and marketing courses for the year! Lasting about three to four hours, this course features nine lessons including individual modules on content analysis, research and distribution.
Participants will also become familiar with tools like Post Tracking and Marketing Calendar to improve metric analysis and time management.
This course is designed to benefit content marketers at any skill level with easy-to-absorb information presented by video. After completing the course, be sure to take the exam to earn a personalized certificate!
Let’s craft a plan for sales and marketing success together!
Finding online sales and marketing courses that are right for your company is a crucial part of successful business ownership. At Wizard of Sales, our mission is to empower businesses just like yours to succeed in every way possible.
That’s why we offer fully customizable strategies to help you succeed, including training your team to reach its full potential. Book a call with Wizard of Sales to get the ball rolling on your success. It’ll be the best move you’ve made yet for your company’s future!