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Certificate in Sales Excellence

Certificate in Strategic Marketing

Drive Results Through Sales Excellence

Learn the cutting-edge concepts dealing with sales and sales management and gain the skills and tools necessary to engage in revenue-generating activities in your organization. This 12-credit-hour online program will help expand your understanding of the sales process, negotiating, data-driven decision-making and sales leadership.

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August, January or May Start

This program is temporarily unavailable.

What You'll Learn

  • Gain an understanding of consultative selling process, including the sales call dynamics, identifying customers needs, developing solutions, building customer relationships and the tools and technologies that facilitate the sales process.
  • Learn to negotiate in a variety of business and non-business settings.
  • Understand how analytical techniques and quantitative models can enhance decision-making by converting data and information to insights and decisions.
  • Understand the strategic and operational aspects of sales leadership including, successfully managing the sales force, developing sales forecasts, setting quotas and budges, structuring the sales force, managing sales territories, hiring, training and leading salespeople, developing effective compensation and incentive systems, evaluating the performance of salespeople, and analyzing the units sales volume, cost and profitability.

Take Charge of Your Future

The curriculum is comprised of four methods courses, which you can tailor to fit your interests. All of these courses are either required or electives of the MBA program offered by the College of Business. You must earn a grade C or better in each course to complete the certificate.

Course Schedule

Complete One Required Course

Managerial Marketing

GRBA 813

Development of analytical and decision making skills, and an understanding of the market forces which influence those decisions. Major emphasis on the decision areas of product, distribution, personal selling, advertising and pricing, as well as on the development of integrated marketing programs. Social, ethical and global issues.

Choose Three Elective Courses

Data-Driven Decision Making

MRKT 850

Prerequisites: One or more graduate or undergraduate statistics classes that cover basic statistics through least-squares regression or permission.

Theory and strategic use of large marketing databases. Translating market data into insights for decisions like pricing, advertising response, resource allocation, and new product forecasting. Topics covered include market response models, linear models, clustering and classification, conjoint analysis techniques, resource allocation models, forecasting models, customer profitability analysis, customer choice modeling, value pricing, product line decisions and other significant strategic marketing issues facing today's managers.

Consultative Selling

MRKT 857

Teaches the consultative selling model and the skills that make it work - interpersonal, communication, presentation, facilitation, and problem solving skills. Covers the dynamics of a sales call, planning for the call, identifying customers' needs, developing solutions, building customer relationships and the tools and technologies that facilitate the sales process.

Sales Leadership

MRKT 858

Provides a conceptual and applied understanding of the strategic and operational aspects of successfully managing a sales force, including developing sales forecasts, setting quotas and budgets, structuring the sales force, managing sales territories, hiring, training and leading salespeople, developing effective compensation and incentive systems, evaluating performance of salespeople, and analyzing the unit's sales volume, cost and profitability.

Managerial Negotiations

MRKT 859

Designed to help managers and professionals deal with a broad range of negotiation issues. Provides an understanding of the theory and processes of negotiations and develops skills that can be used to negotiate in a variety of settings.

Admission

Because we review applications on a continual basis, you can start earning the certificate when it works best for you, whether that’s spring, fall or summer.

Students in a UNL graduate business degree program wishing to pursue the certificate will not be subject to additional screening. Students seeking just a certificate will be reviewed by a faculty committee based on:

  • Letter of interest
  • Professional resume
  • Undergraduate GPA
  • Undergraduate transcripts
  • Three references

We will review candidates holistically, but we will recommend that students have completed a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. We also recommend that entering students have three or more years of professional work experience. Students with less than a 3.0 GPA, but who have significant work experience (5+ years of professional experience) will be considered for the certificate program.


Upload Supporting Documents

All Supporting Documents including unofficial transcripts and test scores are uploaded directly via the graduate application.

You are required to submit an unofficial transcript from each post-secondary institution you have attended during the application review process.


Submit Official Transcripts

If you are admitted, you will be required to submit an official transcript sent directly from each institution you have attended to The Office of Graduate Studies. We recommend that you complete this task before your admitted term begins. A hold will be placed on your account if they do not receive your official transcripts by October 1 for the fall term, February 1 for the spring term and July 1 for the summer term. Students will have until that day to submit official transcripts or your admission will be rescinded.

Transcripts can be sent electronically to graduate@unl.edu or by mail to

University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Graduate Admissions
1100 Seaton Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0619

International Student Transcript Submission

If you are an international student, please refer to the Nebraska Office of Graduate Studies for transcript and document information.

International Transcript Information


Applying for Multiple Certificates

The College of Business is pleased to provide multiple graduate certificate options. Please note, however, that students pursuing multiple graduate certificates may not apply the same course to more than one certificate. Below is a list of courses used by more than one certificate. If you have questions about this policy, please reach out to the Business Graduate Programs office at businessgrad@unl.edu.

Additional information on Application Requirements can be found at Graduate Studies website.

Program is temporarily unavailable.

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Prerequisites

Before applying, ensure you have met the prerequisites of a bachelor’s degree.

There are no other specific course requirements for admission to the certificate program.

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Program is temporarily unavailable.

Calendar

May Start

Apply by April 1

Calendar

August Start

Apply by July 1

Calendar

January Start

Apply by November 1

Affordability

Since certificate programs are not eligible for financial aid, we know cost is key. At a flat rate of $700 per credit hour, our certificate programs are some of the most affordable in the Big Ten.

Tuition and Fees

Maximize Your Investment

Completing a certificate can be a good way to get a feel for graduate level classes and diversify your expertise. Because the course credits you'll earn while completing a certificate are transferrable, you can roll your credits into a master's program later on. If you're already enrolled in one of our MBA programs, you can use your MBA electives to earn this graduate certificate at the same time.

Explore Master's Programs

Get More Information

Provide your information and we'll send you what you need to know about earning your graduate certificate at Nebraska.

If you have immediate questions, contact our Business Graduate Programs Office at businessgrad2@unl.edu or 402-472-2338.

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Program is temporarily unavailable.