COURSE
Accelerating Sales Force Performance, part of Kellogg School of Management’s executive education programme. The programme lasts four days. It starts with an exploration of effective go-to-market strategies, including telesales and the internet. Then each participant builds a performance assessment framework for their company. The course culminates in an action plan so no one goes away empty handed. The course ends with a vital discussion about how to implement change within sales forces.

IS THIS FOR ME?
Designed for mid- to senior-level sales and marketing executives looking to “enhance their knowledge in branding, marketing management and product marketing”, this course “examines sales force productivity, including sizing and structuring, resource allocation, competitive assessment, pricing, compensation systems, motivation, incentives, and performance evaluation”.

BOLD CLAIM
“Transform your sales force team into a powerhouse that produces significantly higher sales. This four-day overview programme tackles the issues surrounding sales force effectiveness and teaches you how to develop and improve strategies that will accomplish the high-impact goals of your team and company.”

FORMAT
Faculty leaders Andris Zoltners and Prabha Sinha, co-authors of a library of sales management books, and founders of consultancy firm ZS Associates, tutor participants via group discussions, case studies, and various exercises. Company sales force culture is assessed, human resource management issues are analysed and programmes conclude with a tailored action plan to take back to your company.

COST
$7,700 (€5,150) per person, but if you can’t negotiate a group rate maybe this isn’t the course for you.

THE VERDICT
Mark Duke, Senior Publishing executive, UK
“With an ailing dollar, studying at some of the US’s best business schools has never been better value for Europeans. Indeed, out of the 87 of us on our particular course in Chicago (age-range 30-50; 70% male), 50 of us came from outside the US. Unusually, this course was very pertinent to my industry -publishing, telesales, grappling with the internet - and it was refreshingly practical – I definitely got the impression that the course leaders really know about running a business and are not just management theorists. A lot of learning is packed into the four days: lectures start at 8am while cookie-fuelled, faculty-assisted study groups power into the late evening. The environment was empowering too; just entering the establishment, set on the lake in beautifully manicured grounds, made me feel valued by my business. This is unquestionably one of the top schools, but nothing about the course was detached from the gritty business of actually selling, which is why I liked it.”

DATES FOR NEXT SESSIONS:
Miami Campus: 1–5 March 2009
Evanston Campus, Chic.: 17–21 May 2009
www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/