Good Salesmanship: The Complete Professional Selling Programme

About Course

Selling is the engine of every business, and good salespeople are among the most valued professionals in any organisation. This comprehensive programme takes you through the full spectrum of professional selling, from the mindset and habits of top performers to prospecting, discovery, presenting, handling objections, negotiating, closing and growing long-term accounts.

Built for Sri Lankan professionals in B2B, retail, FMCG, IT, banking, insurance, real estate and tourism, the course combines proven global methods (SPIN Selling, the Challenger Sale, Gap Selling, Sandler, MEDDIC, Cialdini’s principles of influence, Getting to Yes and Chris Voss’s tactical empathy) with realistic local case studies, scripts and templates you can use the next day.

Course structure

15 topics and 45 lessons, with more than 90,000 words of in-depth learning material
Over 90 curated videos from leading sales trainers, researchers and TED speakers
Sri Lankan case studies, ready-to-use scripts, templates and field exercises in every lesson
Self-check review questions at the end of every topic

Who this course is for

New and aspiring sales executives, experienced salespeople who want to sharpen their craft, business owners and entrepreneurs who sell, sales managers coaching their teams, and any professional whose role involves persuading, influencing or serving customers.

Develop the mindset, resilience and daily habits of top-performing salespeople
Understand how modern buyers think, decide and buy, including buying committees
Prospect effectively and build a healthy, predictable sales pipeline
Open conversations confidently through calls, emails, walk-ins and LinkedIn
Run powerful discovery using SPIN, Gap Selling, BANT and MEDDIC
Build rapport and trust and apply emotional intelligence in every sale
Present tailored solutions, run winning demos and sell through stories
Handle objections calmly and turn them into progress
Negotiate win-win deals without giving away margin
Close with confidence and secure clear commitments
Grow accounts through follow-up, retention, upselling and referrals
Use CRM, pipeline metrics and AI tools to sell smarter
Sell ethically and build a lasting, rewarding sales career

Course Content

Topic 1: The Mindset of a Great Salesperson
Build the beliefs, resilience and daily discipline that underpin lasting sales success, drawing on research by Carol Dweck, Martin Seligman and Angela Duckworth and applied to the realities of selling in Sri Lanka.

Beliefs, Identity and the Service Mindset

10:25
Resilience, Rejection and Learned Optimism

06:13
Discipline, Habits, Goals and Ownership

00:00

Topic 2: Understanding Buyers and Buyer Psychology
Understand how modern buyers research, decide and build consensus, the psychology and biases behind their choices, and how to adapt to different stakeholders and Sri Lankan business culture.

Topic 3: Mastering Product, Market and Competitive Knowledge
Turn product facts into customer outcomes, understand your customers' industries and business drivers, and compete confidently and ethically with honest battlecards and a sharp value proposition.

Topic 4: Prospecting and Lead Generation
Learn why consistent prospecting decides sales success, how to find and target the right buyers through referrals, networks, events and digital channels in Sri Lanka, and how to qualify, prioritise and systematise your lead generation.

Topic 5: Making First Contact: Cold Calls, Emails, Walk-ins and Social Selling
Master the first conversation with a new prospect: structured cold calls, short and relevant cold emails, respectful walk-ins and credible social selling, combined into multichannel cadences suited to Sri Lankan buyers.

Topic 6: Communication Mastery: Listening, Questioning and Body Language
Develop the core communication skills behind every great sale: active listening, powerful questioning, and confident use of voice and body language, adapted for Sri Lanka's high-context, hierarchical and multicultural business settings.

Topic 7: Discovery and Needs Analysis (SPIN, BANT, MEDDIC, Gap Selling)
Learn to diagnose before you prescribe: plan and run discovery meetings, develop buyer needs with SPIN and Gap Selling, and qualify opportunities rigorously with BANT and MEDDPICC.

Topic 8: Building Rapport, Trust and Emotional Intelligence
Build the human foundations of selling: authentic rapport across Sri Lanka's diverse business culture, trust grounded in the Trust Equation, and the emotional intelligence to stay composed and empathetic under pressure.

Topic 9: Presenting Solutions, Demonstrations and Sales Storytelling
Turn discovery into persuasion: structure tailored solution presentations with credible value in LKR, run demonstrations that prove outcomes, and use ethical, well-crafted stories to make your message memorable.

Topic 10: Handling Objections with Confidence
Learn to treat objections as signs of engagement, stay composed under pressure and use a repeatable process (LAER) to uncover and resolve the real concerns behind price, timing, trust, authority and loyalty objections.

Topic 11: Negotiation Skills for Salespeople
Build the preparation, principles and table tactics to negotiate profitable agreements, from BATNA and principled negotiation to anchoring, disciplined concessions and tactical empathy, adapted for procurement teams, tenders and Sri Lanka's relationship-oriented business culture.

Topic 12: Closing the Sale
Learn to earn and ask for commitment confidently and ethically, from reading buying signals and securing advances to choosing the right closing approach and steering complex B2B deals to signature with mutual action plans.

Topic 13: Follow-up, Account Management, Retention and Referrals
Learn how to keep decisions moving after the meeting, onboard new customers so they achieve the results they bought, and grow key accounts systematically. Build retention and referral habits that turn satisfied Sri Lankan customers into a steady source of new business.

Topic 14: Sales Technology, CRM, Pipeline Management and AI
Use CRM systems, pipeline discipline and honest forecasting to sell more predictably, and apply AI tools responsibly to research, prepare and practise. Learn to keep your technology simple, your data trustworthy and your customers' information protected under Sri Lanka's data protection law.

Topic 15: Sales Ethics, Self-Management, Targets and Building a Sales Career
Sell with integrity within Sri Lanka's legal and cultural context, turn targets into a manageable weekly routine, and build the resilience to sustain performance. Plan a deliberate, long-term sales career, whether as a senior specialist or a sales leader.

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About Course

Course structure

Who this course is for

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Topic 1: The Mindset of a Great Salesperson Build the beliefs, resilience and daily discipline that underpin lasting sales success, drawing on research by Carol Dweck, Martin Seligman and Angela Duckworth and applied to the realities of selling in Sri Lanka.

Beliefs, Identity and the Service Mindset

Resilience, Rejection and Learned Optimism

Discipline, Habits, Goals and Ownership

Topic 2: Understanding Buyers and Buyer Psychology Understand how modern buyers research, decide and build consensus, the psychology and biases behind their choices, and how to adapt to different stakeholders and Sri Lankan business culture.

How Buyers Buy Today: The Modern Buying Journey

The Psychology of Decisions: Emotion, Bias and Ethical Influence

Buying Groups, Buyer Styles and Culture

Topic 3: Mastering Product, Market and Competitive Knowledge Turn product facts into customer outcomes, understand your customers' industries and business drivers, and compete confidently and ethically with honest battlecards and a sharp value proposition.

Product Knowledge: From Features to Customer Outcomes

Market and Customer Knowledge: Building Business Acumen

Competitive Knowledge, Battlecards and Value Propositions

Topic 4: Prospecting and Lead Generation Learn why consistent prospecting decides sales success, how to find and target the right buyers through referrals, networks, events and digital channels in Sri Lanka, and how to qualify, prioritise and systematise your lead generation.

The Prospecting Mindset and Pipeline Maths

Finding the Right Prospects: ICP, Referrals, Networks and Digital Sources

Qualifying, Prioritising and Building a Prospecting System

Topic 5: Making First Contact: Cold Calls, Emails, Walk-ins and Social Selling Master the first conversation with a new prospect: structured cold calls, short and relevant cold emails, respectful walk-ins and credible social selling, combined into multichannel cadences suited to Sri Lankan buyers.

Cold Calling That Works: Openers, Gatekeepers and Brush-offs

Cold Emails and Written Outreach That Get Replies

Walk-ins, Social Selling and Multichannel Cadences

Active Listening: Hearing What Buyers Really Mean

The Art of Questioning: Funnels, Calibrated Questions and Mirroring

Voice, Body Language and Cultural Etiquette

Topic 7: Discovery and Needs Analysis (SPIN, BANT, MEDDIC, Gap Selling) Learn to diagnose before you prescribe: plan and run discovery meetings, develop buyer needs with SPIN and Gap Selling, and qualify opportunities rigorously with BANT and MEDDPICC.

The Purpose and Practice of Discovery

SPIN Selling and Gap Selling in Practice

Qualifying Opportunities with BANT and MEDDIC

Topic 8: Building Rapport, Trust and Emotional Intelligence Build the human foundations of selling: authentic rapport across Sri Lanka's diverse business culture, trust grounded in the Trust Equation, and the emotional intelligence to stay composed and empathetic under pressure.

Building Authentic Rapport

Earning and Keeping Trust: The Trusted Advisor

Emotional Intelligence for Salespeople

Topic 9: Presenting Solutions, Demonstrations and Sales Storytelling Turn discovery into persuasion: structure tailored solution presentations with credible value in LKR, run demonstrations that prove outcomes, and use ethical, well-crafted stories to make your message memorable.

Presenting Tailored Solutions and Value

Demonstrations That Prove Value

Sales Storytelling That Persuades

Topic 10: Handling Objections with Confidence Learn to treat objections as signs of engagement, stay composed under pressure and use a repeatable process (LAER) to uncover and resolve the real concerns behind price, timing, trust, authority and loyalty objections.

Understanding Objections: Mindset, Types and Prevention

A Reliable Process: LAER, Isolation and Response Techniques

The Objection Playbook: Price, Timing, Trust, Authority and Stalls

Negotiation Foundations: Interests, BATNA and Preparation

At the Table: Anchoring, Concessions and Tactical Empathy

Negotiating in Context: Procurement, Tenders, Culture and Discounts

Topic 12: Closing the Sale Learn to earn and ask for commitment confidently and ethically, from reading buying signals and securing advances to choosing the right closing approach and steering complex B2B deals to signature with mutual action plans.

The Truth About Closing: Advances, Buying Signals and Trial Closes

Ethical Closing Techniques That Work

Closing Complex Deals: Mutual Action Plans, Stalls and the Handover

The Art of Follow-up and Post-Sale Onboarding

Key Account Management and Growing Customer Value

Retention, Service Recovery and Referral Systems

CRM Fundamentals and Data Discipline

Pipeline Management and Sales Forecasting

AI and the Modern Sales Tech Stack

Ethical Selling and Professional Integrity

Self-Management: Targets, Time and Resilience

Building a Lasting Sales Career