Training as a marketing and sales specialist: Experiences of the head of the training program Robert Müller for marketing and sales specialists with a federal certificate at the EBZ - comprehensive entry into marketing and sales

Robert F. Müller

Head of the "Marketing
and sales specialists with a federal FA"
and "Clerk with
Marketing and sales diploma
edupool.ch" at the EBZ
Adult Education Center
Solothurn-Grenchen

Swiss certified sales manager

Who are you and what is your personal background?

My name is Robert Müller and I live in Therwil. As the managing director of a branch-based company in the Swiss retail trade, I wanted to take a more informed approach to my professional decisions, which led me to further training as a sales manager.
As is so often the case, further training also leads to a change in working life. This was also the case for me, first as a part-time lecturer in a training course and two years later, together with my activities as a coach and trainer for business topics, it became my main activity. Today, as Head of the Marketing and Sales training course, I have completed several didactic training courses, lead a team of lecturers and enjoy teaching in specialist areas such as sales planning, self-management, communication and marketing. We train people with sound knowledge as marketing specialists or sales specialists.

For whom is the "Marketing and Sales Specialists with Federal Certificate of Proficiency" course particularly suitable?

The "Marketing and Sales Specialists with Federal Certificate of Proficiency" course is aimed at interested parties who wish to develop their skills in the areas of marketing and/or sales to become marketing specialists or sales specialists and who wish to acquire solid knowledge in order to be able to put this into practice:

• Clerks with tasks in the areas of marketing, advertising (communication) and sales
• Employees in the retail trade
• Assistants to marketing and sales managers, key account and product managers
• Office and field staff in sales departments

Thanks to the in-depth insight into the fundamentals of marketing, this course provides an ideal basis for further training at diploma level (e.g. marketing manager, sales manager), which follows on from the Marketing Specialist and Sales Specialist courses.

What are the admission requirements for the course that trains you as a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

The personal requirements for the course, which trains you as a marketing specialist or sales specialist, include active participation in lessons, the time required for self-study, homework and for preparing and following up on lessons. The professional requirements are a federal certificate of competence in a profession with at least 3 years of training and 2 years of professional experience in marketing or sales. Participants must have successfully completed the "Marketing & Sales Specialist edupool.ch" course or the "Markom" entrance examination or have acquired the relevant knowledge through self-study and professional practice.

What do students learn on the course that trains them to become marketing specialists or sales specialists?

Participants in the course, which trains you as a marketing specialist or sales specialist, receive an in-depth and comprehensive introduction to marketing and sales. After completing the course, they will know the function and role of a marketing specialist and/or sales specialist, have a customer- or market-oriented way of thinking and recognize the importance of networked and holistic marketing activities.

How is the "Marketing and sales specialists with a federal certificate" course structured?

Building on the "Clerk with an edupool.ch marketing and sales diploma" course, the course begins with the basic training for both courses and is divided into various fields of activity. The basic semester concludes with an assessment (internal examination covering fields of activity 1-5). The foundation semester comprises 176 lessons.
 
In a further step, the area of specialization (fields of activity 6-8) is taught separately according to the area of training (sales for sales specialists or marketing for marketing specialists). This is followed by exam preparation for the federal professional examination (written and oral) and for the internal examination as a marketing specialist and/or sales specialist. The in-depth and exam preparation semester comprises 100 lessons.

What is expected in terms of preparation and follow-up work in addition to the lessons in order to train as a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

Depending on your level of knowledge, I recommend that you plan around the same number of hours per week for revision or preparation for the next lesson as the lesson itself lasts. Only attending the lessons is rarely enough to successfully pass the federal professional examinations as a marketing specialist and/or sales specialist.

What opportunities do graduates have after graduating as a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

Marketing specialists are future managers and marketing specialists who plan and implement marketing and communication concepts in order to achieve the company's goals.
 
As sales specialists, they are able to efficiently and economically manage all areas of sales in the back office and field service, as well as in key account management.

Graduates of the professional examination have the necessary skills and knowledge to take on management or leadership functions in the sales area as marketing specialists and/or sales specialists.

What support do participants receive?

We study with well-prepared teaching materials and all lecturers upload their scripts and supplementary documents to the extranet. Here the participants of the prospective marketing and/or sales specialists have the opportunity to chat with each other or with the lecturers or to exchange documents. Group work or personal discussions help participants if something is unclear.

Do learning assessments take place during the further training to become a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

It goes without saying that learning assessments are carried out individually for each subject/lecturer during the marketing specialist training course. I myself always end the lessons with a short learning check on the content of the units held and start the next lesson with a short, but unit-spanning, learning check.

How much does the "Marketing and Sales Specialists with Federal Certificate of Proficiency" course cost to train as a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

The costs amount to CHF 8,940 for the "Marketing and Sales Specialists with Federal VET Diploma" course, which is billed in two parts, i.e. CHF 4,470 per semester. In addition, there are around CHF 900 for teaching materials and around CHF 2,800 for the examination fee (federal professional examination) from Swiss Marketing for graduation as a marketing specialist or sales specialist. The great thing about this is that participants are reimbursed 50% of the course fees and teaching material costs by the federal government (federal subsidies) if they have passed the federal examinations as a marketing specialist or sales specialist.

What makes Solothurn as a training location particularly interesting for students?

Solothurn has something "homely" about it. Although we don't necessarily relax during our further training as a marketing specialist or sales specialist, the location brings with it a certain tranquillity. An ideal location to concentrate on your further training. In addition, the classrooms are modern, bright and technically of a very high standard.

What are your school's transport connections like?

Solothurn is easily accessible by public transport and the EBZ is just a five-minute walk from the main train station. For those who prefer to travel by car, there are parking facilities nearby.

Why should prospective students choose the EBZ Adult Education Center Solothurn-Grenchen?

We focus on the participants on their educational path to becoming a marketing specialist or sales specialist. That sounds a bit trite, but it really is the case. We work as a team, lecturers together with the secretarial staff and the management. We really appreciate the uncomplicated, friendly and very professional way we work together. Our students also benefit from this. What's more, our students always do very well in external examinations: our pass rate for marketing specialists and sales specialists with a federal certificate is almost always well above the Swiss average.

How do you experience the participants on their educational path to becoming a marketing specialist or sales specialist?

At this level, the participants are very active and motivated on their educational path to becoming a marketing specialist or sales specialist. They have a clear career goal that they want to achieve. I also sense this personal commitment in the lessons. The participants are also curious and critical - a good combination for discussions.

How do examinations for marketing specialists or sales specialists work?

We prepare our participants specifically for the federal professional examination as a marketing specialist or sales specialist. For this reason, we also hold internal examinations, which serve as an assessment of the students' current status. The internal examinations are discussed and analyzed in the revision section. This gives participants more confidence for the federal professional examinations as a marketing specialist or sales specialist, which take place externally.

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