Why upskilling with bitesize courses can’t replace real education

Short, sharp courses have their place, but if you want to enter the fun and lucrative world of sales, you need to make a greater investment in yourself. Let’s find out more.

If you suddenly feel you want to learn a new skill or subject, whatever it is, you’ll probably find there’s a wide range of courses available online. They’ll all differ in length, depth and price point, but they’ll all sell themselves as your shortcut to mastery. Sorry to disappoint you, but when it comes to education, there are no shortcuts. You only get out what you put in. 

In sales, there’s no shortage of bitesize courses promising to make you a proficient salesperson in double-quick time. Because sales as a profession has largely been ignored by mainstream education, you may think a short course is an excellent way to learn everything you need to know to start a successful sales career. Of course, this is not true. 

In this article, we’ll delve deeper into why, if you want the best start possible to your sales career, you need a longer, more intensive education. We’ll also show you how, at the SaaSLeads Academy, you can make the ideal first step.

The benefits of bitesize

While a short course is not the ideal way to upskill yourself for a career in sales, they do have their benefits.

Bitesize courses are great for people who regularly did something to a high standard, but stopped and want to get back into it again. During your hiatus, your skills may have been blunted and there may have been new ways of doing things that have emerged. A short course is an ideal way to refresh your skills.

Short courses are also a quick, relatively inexpensive way to get into a new hobby, especially if you’re not sure whether it’s for you or not. For example, if you want to learn a musical instrument, a short video course is a great taster before you call in a professional teacher.

However, for everything else, it pays to get a proper education.

How long-form courses give you more

When you take a well-programmed, intensive course, you gain several advantages over people who just take the easy, bitesize route:

• You learn more – It’s obvious, but it still needs saying. On a course that lasts longer, you’ll be able to learn a wider range of skills and go into more depth
• Beyond the textbook – Longer, more intensive courses are much more of a challenge. By facing up to this challenge, you develop your soft skills, like learning how to learn, resilience and collaboration
• Skills you can use – The best educational programmes give you the opportunity to take what you know and apply it in the real world, while still retaining the support of your teachers and mentors

If a short course shows you the surface, a proper educational programme takes you deeper, where the actual knowledge is.

Why sales deserves better

Sales has been largely ignored by the education establishment. We can speculate on why this is, but the fact remains, there’s no sales degree or anything in education that truly recognises the value of sales.

It’s no exaggeration to say that sales is what makes the global economy function. You could create the best products in the world, but until someone sells something, you don’t have a business. When a business generates revenue, it’s because, in some capacity, a buyer and salesperson have connected. It’s no surprise that often, a company’s salespeople are among the best-paid members of staff.

There’s a misconception about sales that many people hold – that sales skills are something you’re either born with or you’re not. This view is often held by people who think they do not have this so-called natural ability. The fact is, sales is not an innate thing. You can teach people to be good at it. With good teaching, practice and reinforcement, you can learn to be good at researching prospects, creating rapport, addressing pain points, qualifying leads in and out, and everything you need to launch a successful sales career. 

The SaaSLeads difference

At SaaSLeads, we identified the gap between what people who want to start a sales career need and what course providers are giving them. The result is the SaaSLeads Academy.

SaaSLeads Academy is a three-month programme where you can learn all the skills you need to start a SaaS sales career on the front foot. Our coaches and mentors will train you to generate leads, pitch to prospects, use the latest sales technology and much more. With the help of expert external speakers, you’ll gain a unique perspective on what makes a top-performing salesperson – the habits and behaviours you need to develop. You’ll also collaborate with other Academy students, building a network that could power your career.

However, there’s one more thing – something that sets the SaaSLeads Academy apart from any other educational programme you’ve seen. At the SaaSLeads Academy, you develop and learn in the real world, working in the sales team of a real-life high-performing tech business. You’ll learn to sell by talking about real products to real prospects. It gives you a deeper understanding of sales than anything else around. And what’s more, if you complete the programme, there will be a job at the end of it for you.

Find out more from the SaaSLeads Academy

If you would like to find out more about a career in sales, it’s time to talk to SaaSLeads. 

The SaaSLeads Academy is where ambitious aspiring salespeople take their first steps into this incredible industry. You can gain real-life startup experience, get unrivalled vocational training and build a contact book that will kickstart your career. But we’re not a recruiter; we’re a career accelerator!

Visit our site today – www.saasleads-academy.io – it could be the best move you ever make.