COURSE DESCRIPTION Students will learn the art of selling – understanding that a more professional approach to selling is the key to improved sales in today’s competitive environment.  If a garden centre is to survive today, then it needs great staff with the abilities, techniques, attitudes and approaches of professional salespeople. Knowing how to open and close a sale and how to encourage add-on sales are fundamental to sales skills. This course covers that and a lot more.   WHAT THE COURSE COVERS – 8 LESSONS Lesson 1: Presentation, Personality and Communication in Selling

• Personality, Self-Awareness and Attitude
• Types of Shoppers
• Communication, Active Listening and Conversation Selling
• Communicating Confidence
• Trends in Garden Centre Customers

 Lesson 2: Helping the Product Sell Itself

• Merchandising and Displays
• Signs
• How Customers Pay
• Garden Centre Products and Services

 Lesson 3: Product Knowledge

• What is Product Knowledge?
• Knowing your competition
• Marketing For Garden Centres and Nurseries
• Lesson 3 Additional Reading
• Mark Ups in Garden Centres – What to Charge
• What is a ‘Reasonable’ Mark Up?

 Lesson 4: Selling Made Simple

• Introduction – The selling process
• Steps in Sales
• Using Language to Promote Sales
• Creating Logical Sentences
• Reduce Confusion in Your Sales Approach

 Lesson 5: ‘The Opening’ (Gaining the Customer ’s Attention)

• Introduction
• Timing and Opening a Sale

  Lesson 6: ‘Closing a Sale ’ (COS)

• Add-On Sales/Upselling

 Lesson 7: The Law and Selling

• Ethics and Selling
• Ethics in Sales
• Guidelines for Ethical Marketing and Selling

 Lesson 8: Gaining and Keeping Customers

• Customer Satisfaction
• Promotions
• Measuring Success

COURSE FEATURES

• 20-hour, self-paced course
• Fully online, flexibly paced
• Optional practical tasks throughout
• Automated self-assessment tests
• “Certificate of Completion” on achieving a 60% pass rate on a final assessment

 WHO SHOULD STUDY THIS COURSE?

• Garden centre sales assistants
• Garden centre owners
• Small operators
• Larger operators with accessible and flexible staff training needs
• People (with some horticultural background) looking to break into garden sales
• Students of horticulture wanting to expand into sales