The examination regulations do not make it compulsory to attend a preparatory course for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Sales, so it is also possible to take the examination without having attended a preparatory school beforehand. However, this is only advisable if you have already completed such a course and did not pass the exam the first time or had to cancel it. In other cases, however, even if you have already completed some comparable training and continuing education, it is not advisable to decide not to take part in a preparation course, as the amount of knowledge taught should not be underestimated (see guidelines, which can be requested from the schools without obligation).

In a survey on continuing education, further training as a sales specialist, 93% of respondents stated that they had received more pay in the first one to two years after completing the course. For just over half of the respondents, this was a 1-10% increase in salary, 27% received an 11-20% increase and 13% even received a salary increase of 21 to 30%. These figures clearly show that a training measure is generally also financially worthwhile, not to mention the newly acquired personal and professional skills and abilities. This result is also underpinned by further education expert Therese E. Zimmermann. She states that continuing education, further training to become a sales specialist usually results in a wage increase of around 5 to 20 percent. (About the study)

Not every school where you can prepare for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Sales offers both specializations, inside sales and outside sales. Some training providers specialize exclusively in one area of specialization for continuing, further training as a sales specialist, so it is necessary for you to contact the individual schools directly before registering. Our contact form makes this quick and easy and saves you a lot of time and effort.

The following further training courses can be completed after the sales specialist training:

• Higher professional examination for the federal diploma as sales manager, foreign trade manager or marketing manager
• Higher technical college HF in marketing management or business administration
• With a vocational baccalaureate: Business Administration at a university of applied sciences

Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch asked those interested in sales specialist training or sales specialist training with a professional examination. A total of 41% said that their interest in individual training institutes came from online reviews. On the other hand, 31 % choose schools for their training inquiry based on a recommendation. 28% of survey participants ask schools for detailed information about the course because they already know them. This also shows how helpful online evaluations of schools are for the choice of sales specialist training, which is why many evaluations of schools are also integrated on the education platform Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch. Based on additional text responses, we learned further reasons from prospective students for enquiring about schools: "is close to home", "due to school times", "came across it via social media", "location", "because the training here is 3 semesters instead of 2 and it starts this year in October", "well located", "came across it by chance", "good and clear homepage" and "because it may be in Italian".

The examination parts of the professional salesperson examination consist of the following:

• Basics "Written examination on basic knowledge in the area of sales and marketing"
• Guided case studies Marketing & Sales "Central processes and tasks in fields of action HF 1, HF 2, HF 3, HF 4 and HF 5"
• Guided case studies Planning "Conception & planning of central processes and tasks in fields of action HF 6, HF 7 and HF 8"
• Guided case studies Implementation "Implementation of central processes and tasks in fields of action HF 6, HF 7 and HF 8"
• Postal basket task "Prioritize and plan everyday activities"
• Presentation and technical discussions (oral) "Processing case study and presentation of results as well as technical discussion"
• Role play (oral) "Simulation customer meeting"

The following personal requirements are necessary for the sales certificate:

• analytical skills
• Communication skills
• Sociability
• Negotiating skills

The admission requirements for the federal vocational examination for sales specialists are as follows:

• Completion of at least 3 years of vocational education and training (Federal VET Diploma), Specialized School Certificate or Baccalaureate (or diploma from a state-recognized commercial secondary school) and at least 2 years of relevant professional experience

or

• Completion of a 2-year vocational education and training (Federal VET Certificate) and at least three years of relevant professional experience

The required professional experience must be available at the time of admission.

The subjects in the further training to become a sales specialist with a federal certificate are as follows:

• Basic knowledge of marketing and sales
  • Basics of marketing
  • Market analysis
  • Distribution
  • Marketing communication
  • Accounting
  • Project management
  • Internal communication
  • Self-management
• Sales planning
• Sales administration
• Sales interaction
• Case study training
• Training in methodological skills
  • Present
  • Postal basket task
  • Role play

According to a survey conducted by the education platform Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch, people interested in the Sales Specialist course answered this question as follows:

• 65 % "I would like to see if this course meets my needs"
• 30 % "The course was recommended to me"
• 5 % "The course is often mentioned in job advertisements"

People gave us further reasons for their interest in this further training via free text responses:

• "I am looking for suitable training for my employee."
• "I would like to work in field service."
• "to improve opportunities on the labor market"
• "Would like a recognized certificate. Have been practicing the profession for a long time."
• "I've already been working in sales for a few years and want to learn more."
• "As I work as a salesperson myself, I want to expand my knowledge and learn even more."
• "I want to switch from retail to the background."
• "Fits in with my current job in sales."
• "I am a career changer in sales (for 6 years), trained in gastronomy, have now been given the opportunity to work as a team leader and would like to become a sales manager in the long term."
• "I want to get ahead in my job."
• "I've been in retail for several years and have been thinking about it for a while - now I have time."

According to graduates, you can achieve the following with a sales specialist apprenticeship:

• Acquire the necessary specialist knowledge and broad know-how in sales
• put what you have learned into practice
• Preparation for competent handling of planning, management and coordination tasks
• Targeted application of various sales instruments
• Conduct negotiations with specialists
• Product managers advise
• Good preparation for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education Sales Specialist exam through training and tests
• Performing a job with complex sales tasks
• develop into a sales manager after training as a sales specialist

If you have completed a preparatory course for the Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Sales, you will normally receive a certificate of attendance from the schools. However, this is not identical to the Federal Diploma of Higher Education, so you will only receive this Federal Diploma of Higher Education if you pass the Federal Professional Examination for Sales Specialists.

Trained sales specialists have the following professional skills:

• Create sales concepts tailored to the company
• Carry out sales processes and sales checks
• Create customer quotations
• Conducting customer meetings and negotiations
• Handling customer service and complaints
• Plan and implement sales activities
• Collect, analyze and incorporate market information
• Realizing market performance and quality assurance
• Plan, network, implement and monitor communication tools
• Design of strategic and operational distribution
• Entering into partnerships
• Optimize distribution processes
• use efficient working techniques and methodological skills
• Project management knowledge
• Network management

Anyone who obtains a Swiss educational qualification from the professional association Swiss Marketing (SMC) as a sales specialist from February 2021 will receive a European certificate. Graduates of previous Federal Diploma of Higher Education qualifications can also be retroactively certified according to the European standard - at least 10 years back. The SMC is an official certification partner of EMC (European Marketing Confederation). This enables the qualification to be recognized at European level, making it more comparable and easier to understand internationally. As a sales specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education, you can call yourself a Junior Sales Manager.