From Sales Manager to Strategic Sales Leader

Sharpen your leadership skills, master forecasting, and scale your team with confidence.

The Sales Leadership Excellence Program is an 8-session online course designed for sales managers and leaders in startups and SMEs who want to take their leadership skills to the next level. Over 16 hours of interactive learning, you’ll master advanced pipeline management, team structuring, onboarding, coaching, and compensation strategies tailored to high-tech B2B environments.

This program equips you with the frameworks, tools, and confidence to professionalize your sales organization, drive predictable results, and prepare for scalable growth — at home and internationally.

Track 3: Sales Leadership Excellence

About the course

Who This Program Is For

  • Already manage a sales team or function (CSO, VP Sales, Head of Sales, Sales Manager)

  • Work in startups or SMEs selling complex B2B solutions

  • Have 3–8 years of management experience and want to level up

  • Need to professionalize sales processes, motivate teams, and scale into new markets

What You Will Learn

Over 8 interactive online sessions (2h each, once per week), you’ll gain advanced skills to:

  • Confidently manage your pipeline and forecast revenue with precision

  • Structure and scale your team as your company grows

  • Design onboarding & enablement that ramps reps faster

  • Lead through coaching, motivation, and accountability

  • Set fair, motivating targets & compensation plans

  • Use the right metrics & KPIs to track performance

  • Achieve cross-functional alignment with Marketing, Product, and CS

  • Plan for strategic scaling & international expansion

Detailed Curriculum

Session 1 – Advanced Pipeline & Forecasting Techniques

  • Improve pipeline hygiene and forecasting reliability

  • Use stage-weighting, deal scoring, and probability models

  • Avoid common forecasting pitfalls in SMEs

Session 2 - Structuring & Scaling Your Sales Team

  • Transition from founder-led/generalist sales to specialization

  • When to hire SDRs, AEs, CSMs, and Partner Managers

  • Build territories and account allocation models

Session 3 – Effective Sales Team Onboarding & Enablement

  • Ramp new reps in 30-60-90 days

  • Design playbooks, role expectations, and enablement tools

  • Create a culture of continuous learning

Session 4 - Mastering Sales Leadership & Coaching Techniques

  • Run impactful 1:1s and team meetings

  • Motivate individuals and teams differently

  • Apply proven coaching frameworks (e.g., GROW model)

Session 5 – Setting Effective Sales Targets & Compensation Plans

  • Quota-setting models that balance ambition & fairness

  • Compensation structures (base + OTE, accelerators, bonuses)

  • Keep it simple while driving performance

Session 6- Metrics, KPIs, and Sales Performance Masterclass

  • Identify the right leading indicators for your stage

  • Build dashboards that inspire action

  • Avoid vanity metrics and reporting overload

Session 7 – Cross-Functional Alignment: Marketing, Product, Customer Success

  • Solve friction between Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success

  • Design Sales <> Marketing SLAs

  • Implement rituals for alignment (pipeline reviews, product syncs, revenue councils)

Session 8 - Strategic Scaling & International Expansion

  • Recognize signals you’re ready to scale abroad

  • Localize hiring, pricing, and messaging

  • Avoid pitfalls of premature internationalization

About the Instructor

Benedict Stalder is the founder of Scaling Up Sales. He moved up the career ladder in sales in leading multinational companies and identified that one reason these companies became successful is how they implemented Sales Management processes. He identifed that these Sales Management processes are very rearly taught or understood in Startups or SME’s.

This gave him the drive to start the Sales Management Academy with the aim to educate founders and leaders in how to scale the commercial organisation and learn the key to sales success.

To summaries, Benedict has:

  • 35+ years in sales, startups, and executive leadership

  • Board member, advisor, and founder coach

  • Creator of the Scaling Up Sales methodology

  • Experienced in helping tech companies expand in Europe, US, and Asia

What Participants Will Walk Away With

  • A repeatable framework for managing and scaling sales

  • Confidence in leadership, forecasting, and negotiation

  • Tools, templates, and dashboards you can implement immediately

  • A network of like-minded sales leaders in high-growth tech companies

Format & Logistics

  • Format: 8 x 2 Hour live online sessions (interactive webinars), once per week for eight consecutive weeks

  • Language: English

  • Investment: CHF 1’800 (full 8-session bundle)

  • Optional: Quarterly Keynote and Executive Networking Events in Zurich or Lausanne (CHF 400 each)

  • Next session: all Wednesdays in October and November 2025 - (missed sessions can be retaken later)

Ready to take your sales leadership to the next level?


Seats are limited to ensure interactivity and we look forward to receiving your application!

For any questions, please reach out to our admissions manager by email or book a call.

  • Course occurrence: 2 Times / year

    Duration: The course is structured as a series of 8×2 hour sessions (totaling 16 hours), delivered once a week over the span of 8 weeks.

    Location: Online Zoom

    Price: CHF 1’800.- per participant

    • Entrepreneur, Co-founders

    • Directors, CEO, CCO, CSO, managers …

    • Sales & Business Development people

    • For B2B industries (technology, health, innovation, industry, services, energy …)

    1. Apply using the application form.

    2. Your application is reviewed.

    3. Optional call to ensure the program fits your needs.

    4. You are admitted to the course.

    5. You receive an invoice with the course fees.

    6. Paying the course fee reserves your seat on the course.

    7. You will receive a confirmation email with the course dates.

    8. You receive detailed participation instructions one week before each course session.

  • About half of the participants participated with one or more colleagues or their cofounders.

    Each participant is required to fill out an application form.

    1. I won't be able to attend one of the days of my planned session.
      Do I have to select another session?
      - You can catch up any missed days up to one year later in another session.

    2. Will I receive a certificate of completion for this course?
      - You will receive a certificate mentioning the session and days you attended

    3. Does this course earn me ECTS points?
      - Our course is designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs who are no longer enrolled as full-time students and, therefore, do not qualify for ECTS credit allocation.