FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007

CONTACT: Steve Dolan
(619) 594-5664
sdolan@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO, Thursday, February 15, 2007 - The importance of sales excellence cannot be overlooked since the sales department has the potential to financially make or break a company. With this in mind, San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies has established a Professional Certificate in Sales Excellence program.

Our curriculum is in response to an overwhelming market need for highly-focused sales training personnel. It is designed to target and impact the key performance measures most important to a company, the individual sales person, and to empower the sales team with specific skills they need to meet or exceed their goals and objectives.

The program is designed for sales professionals and sales managers who want to improve their skills and train their staff, sales personnel who want to bring up their revenue and telesales, outside sales reps, telemarketing professionals, marketing executives, and small business owners.

"Unlike law or accounting, there is no licensing process for a sales professional," said Chuck Dunning, general sales manager, Bay City Television, Fox 6 and UPN 13. "Schools do not offer sales-specific degree programs. Yet, a business without sales will die. San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies has developed an excellent reputation in the community for the quality of its certificate programs. Now there is a program devoted to sales that is backed by the reputation of SDSU and the Extended Studies certificates program."

Highlights of the program include:

• Learning strategic techniques to exceed sales objectives and company goals
• Tapping into sales opportunities where none existed before
• Learning how to negotiate and close the deal
• Differentiating yourself and neutralizing the competition

The College of Extended Studies continues to offer a Professional Certificate in Marketing and Media Specialist program that allows you to learn everything you need to know to quickly enhance your career and earning capacity. Past students have found this program to be especially rewarding due to the real-life, eye-opening approach of the instructors, with each providing real-world, ready-to-use definitions, examples, and advice relative to the business of mass communication and sales.

Practical information you'll understand and use everyday is stressed. This comprehensive program is provided through a partnership between SDSU's College of Extended Studies and the San Diego Ad Club.

For more information on these programs, please call (619) 265-SDSU (7378) or visit www.NeverStopLearning.net.

SDSU's College of Extended Studies offers a wide variety of lifelong learning classes, seminars, and certificate programs. Career advancement courses are offered in many areas of management, leadership, and quality improvement while self-enrichment courses range from astronomy to web design. Additionally, the College offers over 35 certificate programs, online courses, and many other learning opportunities. For more information on the cutting-edge opportunities offered in sales and marketing, or other programs, visit the College's web site at www.NeverStopLearning.net.