The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) has partnered with Nations Trust Bank to offer the Diploma in Professional Selling (DPS) to the Bank’s sales team. The diploma will equip the Bank’s sales team with the skills and knowledge required to maintain and enhance the Bank’s sales volumes, while diversifying its customer base through world class sales training.

The Diploma in Professional Selling is designed to provide a vital professional qualification for sales teams and enable them to achieve success in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace, whilst helping them grow, both as individuals and professionals.

The DPS by SLIM has empowered selected best performers of companies in industries such as telecommunication, banking, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), insurance and pharmaceuticals.
The President of SLIMand CEO of Lanka Hospitals Diagnostics, Mr.Pradeep Edward spoke about the effectiveness of the programme, which goes beyond a traditional paper qualification to impart practical skills on participants. 

“The corporate programmes of SLIM have earned the confidence of the sector as they have proven to effectively contribute towardsenhancing the performance of employees. Furthermore, from an individual perspective, the education pathway created by the Diploma in Professional Selling could take any sales person to the top of their careers, thereby contributing to the revenue growth of their employer.”

As with the overall educational portfolio of SLIM, the Diploma in Professional Selling constantly benchmarks international standards in designing training courses and programmes, with the aim of creating a world class sales force in Sri Lanka.

The present batch of students is the second batch from Nations Trust Bank to follow the Diploma in Professional Selling through SLIM.Nations Trust Bank was sufficientlyencouraged by the results of its original partnership with SLIM to commit to the continuation of the programme. The Senior Vice President – Sales & Integrated Business Development at Nations Trust Bank,Mr. RandilBoteju said, “As the driving force of the marketing fraternity of Sri Lanka, SLIM has the resources to conduct customized professional programmes for the corporate sector. The quality of the tailor-made and highly effective Diploma in Professional Selling programme has paid rich dividends by empowering our sales team, and we are confident that we will see similar benefits with the second batch.”

The Assistant Vice President – Learning and Developmentat Nations Trust Bank, Mr.Elmo Francis expressed confidence that the diploma would encouragethe Bank’s sales team to be more proactive in its attitude towards sales, adding that, ‘TheDiploma in Professional Selling imparts exceptional skills in selling to our employees and equips them to employ those skills in a practical environment by thinking differently and being proactive. This will lead them to become influential drivers of growth for theBank by boosting their levels of motivation and widening their horizons.”

A co-branded certificate from SLIM and Nations Trust Bank will be offered to participants at the conclusion of the diploma, enabling them to follow the widely recognized SLIM National Diploma in Sales Management with exemptions and enhance their career path.

Mr. SanathSenanayake, the CEO/ED of SLIM said one unique aspect of SLIM programmes lies in the fact that they are customized to cater to the local context.

“The Diploma in Professional Selling has been designed with the Sri Lankan context in mind.

Therefore, it has immense practical value to local corporates and sales persons who can rely on these teachings to secure sought after clients and customers, driving bigger sales volumes.The knock-on effect of this is the growth of companies, which of course contributes to national economic growth.”

SLIM is the national body for marketing in Sri Lanka and has been promoting marketing excellence and elevating the status of marketing since 1970. It is a member of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA), the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and the Asia Marketing Federation (AMF)