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Looking for sales and marketing courses in Durban? BOTI delivers in-house sales training on-site at your premises in Umhlanga, the Durban CBD, Pinetown and across greater eThekwini, or live online. We train your whole sales team in one place and build the course around what you actually sell. You can see the full range in BOTI’s sales, marketing and customer care courses. To book or compare dates, call 011 882 8853 or request a quote.
Courses on this topic at BOTI today
- Effective Sales Training (2 days)
- Sales Skills: Basic Training – Sales Fundamentals (1 day)
- Overcoming Sales Objections Course (1 day)
At your offices anywhere in South Africa, live online or at a BOTI venue.
See all Sales, Marketing and Customer Care coursesGet a quote for your teamLearning on your own? Self-paced e-learning from R595 (excl. VAT) · Ask your employer to pay
Much of Durban’s economy depends on moving and selling product. It flows through the port, logistics and warehousing operations, manufacturing floors and a large retail and wholesale trade. Many people in KZN sell, quote, negotiate and close for a living without ever being formally trained to do it. This page is for businesses that want to fix that for their staff, locally.
In-house sales training, on-site across Durban
Most Durban employers don’t want to send people to a public course one at a time. It is usually more cost-effective, and better for your numbers, to train the whole team together. We do that in your own boardroom, using your own products, pricing and objections as the material.
We bring the trainer to you, on-site at your premises:
- Umhlanga and the Ridge: head offices, financial services, BPO and contact-centre operations, and B2B sales teams.
- Durban CBD and the harbour precinct: shipping, freight, clearing, import/export and wholesale sales desks.
- Pinetown, Westmead, New Germany and Mahogany Ridge: manufacturing, industrial supply and distribution reps.
- Surrounding nodes: Springfield Park, Mount Edgecombe, Riverhorse Valley and the South Durban Basin.
Your team may be split across sites, for example a sales office in Umhlanga and a plant in Pinetown. We can run separate on-site sessions or bring everyone together at one venue. If you would rather not take reps off the floor or the road, we also deliver the course live online, so people can join from anywhere in KZN.
Why Durban teams need sales training
The skills that close a freight contract are not the same ones that win a shelf-space negotiation with a retail buyer. We tailor the content to the sector you’re in:
| Local sector | What we focus on |
|---|---|
| Ports, shipping and freight | Consultative selling of logistics services, quoting and rate negotiation, long-cycle B2B accounts |
| Logistics and warehousing | Solution selling, retaining key accounts, upselling value-added services |
| Manufacturing and industrial | Technical/spec selling, distributor and channel management, tender follow-through |
| Retail and wholesale | Floor conversion, add-on and upselling, handling price objections, managing repeat trade buyers |
The examples come from your own work rather than a generic textbook, so delegates can apply the skills on their next sales call.
What the course teaches
The programme builds a complete, repeatable sales process rather than a bag of tricks. Your team will learn to:
- Plan and prospect properly, and qualify leads so time goes to real buyers
- Build rapport and run a structured, needs-based sales conversation
- Ask better questions and listen carefully to uncover what the customer wants
- Present the product or service around customer value, not just features
- Handle objections, including price, with confidence
- Negotiate without giving away margin, and close cleanly
- Follow up, grow existing accounts and ask for referrals
- Use a simple pipeline discipline so the forecast is realistic
Who it is for
This course suits a wide range of people who sell:
- sales reps and internal or counter sales staff;
- key-account managers and business development teams;
- retail floor and wholesale-trade staff;
- the sales managers who lead them.
It works for people who are new to selling and for experienced reps who have never had structured training. Owner-managers of smaller Durban businesses who do the selling themselves also benefit.
Related sales, sales management and marketing courses
Some teams need a shorter or more focused course. Any of these can also be run in-house in Durban or live online:
- Sales Skills: Basic Training – Sales Fundamentals (1 day): the core sales process for new reps and counter staff.
- Overcoming Sales Objections Course (1 day): handling price, timing and “we already have a supplier” objections.
- Sales Team Management Training (1 day): for managers who set targets, coach reps and run the pipeline.
- Marketing Training Course: Principles and Online Marketing (2 days): for teams that need marketing and selling to work together.
- Retail Supervisor & Retail Selling Skills Short Course (2 days): for store supervisors who lead floor staff and drive sales.
Accreditation
The sales short courses on this page are practical, facilitator-led programmes, and they are not accredited qualifications. BOTI is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider and a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor. It is also accredited by the Services SETA (12582) for legacy qualifications such as Generic Management. If you need a formal qualification for sales or retail staff, BOTI offers two QCTO occupational certificates:
- National Occupational Certificate: Sales Representative (SAQA ID 121792, NQF Level 4, 155 credits)[1]. The last date for enrolment is 30 January 2030[1].
- National Occupational Certificate: Retail Supervisor (SAQA ID 121316, NQF Level 4, 129 credits)[2]. Learners must enrol by 14 November 2029 and complete by 14 November 2032[2].
Both certificates end in an External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA), and the QCTO issues the certificate.
Choosing sales training resources for your team
Books, videos and online tips have their place. Sales behaviour, though, usually changes only when people practise on real deals and their manager follows up. When you compare sales training options, check five things:
- Practice on your own deals: role plays built from your products, prices and customers, not generic scripts.
- A repeatable process: a sales process the whole team shares, so managers can coach against it.
- Manager involvement: sales managers who know what was taught and reinforce it in pipeline reviews.
- Clear measures: agree before training what you will track afterwards, such as conversion rate, average deal size or quote follow-up.
- Feedback from other buyers: look at reviews from organisations that have used the provider. BOTI holds a Google rating of 4.8 from more than 770 reviews.
Funding: Skills Development budget and B-BBEE
For many KZN employers, sales training can sit inside the skills development budget they already plan for.
- Skills Development Levy (SDL): employers pay the SDL at 1% of the leviable amount (total remuneration). Employers whose leviable amount over the next 12 months will not exceed R500,000 are exempt[3].
- Mandatory grant: SETAs pay back 20% of the levies you paid as a mandatory grant. This depends on submitting your Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report by 30 April and being up to date with levy payments. Unclaimed mandatory grant money moves to discretionary funding by 15 August[4]. Planned sales training belongs in that plan and report.
- B-BBEE skills development: under the amended generic Codes, the skills development target is 6% of the leviable amount. That is 3.5% on learning programmes for black people plus 2.5% on bursaries for black students at higher education institutions[5]. Spend on training black employees can count towards the learning programmes target. Sector codes may differ, and your verification agency decides what is recognised.
Treat the spend as a planned investment in your team rather than an unplanned cost. If you would like help planning your skills development budget for your headcount, ask BOTI to help you plan it.
This is general guidance to help you plan, not formal tax, legal or B-BBEE advice. Please confirm specifics with your SETA or B-BBEE verification agency.
Compare and book
- Pillar: Effective Sales Training Course: the full outline of the course.
- Same course, other cities: Sales Training in Johannesburg · Sales Training in Cape Town
- Ready to go: Request a quote for your Durban in-house group.
Frequently asked questions
What sales and marketing courses does BOTI offer in Durban?
BOTI runs its sales, sales management, objection handling, marketing and retail selling courses in-house at your premises in Durban or live online. The two-day Effective Sales Training course is the main programme for sales teams.
Do you deliver sales training on-site in Durban?
Yes. We come to your premises anywhere in greater Durban, including Umhlanga, the CBD, Pinetown and surrounding business nodes. We train your team using your own products, pricing and customers as the working examples. In-house delivery is most cost-effective for a group. If you have only a few people, ask us about joining a session at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online.
Is there an accredited sales or retail supervisor course?
The sales short courses are not accredited. For a formal qualification, BOTI offers the QCTO occupational certificates for Sales Representative and Retail Supervisor. Both end in an External Integrated Summative Assessment, and the QCTO issues the certificate.
Can sales training count towards our skills development spend?
Training for your employees can be included in your Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report. Spend on training black employees can count towards the skills development element of the B-BBEE scorecard. BOTI cannot promise grants or points, so confirm the details with your SETA or verification agency.
How do we get a quote for Durban sales training?
Call 011 882 8853 or email [email protected]. Tell us your team size, where in Durban you are and what you sell, and we will tailor the proposal.
To build a repeatable sales process across your Durban team, book BOTI’s Effective Sales Training. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. Call BOTI on 011 882 8853 or email [email protected]. This course is not accredited. It is delivered as a professional skills programme, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Sources
- SAQA qualification record 121792: Sales Representative – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), 2026.
- SAQA qualification record 121316: Retail Supervisor – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), 2026.
- Skills Development Levy – South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2026.
- Mandatory Grants – Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA), 2026.
- Codes of Good Practice on B-BBEE: Code Series 300, Statement 300 – Skills Development (Government Gazette 42496) – Department of Trade and Industry, 31 May 2019.