How to Build an Online Sales Engine

Lacontessa College Certificate Program

Course Summary

This course teaches you how to build a strong online sales system that helps grow your business. You’ll learn how to create a simple website, design with canva, blogging automation with Chat GPT, attract traffic with both SEO & Paid advertising ,to sell more efficiently.

With online shopping growing fast, it’s important to know how to reach and convert customers digitally. This course is perfect for entrepreneurs, marketers, and anyone who wants to boost online sales.

By the end, you’ll be able to set up an automated sales engine that works around the clock, helping you save time and increase revenue.

Why is this course important now?

Explain the urgency, industry trends or current shifts driving the need for this course.

  • This course helps leverage digital tools for growth.
  • Consumer behavior is rapidly shifting toward online sales.
  • Competitors leverage automation and data-driven strategies.
  • Traditional sales methods are less effective in today’s market.
  • Businesses with online sales engines see faster growth and better ROI.
  • The rise of e-commerce demands effective online sales systems.

1. Understanding the Psychology of Marketing

✔ Why people buy: emotional vs. logical buying decisions
✔ The importance of trust, storytelling, and timing
✔ How to speak directly to what your customer wants

2. Packaging Your Product or Service to Sell

✔ How to define what you’re really selling
✔ Creating simple, easy-to-understand offers
✔ Pricing your service for value and clarity
✔ Offering service packages to suit different clients

3. How to Do Simple Market Research

✔ How to use Google, TikTok, and Facebook to study the market
✔ Finding out what people are searching for
✔ Learning from your competitors
✔ Using online surveys and feedback tools

4. Building a Simple Website That Sells

✔ Choosing a platform (e.g., WordPress)
✔ What to include on your landing page
✔ Writing your content in a way that builds trust
✔ Guiding visitors toward taking action (call, order, subscribe)

5. Designing With Canva – No Experience Needed

✔ Introduction to Canva and how to set up your account
✔ Creating social media posts, banners, and flyers
✔ Basics of branding: choosing your fonts, colors, and layout
✔ Tips to keep your visuals looking professional

6. Making Google Love You – Introduction to SEO

✔ What is SEO and how it helps people find you
✔ Using the right keywords in your website or blog
✔ Optimizing page titles, images, and links
✔ Free tools for keyword research and tracking

7. Blogging with AI to Get Traffic

✔ Why blogging helps build authority
✔ Using AI tools like ChatGPT to write faster
✔ How to choose topics that your audience is searching for
✔ Promoting blog content through social media and messaging apps

8. Advertising on Social Media (Without Wasting Money)

✔ Choosing the right platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
✔ Setting a small ad budget and running test campaigns
✔ Writing ad copy that gets attention
✔ Tracking your ad results and improving over time

9. How to Follow Up Without Being Pushy

✔ Building a follow-up system using WhatsApp, email or call
✔ What to say in follow-up messages
✔ Following up without sounding desperate
✔ Tools to automate follow-ups

10. Tracking Your Progress – What’s Working and What’s Not

✔ Simple tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Canva reports
✔ Understanding basic numbers: traffic, leads, conversions
✔ Knowing when to change your message, pricing, or design

Bonus Module: Getting Your First 10 Clients

  • Finding your first clients through your network
  • How to ask for referrals without sounding salesy
  • Using one client as a case study to attract more
  • Offering value to earn trust and testimonials

Total time to complete the course (e.g. 2.5 months)
✔ 2 months

c. Time Commitment per Week e.g. 6–8 hours/week
✔ 5–7 hours/week

d. Delivery Format: (please tick the checkboxes)
☐100% Online ☒Hybrid ☐In-person

e. What is the cost:
✔ Ksh 9,000

How It Works

Format

All Online

Time Commitment

2 months with 3-5 hours of study per week

Cost

$3,699 or 2 monthly payments of $1,900

Learn From Top Minds

Courses are developed by Cornell faculty.

Power Your Career

Gain today’s most in-demand skills to stand apart.

Flexibility Fits Your Life

Learn on your schedule without stepping out of your job.

Small-class Experience

Participate in facilitated discussions and live sessions with industry peers.

Real World Projects

Apply learnings and insights to your work to make an impact right away.

Personalized Feedback

Enjoy meaningful feedback on assignments from expert facilitators.

Faculty FOUNDER

Evans Kigen

ICT Department

Key Topics Covered

Module

Module 1: Understanding the Psychology of Marketing

Module 2: How to Do Simple Market Research

Module 3: Packaging Your Product or Service to Sell

Module 4: Designing With Canva – No Experience Needed

Module 5: Building a Simple Website That Sells

Module 6: How to Attract Traffic to your Website

Module 7: How to Analyze & Improve your Online Sales Engine

Short Description

Why people buy, trust, storytelling, and timing

Research using Google, Facebook, TikTok, surveys, and competition

Defining offers, pricing, and product packaging

Creating visuals, branding basics, and design tips

Platform choice, landing page content, and calls-to-action

Techniques to attract and convert qualified potential clients using Google SEO & Paid Facebook Ads

Measuring sales performance and continuous optimization for growth.

Learning Objectives & Takeaways

  1. Understand the fundamentals of online sales systems.
  2. Design effective sales funnels to convert leads.
  3. Implement lead generation techniques using digital marketing.
  4. Utilize sales automation tools to scale efforts.
  5. Analyze sales data for informed decision-making.
  6.  Develop customer retention strategies online.
  7. Create tailored sales processes for different industries.
  8.  Launch a fully functioning online sales engine.
  9. Optimize the sales process for better ROI.
  10. Gain confidence in digital sales management.

Target Audience

Who should enroll in this course?

  1. Entrepreneurs
  2. Organizational Leaders
  3. Professionals in [speakers, designers, photographers]
  4. Employees considering self-employment but unsure how to get clients

Course Deliverables

What will learners earn or gain upon completion?

  1. Certificate
  2. Professional Development Credits
  3. Project/Portfolio Work

Legal & Ethical Considerations

The course will cover:

  • Ethical marketing practices
  • Data privacy compliance (e.g., GDPR)
  • Responsible use of customer data to ensure trust
  • Legal adherence in online sales.

Business or Organizational Impact

How will this course help individuals or businesses grow, transform, or solve problems?

  • Build scalable, automated sales systems
  • Increase revenue and sales efficiency
  • Reduce manual sales effort
  • Improve customer acquisition & retention
  • Drive sustainable business growth

Evaluation Method

How will learning be assessed?

  1. Quizzes
  2. Assignments
  3. Case Studies
  4. Group Projects
  5. Final Project

Tools & Resources Needed

  1. Internet
  2. Laptop/Desktop
  3. Headphones or earphones (for video/audio lessons)
  4. Smartphone (optional for testing mobile responsiveness)

Watch the Video

Enroll for this course

How to Build an Online Sales Engine

Ksh 9000