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Effective Sales Management Through Great Leadership

Congratulations! You got it. You got the sales manager position. All those interviews and sit-ins are over, and now it is time to get to work. You are now in charge of 60 dedicated sales associates. Can you handle it? Take a look at our numbers from last year. As you can see, your predecessor did not live up to our expectations; nevertheless, he is gone and you are here now. Your office is down the hall to the right, but before you head there you might want to introduce yourself to everyone around the workplace. Quotas should be on your desk already. Life is a little hectic around here, but you will get the hang of it. That is what all those weeks of training were for right? Well, that is about it. Do you have any questions? I hope you are ready.
Are you ready? You just got out of school, and you are excited because of all the opportunities you learned about in "Sales Management" class. But are you ready to be a manager? Are you ready to be a leader? What does it take to be an effective sales manager? A great sales manager? A great leader? All of these questions and more will be answered throughout this paper. We will find out first hand from a great coach what it takes to be a leader. We will reference successful and unsuccessful management attempts as well as research management tips and techniques from top minds to find out the ins and outs of effective management. The goal is to mix these outside sources with my own opinions and ideas. At the end of this paper we will form a plan. With this plan, hopefully we will be prepared to manage those 60 dedicated associates and lead our company forward.
"Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own potential." – Warren Bennis, pioneer and consultant in the contemporary field of leadership studies
A simple definition of leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards...