Cambridge Professional Academy: Leadership and Management in Sales

This study guide, authored by Cambridge Professional Academy for the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM), delves into the crucial aspects of leadership and management within a sales context. It covers key topics such as the relationship between leadership and management, various leadership styles (autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire), and their impact on sales teams and individuals. The guide explores the need for adapting leadership styles to different situations, contrasting transformational and transactional leadership approaches, and evaluating the essential skills required of a leader. Furthermore, it examines management styles and tools, and how to contribute to an organization's vision, mission, and objectives. The study guide also provides tools for self-assessment and personal development planning, including checklists, action plans, and a glossary, aiming to equip sales professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively lead and manage sales teams, foster a positive work environment, and achieve organizational goals.

Acknowledgements
The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management would like to thank Cambridge
Professional Academy for writing the following study guide.
References to third party material made in this study guide are made in good faith.
ISMM does not endorse, approve or accept responsibility for the content of
materials, which may be subject to change, or any opinions expressed therein.
(Material may include textbooks, journals, magazines and other publications and
websites.)
Authorised by Stephen Wright
Publication code: ISMMSTUDYU602
All the material in this publication is copyright
© ISMM 2013

Contents
What will I find in the study guide?.............................................................................1
The unit..........................................................................................................................2
LO1 Understand leadership in sales...........................................................................3
AC1.1 Evaluate the relationship between leadership and management in sales...........3
AC1.2 Evaluate leadership styles and their impact on the sales team and individuals. .4
AC1.3 Discuss why leadership styles need to be adapted in different situations...........6
AC1.4 Compare and contrast transformational and transactional leadership...............11
AC1.5 Evaluate skills required of a leader....................................................................12
LO2 Understand management in sales.....................................................................15
AC 2.1 Evaluate management styles and their impact on the sales team and individuals
......................................................................................................................................16
AC2.2 Evaluate possible tools of management............................................................18
LO3 Understand how to contribute to the direction of the organisation..............32
AC 3.1 Evaluate ways to contribute to the organisation’s vision, mission, aims and
objectives......................................................................................................................33
LO4 Be able to review own leadership and management skills............................40
AC 4.1 Critically evaluate own values, motivations and limitations in leadership and
management.................................................................................................................43
AC 4.2 Construct a personal development plan to improve own leadership and
management skills........................................................................................................45
Check list.....................................................................................................................56
Action plan...................................................................................................................58
Glossary.......................................................................................................................59
Recommended reading..............................................................................................60
List of references........................................................................................................61

What will I find in the study guide?
The ISMM study guide has been written to help trainers prepare for training sessions
and to guide learners in training sessions and when studying at home. The guide
should be used alongside other material provided by the trainer.
Learning outcome (LO)
This is a statement of what you should ‘know, understand or be
able to do’ on completion of the unit you have studied
Assessment criteria (AC)
This is a description of the requirements you are expected to meet
to show that the learning outcome has been achieved
Unit aim
This is a short summary about the purpose of the unit
You will also find activities which come under individual assessment criteria and will
help you to put what you have learned into practice. There is a glossary at the back of
the guide for words you might not be familiar with, a checklist to help you make sure
your learning and development meets the criteria, and an action plan to complete and
revise as you continue with your course.
This icon is used where you have an activity to complete.

Title: Leadership and management in sales
Level: 6
Credit value: 7
Learning outcomes
The learner will:
Assessment criteria
The learner can:
1. Understand leadership in sales 1.1 Evaluate the relationship between
leadership and management in sales
1.2 Evaluate leadership styles and their
impact on the sales team and individuals
1.3 Discuss why leadership styles need to be
adapted in different situations
1.4 Compare and contrast transformational
and transactional leadership
1.5 Evaluate skills required of a leader
2. Understand management in sales 2.1 Evaluate management styles and their
impact on the sales team and individuals
2.2 Evaluate possible tools of management
3. Understand how to contribute to
the direction of the organisation
3.1 Evaluate ways to contribute to the
organisation’s vision, mission, aims and
objectives
4. Be able to review own leadership
and management skills
4.1 Critically evaluate own values,
motivations and limitations in leadership
and management
4.2 Construct a personal development plan to
improve own leadership and management
skills
Unit aim(s) The aim of this unit is to support knowledge
and understanding and develop the skills
necessary to provide leadership and
management to the members of the
salesforce.
You need to be aware of culture and diversity
and be sensitive to the individual and
corporate needs of the salesforce whilst
focusing on the achievement of sales
objectives.
The unit

LO1 Understand leadership in sales
Overview
“The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to
do it.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Leadership is the ability to influence the attitudes and behaviours of others to work
towards a specific goal. Leaders set the direction, help people visualise what may be
achieved, inspire and encourage people to work towards getting there.
A leader will have a clear vision of what he is trying to achieve for the organisation and
be able to communicate that vision in a way that is meaningful for the organisation’s
stakeholders.
Being a leader means:
 having a clear vision of what you wish to achieve
 being committed to the vision
 taking responsibility and risk for success or failure.
Leadership is normally associated with authority within an organisation, for example,
one would expect the CEO of an organisation to adopt the role of leader. Whilst this is
true, leadership qualities are required by managers at any level within the organisation
who are responsible for managing staff and teams. The Sales Manager is no
exception to this rule and leadership skills are required to influence, inspire and
motivate the sales team.
Leaders and Managers of sales teams will need to:
 initiate and guide the actions of the salesforce towards the organisational goals
and ensure that individuals work for the benefit of the team and the
organisation and not just for individual gain
 motivate and create confidence within the sales team, ensuring morale remains
high
 provide guidance and support to the sales team to ensure they are working
effectively towards their goals and targets.
Organisations and teams that rely on management alone generally underperform and
struggle to build or sustain competitive advantage, consequently successful
organisations require a combination of both good leadership and management.
Sales Managers must develop their leadership qualities, as well as their management
skills, because it is the combination of leadership and management which ensures that
members of the sales team are working towards achieving the goals of the
organisation, whist maximising the efficient use of resources.
AC1.1 Evaluate the relationship between leadership and
management in sales

A manger therefore must possess the characteristics and traits of good leadership. It is
important however, that the difference between management and leadership is
understood.
Role of Leaders Role of Management
Create Vision Planning
Communicate Vision Organising Activities and resources
Inspire, Persuade and Motivate Directing Staff
Provide Direction and Guidance Measure and control output
Building Relationships Delegation
Identify and extract potential in individuals Implement Policy and Procedures
Proactive Reactive
Therefore whilst leadership and management are both essential for sales success and
are both about achieving results through others, there are significant differences.
Leaders must take a long term view and provide strategic direction and context. They
must outline their vision, long term goals and objectives. Leaders are transformational
and inspire people to follow them and work towards a common goal by building trust
and confidence of their teams.
Managers have the responsibility for ensuring objectives are reached and ‘things get
done’. They set operational direction, goals and facilitate the organisation of resources
in order to optimise those resources, including the performance of staff.
AC1.2 Evaluate leadership styles and their impact on the
sales team and individuals
Individuals lead in different ways, each of us has a natural tendency towards a style of
leadership and we often adapt our style according to the teams we are working with,
their expertise and the organisational culture.
The leadership styles defined below should be treated as a range of styles against
which we can place ourselves and our natural style:

Different Types of Leadership Styles
Autocratic/Authoritarian
(Theory X McGregor)
Democratic/Participative
(Theory Y McGregor)
Laissez-Faire
Controlling Delegator Set objectives
Directive Cooperation Minimal guidance
Sole decision maker Shared vision Allows employees
freedom to make
decisions
Does not delegate Open to suggestions Provides tools and
resources only
Closed to Input Shared responsibility/empowerment Group members
expected to resolve
problems
Judgmental Open communication and active
listener
Trust in employees
The Leadership style used by Sales Managers will have an impact on the motivation
and performance of their sales team and this impact is explored below.
Autocratic Style: Can have the advantage of quick decision-making and greater
productivity. There may be situations in sales where quick decisions are required to
secure orders, e.g. the authorisation of a discount. However, whilst this type of style
may be beneficial for some circumstances, it is usually only as effective as a consistent
style when the work undertaken is monotonous, routine and employees are unskilled
or perhaps where the risk is very high.
These situations do not often apply in a sales scenario and therefore continued use of
this style can de-motivate sales people and lead to increased absenteeism and
employee turnover.
Laissez Faire Style: This leadership style is usually effective where employees are
highly skilled, loyal, experienced and operate at a high intellectual level. Most sales
people generally fall into this category and therefore the adoption of this leadership
style can be inspiring and motivational for a sales force. However, care needs to be
taken to ensure that there are clear targets, guidance and financial controls in place so
that sales people understand the boundary of their decision making power and are
clear when they need to refer to superiors for approval.
Democratic/Participative Style: Leaders encourage team members to play an
important role in the decision making process and try to achieve consensus. Leaders
guide employees, invite and listen to suggestions and recommendations. Aspects of
this style of leadership (such as creating a vision and delegation of power), have clear
advantages in building and managing a sales team - who often work with relatively low
levels of day to day supervision. It advances the development of skilled and creative
employees and leads to a satisfied and motivated team. The major disadvantage of
this style is that the requirement for consensus can result in slow decision making and
that may cause frustration within a sales team who often are task focused and intent
on closing a sale.

From the above discussion you will realise there are occasions when some aspects of
each leadership style are appropriate and this is discussed further in the next session.
Identify situations when each of the following approaches is appropriate:
 autocratic
 democratic
 laissez-faire.
What are the Benefits of each style?
What are the Disadvantages of each style?
How would you personally respond to the different styles?
AC1.3 Discuss why leadership styles need to be adapted in
different situations
Different types of leadership styles will be appropriate for different conditions.
Successful leaders will understand which behaviour is the most appropriate at a
particular time. They will shape their behaviour after careful analysis of style, people,
the task and the organisation.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt provide us with a model which demonstrates the
relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a team
and the level of authority used by the manager.
www.12manage.com

Leadership Continuum – Tannenbaum, Schmidt
Autocratic
Manager
Leadership
Continuum
Democratic
Manager
Use of authority by
Manager
Area of freedom by subordinates
Manager
makes and
announces
decision
Manager
‘sells’
decision
Manager
presents
ideas and
invites
questions
Manager
presents
tentative
decision
subject
to
change
Manager
presents
problem,
gets
suggestions
makes
decision
Manager
defines
limits,
asks
group for
decision
Manager
permits
subordinates
to function
within
superior
defined limits
Manag
er
allows
full
freedo
m
The leadership styles depicted by Tannenbaum and Schmidt are explained below.
Tell
The manager/leader makes decision and announces it. This is an autocratic style in
which the leader gives specific instructions and monitors staff closely. It is most useful
when the team cannot tackle the task unaided, is unwilling, new, or where standards
have been allowed to deteriorate under prior management. It is the style most people
accept in a crisis.
For this style to work well managers need to:
 be clear and precise about standards, performance targets and expectations
 give detailed instructions
 monitor key performance indicators closely
 use frequent feedback to modify behaviour
 help people over learning problems while being firm about standards.
Sell
The manager/leader makes the decision and then "sells" decision to the team. This is
a persuasive style, in which the leader gives clear direction and supervises closely but
also explains decisions, encourages suggestions and supports progress. It is most
useful when motivation is lacking. It is also the best style where a task is non-
negotiable but where the team's motivation is vital to achieve the results required.
For this style to work manger’s need to:
 develop team skills, monitoring how those skills are implemented
 spend time with each individual addressing standards, skills and motivation
 monitor closely and be directive to keep performance to agreed standards
 listen to the team's feelings but stand your ground in relation to the goal
 reward positive behaviour.
Consult

The manager/leader presents the tentative decision/ idea but invites questions and
suggestions and is willing to change. This is a collaborative style in which the leader
discusses the task and listens to the team's ideas, taking them into account as he or
she makes the key decisions. It is most useful when the team has sufficient skills and
competence to make a contribution but where the leader feels a need to retain control.
That need can result from an imbalance between the team's competence and the risk
involved in the task.
For this style to work managers need to:
 focus on morale and team spirit
 encourage participation, straight comment and feedback
 specify objectives but let the team discuss how to achieve them
 explain fully, and encourage 'buy-in' to major decisions, whilst minimising
directives and suggestions from themselves - except in exceptional
circumstances.
Participate/Join
The manager/leader defines limits but asks group to make decisions. Team members
are given freedom to function within the limits and boundaries defined by the leader.
This is a facilitative style in which the leader allows the team maximum responsibility,
this is most useful when the team is competent and has a positive attitude towards the
task.
For this style to work managers need to:
 act as a resource that the team can call on when needed
 delegate increased responsibilities
 allow team members to manage themselves once you have agreed clear
objectives - allowing them to administer day-to-day monitoring and control
 represent the team to others, when necessary tackling anything that interferes
with their performance.
Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey’s Situational Leadership Matrix model helps us
understand how different leadership styles should be used in different situations.
The model illustrates four main leadership and management styles, which a good
leader is able to switch between, depending on the team's maturity relating to a
particular task. Managers therefore need to understand the maturity of the team in
terms of readiness for task performance and then use the style that best fits.
The Situational Leadership Matrix model sets out different levels of leadership within
four quadrants.
1. Directing/Telling – defining roles/tasks, close supervision, making decisions,
one-way communication.
2. Coaching/Selling – define roles/tasks but encourage suggestions and input.
Communication more two-way, though decisions made by leader.
3. Supporting/Participation – routine decisions passed down. Leader facilitation
and involvement, but not controlling.
4. Delegating – follower/s decide on the level of leader involvement in decisions
and problem-solving.
When the team maturity is high, the situational leadership model calls for a delegating
style which offers minimal leadership intervention - delegating decision making to the