1st Edition
Transformational Sales Leadership Sales Leader Perspectives
Transformational Sales Leadership: Sales Leader Perspectives offers viewpoints from 12 leaders across the global sales industry, all of which challenge conventional sales models and promote visionary ways of thinking about sales and leadership.
The leaders who share their professional stories in the book are from organizations including SAP, Google, Nationwide US, and Royal Caribbean, as well as their own practices, and they represent a new breed of salespeople who are increasingly sought after by organizations which need to transform their practices. They run teams, drive analytics, and improve operational excellence, and their careers rise or fall on getting the right KPIs. Their stories address solutions to age-old sales problems, but they bring a new perspective to the sales function in the digital age. The book focuses on what sales leaders need in order to be innovative. Specifically, the book shows you how to:
- Coach sales people through disruption
- Leverage the most valuable habits for success; and
- Provide for meaning and purpose in the hyper-connected and volatile sales industry
If you are a sales professional looking to succeed in challenging scenarios, the journeys recounted in this book demonstrate how the landscape of sales has changed and how thinking about sales differently can help you transform your career.
Foreword
Philip Squire
Introduction
Christine A. Eastman
1. Leadership in the digital future - a model for moving forward
Rainer Stern
2. How the DISC assessment tool builds and develops relationships for sales professionals
Rhonda Fekete
3. Coaching salespeople through personal change: Redemption for Willy Loman
Grant Van Ulbrich
4. The evolution of emotional intelligence in corporate life and its importance in both leadership and the sales culture
A.J. Iarussi
5. Should journalling matter to organizational leaders?
Namara Dafney
6. Learning from myth to empower individuals to create long-lasting narratives and personal branding in organizations
Stuart McCracken
7. Transforming lives and business through service-minded leadership
Lori Powell
8. The emperor's new communication dilemma: How the use of storytelling can help management communicate better with their teams
Waldemar Adams
9. My leadership narrative
Dev Goutam
10. If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change
Barbara Crane
11. A Winning Team - Reflections on leadership challenges
Thomas Pfiester
12. Humanifying leadership for the twenty-first century
Sakis Tassoudis
Biography
Christine A. Eastman is a Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her research centres on professional practice, leadership, assessment innovation, and the re-conceptualisation of continuing professional development. She contributes to the leadership programme at Lancaster University, where she lectures on the integration of American literature into a business curriculum as well as contributing to various leadership initiatives through a literary lens. A qualified coach with unique experience in facilitating the journey from manager to leader for professions, she has worked with a wide range of both national and international businesses.
Phill McGowan’s career has spanned both industry and academia. For 25 years, he was an entrepreneur and founded, ran and sold several successful businesses. He then provided business consultancy, programme and project management and interim management services to several medium and large technology firms. He holds an MA in Sales Management and a PhD in Buyer-Seller Relationships. Recently, he has held academic teaching and management roles.
Beth Rogers is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management. After a career in the IT sector and consultancy, she moved to Higher Education. She pioneered and championed sales education in the business curriculum, contributing to a number of programmes in Europe.
‘Understanding what transformational sales leadership means and importantly applying appropriate behaviours to practice while incorporating them strategically can literally transform senior sales executives and the teams and businesses they lead. This text is a must read on this clear and present challenge to all looking to take sales leadership to the next level.’
Tony Douglas, B2B Sales Educator and former Associate Professor in B2B Sales & Strategy
'Read this book if you want a new perspective on leadership and management. It’s an immersive experience. Learn how you can find truth through fictional, literary sources that can challenge perceived and existing knowledge, prompting real world solutions for business professionals.
This innovative and surprising approach to understanding leadership in the present is prompted by rigorous engagement with literary models from the past. Fiction helps students, business professionals and teachers explore scenarios with objectivity and depth of analysis, prompting compelling learning and valuable insights for leaders and managers.'
Kathleen Houston, Teaching Fellow and author, Lancaster University
'This book isn't just about sales; it's about cultivating a culture of excellence, fostering innovation, and nurturing the talents of your team members. If you're ready to unlock the full potential of your sales force and achieve unparalleled success, Transformational Sales Leadership is the book you've been waiting for.'
Nick Porter, President of World Courier
'This collection of sales leaders' fascinating learning and application experiences is a must-read book for all sales executives. It is by and for sales leaders who are life-long learners. Mentored by academics dedicated to sales education, it has both engaging reflective story-telling and insightful practitioner relevance.'
Deva Rangarajan, Professor of Sales at IESEG
'This compelling book serves as a comprehensive guide for both sales professionals and academics. It highlights the importance of empathy and emotional intelligence in modern sales, while also emphasizing the role of leadership in understanding team dynamics. The text also offers practical insights for managing personal change, aiming to enhance both individual success and collective outcomes. I highly recommend reading this book for a deeper understanding of effective sales and team cohesion.'
Professor Saara Julkunen, UEF Business School
'Transformational Sales Leadership offers a refreshing perspective where personal reflection and insight, discovered within the richness of the stories we both learn and create, can perhaps help us answer questions that traditional leadership theory only ever really ignites.'
Angie Dixie, Executive and Sales Leader Coach
'This book offers a fascinating insight into the skills and mindsets of the modern sales leader. A compilation of contributions from sales leaders who are at the forefront of academic research into sales leadership, and who are committed to bringing the benefit of their learning to the people they lead and the organisations they work for, it is an inspiring read.'
Patrick Joiner, FF.ISP, Managing Director, Institute of Sales Professionals
'Transformational Sales Leadership does precisely what the title says: It provides a unique compilation of ideas and frameworks to lead the transformation of the modern sales force into an engaged, purpose-driven value creation force.'
Javier Marcos, Professor of Strategic Sales and Negotiation, Cranfield School of Management
'This book masterfully blends business coaching, leader attitudes, and narrative strategies unveiling an innovative and infinite approach to depict how disruptive communication can be conveyed. It's an impressive, inspirational, and potent guide for shaping influential sales leadership.'
Eva M. Llorens Simón, University of Alicante
