Leadership Practices Of Sales Managers With Special Reference To New Car Dealers In Kerala

Abstract

Abstract newlineLeadership and management are commonly seen as the same thing, which they are not. Leadership is also misunderstood to mean directing and instructing people making important decisions on behalf of an organization. Effective leadership is much more than these and good leaders have more followers, chiefly because people trust and respect them, more than the skills they own. Leadership is all about personal behavior and competences. newlineSales leader is the person who leads the sales organization and in the context of a passenger car dealership the sales manager is the leader of it s sales force. Sales force of a car dealer includes the sales manager himself, his immediate subordinates who are variously designated as assistant sales managers or team leaders as the case may and the sales officers including senior sales officers and newly recruited executives. They together does the marketing activities and bring in the necessary sales revenue for the organization. Typically, in a dealership the management fix their monthly target to aim and the sales manager drives his sales force to meet the set target. Micro managing the sales force and the associated rewards and punishments are the methods primarily used by the managers to drive the sales target. In this age of intense competition, ever changing business trends and todays knowledge customers ever increasing demands, the importance of leadership is increasingly gaining significance both in academic circles and in sales organizations. Companies badly need discerning leaders who can understand the current trends and expect future changes, adapting the sales processes and people to work with commitment towards achieving the organizational and personal targets in a harmonious work environment. newline