Module Annotation

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”. This quote from Warren Bennis says it all. In the module, first we will cover what is leadership all about. I call it Leadership Essentials. Then we will apply these essential principles on Commercial Leadership.

Effective sales is as important for a company as spring rain for farmers. It gives good harvest for farmers and financial prosperity and job safety for companies. Today, when market insecurity is growing, it becomes more crucial than never before. And that is exactly why we need Commercial Leadership. This type of leadership contains all aspects of general leadership with focus on Sales Team Leadership and Managing of Customer Relations, Selling on Differentiation, New Product Development, Sales Process Innovation, Creating Alliances with Customers etc. We will discuss 8 competencies of commercial leaders and applicants will have the opportunity to perform self-assessment of their competencies and, based on that, to define their specific personal development plans. We will discuss a 4 Level Thinking Model which helps us to establish so called License to Lead.

Furthermore, we will spend some time on financial implication of sales activity and sales decision on profit and cash and how to optimize that.. As Michael Porter said at GILD Conference in San Diego, where I was privileged to be: "Top line is good, bottom line is better"

Module Content

At the beginning we will discuss Leadership Essentials to answer a simple question: Why should anyone be led by you? Then we define principals and scope of Commercial Leadership and why Leadership is crucial for long term success of companies. Then we will cover 4 Level Thinking methodology and we will apply this methodology to define levels of Commercial Leadership Competencies: Customer driven, Thinkstrategically, Lead courageously, Innovation, Developpeople, Building winning teams, Motivate People, Integrity. We will set a minimum standard of each competence as well as so called "red flags”, which indicate serious lack of a competence. Applicants can perform their own self-assessment and help will be offered to them for setting up their personal development plans. As Prof. Sandel from Harvard once said: "Self-knowledge is like a lost innocence, sometimes it hurts but helps you to reach the stars ". All competencies will be exercised on life examples and case studies.

In the next section, we will discuss and exercise on examples, what is true differentiation of products/solutions and how to create compelling ValueProposition, how to set up a New Product Development process in order to develop commercial viable new products/solutions and barriers we might face and other aspects good Leader Commercial should be able to deal with.

In the last section of this module, we will focus on financial implications of commercial decisions and actions. What is the true impact of discounts on profit? How small omissions in your offerings can damage your forecasted profit cash? How to analyze margins? We will discuss other important aspects Commercial Leader must understand...

Module Targets

Commercial Leadership goes well beyond of just closing the sale and generating top line revenue. When an individual achieves a certain level of Commercial Leadership Competencies, he/she transforms into a real businessman/woman. And this is the main goal of this module – to prepare applicants for further personal and professional development. There is another equally important target – to achieve an understanding that sales force responsibility does not finish by closing the deal but only when we achieve positive financial implications and thrilled customer. Applicants will enhance their understanding that real differentiation is not based only on features of a product/service and on examples will exercise all the aspects of winning Value Proposition. We will have the same ambition in case of New Product Development, opening of New Markets etc.

Module Structure

Leadership Essentials

Commercial Leadership Principles

Customer Needs

Differentiation and Value Proposition

4 Level Thinking

Commercial Leadership Excellence - 8 competencies

License to Lead

Financial Implications

Recommended Literaturee:

Gofee R., Jones G. : Why anybody should be led by you,2008, Management Press

Reilly T., Reilly P.: Value addedselling, 2018, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Education

Osteen J.: Next level Thinking, 2018, Amazon

Harvard Business Review: HBR guide to finance basics for managers, 2012, Harvard Business Review

Weinberg M.: Sales Management. Simplified.: The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team, 2015 Amazon

Bertuzzi, T: The Sales Development Playbook: Build Repeatable Pipeline and Accelerate Growth with Inside Sales,2016, Amazon

Ing. Miroslav Focht, MBA, DBA---

Předseda správní rady

Přes 30 let působil v mezinárodním businessu jako CEO, President EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) a člen globálního představenstva IMI plc.