Sales is omnipresent and is about selling ideas, not just products and services.
Amritsar, Punjab, 9th July 2021 — Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar inaugurated the management development program for the employees working in the Direct Sales, SBU of HPCL around the theme of “Achieving Excellence in Sales Leadership (AESL) -A 360-degree Approach.” After having forged many successful collaborations with the industry, this is one more partnership aiming to bridge the gap between the industry and academia and create a lasting impact.
During the program, the following dignitaries were present: Prof. Nagarajan Ramamoorthy, Director IIM Amritsar, Shri Abhishek Datta, Executive Director HR HPCL, Shri Ajit Singh, Executive Director Direct Sales HPCL, Prof. Vartika Dutta, Chairperson, Executive Education, Prof. Gurbir Singh, Program Coordinator AESL, Prof. Sujit Raghunathrao Jagdale, Program Coordinator AESL.
Key Messages from the Inaugural : Prof. Nagarajan Ramamoorthy, Director IIM Amritsar
Addressing the participants, Prof. Nagarajan Ramamoorthy reminded the participants of the critical role of learning for an individual and an organization. He quoted Henry Ford to point out that “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” He also pointed out that an extraordinary organization differs from ordinary ones by investing in its people. Director IIM Amritsar also said that when products and services are becoming obsolete so fast, investment in learning will give the edge that organizations need.
Shri Abhishek Datta, Executive Director HR HPCL
In his address to the participants, Shri Abhishek Datta, Executive Director HR HPCL, said, ‘The kind of turbulence and disruption the technology has brought up in the market requires that we reflect on what we need to stop, what we need to start and also what we need to accelerate. He enthused the participants by highlighting the participants’ positive feedback from previous programs delivered by IIM Amritsar and request the participants to create maximum learning from the programs by engaging in a dialogue with the other participants and the facilitators.
Shri Ajit Singh, Executive Director Direct Sales HPCL
Shri Ajit Singh also expressed his delight at the success of the customized programs on Data Analytics delivered for HPCL employees earlier by IIM Amritsar. He asked participants to see this training as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. Applauding the capability building team of HPCL and faculty of IIM Amritsar, he expressed his satisfaction with the broad span of topics covered in the training program, beginning with soliciting opportunities to clinching them and called the programme an elixir of direct sales.
Event Details
Prof. Vartika Dutta, Chairperson, Executive Education, welcomed the participants and set the context for the sales leadership program. She said, ‘the program’s central focus is on transforming sales managers into sales leaders by helping them comprehend the business environments, customers, and competition besides honing their domain knowledge and skillsets. In light of the same, IIM Amritsar has designed a 360-degree sales effectiveness approach encapsulated in this fast-track program to cater to the newer industry needs.’
Later, Prof. Gurbir Singh also welcomed the participants. In the context of paradigm shifts in internal and external environments brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, he reminded the participants that sales is about selling ideas and not just products and services. He said direct sales had become a vexing task for the salesforce, and they can realign themselves with the pace of changes. He continued, ‘the older value propositions have become obsolete, and there is a dire need for businesses to reassess their offerings and strategies.’
The key highlights of the programme include addressing several pertinent business challenges such as acquiring new customers, retaining and engaging the existing customers, and diversifying the customer base. The program draws a road map for rebounding from the current situation through a holistic outlook towards marketing and sales processes. The training program intends to upgrade the salesforce’s selling skills and comprehensively bring about performance improvements through modelling the selling behaviour. The pedagogy for this fast-track program has been kept bereft of complicated frameworks to unlock a new world of marketing & sales through established tools and techniques. The participants expressed great enthusiasm and had an immensely positive outlook towards the program.
Ms Staffy Rana emceed the inaugural programme, and Mr Anshul Mathur delivered the Vote of Thanks. Submitted by IIM Amritsar PR Team
