Determine the right number of “feet on the street,” what type of reps you need, and the best organizational chart for you.

Any sales leader’s success is dependent on two things. The first is strategy and the second is execution. Ensure that you have the right sales strategy by aligning your sales resources correctly. To assess if your Sales Strategy is a problem, answer the questions on page 342 of the How to Make Your Number in 2018  Workbook.

 

Do you have the Right Rep in the Right Territory?

 

It seems like an easy question to answer, but is it? In our annual research we found that one of the key elements of a successful sales strategy is organizational design. Follow a sequence when you evaluate or build your sales organization in order to stay away from common missteps. Take a look at how the top 10% of sales leaders construct their sales teams.  

 

A successful sales organization knows how to properly design their sales territories. This is a delicate science that often becomes an overlooked element. It is a science, not an art, and there is a method to follow. Winging it, as many sales leaders do, is entirely the wrong approach. Utilize sales data when mapping out territories. This step in your sales plan should be done after you assess your talent and before you set quota.

 

If this done out of sequence, you end up with poor resource allocation, which can then lead to missing your revenue target. Remember, the goal is to have your best sales reps work the territories with the most potential. Don’t give a new rep one of your high potential territories – they haven’t yet proven themselves. Instead, place one of your A-Players in a high potential territory.

 

How Do You Compare to Your Peers?

 

Here is a review of emerging best practices to begin organization design planning:

 

  • Which of the seven B2B sales organizational models are best for you: Stratification, hunter/farmer, product specialist, industry specialist, role specialist, geographic, hybrid?
  • What type of roles do we need on our organizational chart?
  • What is the head count needed by role?
  • Do we have our sales capacity deployed against the market opportunity correctly?
  • Through which sales channels do our buyers want to engage our sales team?
  • Which organizational model best supports our buyers?t on the street,” what type of reps you need, and the best organizational chart for you.
  • What level of sales specialization are our buyers willing to pay for?
  • What roles need to be filled?
  • What are the responsibilities for each role?
  • What is the production and cost of each role?
  • How should each role spend their time?
  • How should we transition from the structure we have today to the structure we need going forward (i.e., Rapid Build, Safety Build, Pay as You Go)?

Answer the questions to the best of your ability, identify gaps, and then fill them.

Why it Matters

 

Building a sales organization with balanced territories helps you hit your goal. Balanced territories enable your teams to be more productive and reduce sales turnover. By placing your top reps in your top territories, you give your team the ability to succeed.

 

Have expectations gone up and left you wondering if you can make your number? Here is an interactive tool that will help you understand if you have a chance at success. Take the Revenue Growth Diagnostic test and rate yourself against SBI’s sales and marketing strategy to find out if:

  • Your revenue goal is realistic
  • You will earn your bonus
  • You will keep your job

 

Rev_Growth_Diagnostic_1.2

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Staples

Leads teams of highly qualified experts, all relentless in their pursuit of helping you make your number.
BIO
ALL PEOPLE

John is the global leader of SBI’s account management business unit. As such, he and his team help clients across 19 verticals drive top line growth and operational efficiency in sales and marketing.

 

John’s marketing, sales and product expertise span a multichannel strategic approach. He has an unyielding focus on strategic and key account development, which enables strategic alignment between all functional team members in order to reduce acquisition cost and increase lifetime value.

 

His broad experience in sales, marketing, product and engineering allows him to bring a unique problem solving approach to his team and clients. As he has discovered through decades of experience, clients are often distracted by the symptoms of a larger problem and overlook the root cause of it.

 

Read full bio >