GUEST POST by Scott Tappan from Strategic Sales Solutions
While the right sales structure is different for every organization, a successful sales team consists of specific role types that have unique skill sets. It takes a very different combination of skills to keep current customers happy versus landing new accounts and let’s not forget the internal support needed to keep salespeople selling. “Right People, Right Seats”, also applies to your sales department.
The Ideal Sales Structure
How you organize your Sales Team depends on a myriad of factors. First, you must consider the unique make-up of your sales environment. Start with these foundational elements to begin shedding light on what your structure needs to accommodate. Ask yourself these questions: Does my product fit into multiple verticals?
- What is the level of complexity of my product and sales process?
- Which industries will my new accounts come from?
- What percentage of my business is coming from returning customers vs new?
- How broad are the geographic regions or territories my team focuses on?
In the small and mid-sized company settings I’m typically engaged in, a common difficulty is when the current stage of growth doesn’t justify the ideal quantity of specialized roles. Even if you need to grow into your new sales structure, there is still significant value in mapping out the appropriate design and having some staff members fill dual roles initially.
The key is to have clarity on the differing roles to support your growth goals and to measure their performance individually. This will give you visibility to recognize when activity milestones have been achieved to justify staff increases.
Hunter vs. Farmer Selling Roles
Just like one hardware tool isn’t right for every job, no one salesperson can effectively fulfill varying sales roles. For example, it is ideal to separate your Farmer and Hunter selling roles.
The Farmer maintains customer relationships and cultivates new opportunities within them. The Hunter creates entry points in new target accounts to grow your customer portfolio in alignment with your growth . . .
This article excerpt is republished from Strategic Sales Solutions. Read the full original article.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Tappan
I am a senior sales executive with over 30 years leading teams in numerous industries. My business is Strategic Sales Solutions, and I am a licensed Advisor of Sales Xceleration. I leverage the power of Sales Xceleration’s proven growth management systems to help small and medium-sized businesses, saving them time and improving their sales bottom line. Working with the world’s largest Outsourced Sales VP company, I utilize my vast sales experience to build sales infrastructure and processes to generate sustained revenue growth.