Sales Team

What is a Sales Team?

Within a company, the sales team is the group of professionals responsible for selling its products or services. Their primary role is to find and engage with potential customers, understand their needs, and provide solutions that meet those needs, ultimately driving revenue for the company.

The sales team comprises several different members (which we’ll dive more into in a moment):

• Sales development representatives (SDRs) who generate leads and qualify potential customers
• Account executives (AEs) who close deals with qualified leads
• Sales managers who oversee the team and set goals and strategies
• Customer success managers who maintain relationships with existing customers to ensure satisfaction and retention
• Sales executives who oversee the entire sales team and make high-level decisions related to sales strategies and goals

In successful organizations, sales activities are closely intertwined with marketing, customer success, and technical/product team initiatives. Sales alignment guarantees a cohesive approach to revenue generation and helps companies deliver continuous value to their customers.

Synonyms

• Sales force
• Sales staff
• Sales department

Sales Team Structure

Depending on the nature of your product, there are a few different ways you can structure your sales org. You also have to consider customer preferences — aligning sales with the way customers buy is the key to success.

Types of sales teams

Inbound sales

Inbound sales teams focus on converting leads who have already shown interest in the company’s product or service, usually by filling out a form or requesting more information. The main goal of inbound sales reps is to educate and nurture potential customers until they are ready to make a purchase.

As a customer-centric sales process, the main drivers of inbound sales are marketing activities:

• SEO
• Content marketing
• Paid ads
• Virtual events and webinars
• Social media
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

An inbound lead is someone who calls themselves to action by reaching out to your company. These leads are already aware of the product or service you offer, and they’ve started their own buyer’s journey. Your reps’ job is to take a consultative approach to selling.

Outbound sales

Outbound sales is the opposite of inbound sales — it’s a proactive approach to selling where reps reach out to potential customers who have not expressed interest yet. They might not even know your product exists.

This strategy is also known as traditional or cold sales, and it involves prospecting, making cold calls, sending emails, attending conferences, and other forms of outreach to generate leads.

Outbound sales can be split into two categories:

• Inside sales
• Field sales

Inside sales

Inside sales reps make most of their calls, manage deals, and close sales remotely, without physically meeting the customers. They may or may not work from a physical location (i.e., an office).

Two groups of sales team members split the inside sales process :

• SDRs who prospect and qualify leads
• AEs who close deals

The inside sales model works best for SaaS companies, or any business that allows customers to purchase online.

Field sales

Field sales reps meet with prospects face-to-face to onboard them as customers. This sales strategy is most common in industries that require a more personalized approach because of the complexity of what they’re selling (and potential lack of user knowledge).

This includes:

• Solar equipment
• Medical devices
• Industrial machinery
• Pharmaceuticals
• Some forms of enterprise SaaS sales

Sometimes referred to as outside sales, this approach typically involves a longer sales cycle and higher-value deals. The seller takes a long time to explain their offering, and will need to show a demo or deliver a presentation (maybe even a proof of concept).

Remote sales

Remote sales (also called virtual sales) is an outsourced sales model where reps work remotely to sell products or services. They could be located anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection.

This approach is popular in a few different industries:

• Agency services
• Info products and coaching programs
• Simple SaaS products
• Training and education
• Insurance
• Real estate

If you don’t have a sales team yet and don’t have the infrastructure or budget to build one, you might hire a remote sales agency or a few commission-based contractors to handle the closing aspect of your sales process. This eliminates the need to train or manage a team of account executives and helps you focus on other crucial business activities.

Hierarchy of a sales team

There are several runs in the corporate hierarchy you need to account for when scaling your sales team:

• Sales Development Representative (SDR)
• Account Executive (AE)
• Sales Manager
• Customer Success Manager (CSM)
• Sales executives

Let’s take a deeper dive into each one and their distinctive roles.

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Sales development is the process of identifying, contacting, and qualifying potential customers. SDRs create interest in the product or service, conduct exploratory meetings with prospects, and execute lead nurturing strategies.

They generally only handle the front-end aspect of the sales cycle (prospecting, cold outreach, appointment setting), but they sometimes participate in the demo and closing process alongside the Account Executive.

Account Executive (AE)

AEs handle the second half of the sales process. Their main goal is to close deals by leveraging their expertise and understanding of customer needs.

They are responsible for:

• Conducting product demos
• Answering technical questions
• Creating proposals or quotes
• Negotiating pricing and contracts

In larger organizations, you’ll have Emerging, Mid-Market, and Enterprise AEs. At the top of the food chain, Enterprise AEs close the most complex and lucrative deals.

Sales Manager

Sales managers lead a team of AEs and SDRs. They oversee the entire sales process, from prospecting to customer retention.

Their main responsibilities include:

• Setting sales targets and goals
• Managing the sales pipeline
• Providing coaching and training for reps
• Overseeing the sales team’s activities
• Holding QBRs, deal reviews, and coaching sessions
• Providing mentorship and guidance for team members

While the SDRs and AEs are the driving forces behind company revenue, it’s your sales manager’s job to keep those teams motivated, engaged, productive, and fulfilled.

Customer Success Manager (CSM)

The CSM isn’t exactly a part of the sales team, but they’re the liaison between the sales team and customer support. They ensure that customers receive what they were promised, helping to foster satisfaction and retention.

Their main responsibilities include:

• Onboarding new customers
• Upselling and cross-selling opportunities
• Providing ongoing support for current customers
• Managing the renewal process

You can have a successful sales team, but if you’re missing a CSM, you’ll have problems with user adoption and retention.

Sales executives

Sales execs are the top-level employees in a sales organization. They oversee all sales activities, from the development of sales strategies to the closing of deals.

Depending on the size of the organization, you might have some or all of the following as members of your exec team:

• Director of Sales
• VP Sales
• President of Sales
• Chief Sales Officer (CSO)

Larger companies will have most or all of these. Smaller companies may combine two or more of these roles into one position.

Choosing the right structure for your sales team

As you scale, you’ll need to think about the structure of your sales team and how it aligns with your company goals and objectives.

There are generally three main types of sales team structures:

• Territory-based – Reps are assigned specific territories or regions to manage and sell within.
• Product-based – Reps specialize in a specific product or service and handle all sales related to that offering.
• Hybrid – A combination of both territory-based and product-based structures, where reps are assigned regions but also specialize in certain products or services.

Hybrid structures work best for companies with complex product offerings and a diverse customer base. For example, a sales rep at Oracle might specialize in a certain product like ERP software, but also have a designated territory to cover.

Smaller companies with more straightforward products or service offerings might opt for a territory-based structure, where reps handle all aspects of the sales process for their designated region.

As for the type of sales team you run, it all comes down to company size, budget, and product complexity. The more complex your product, the more specialized your sales team will need to be.

How to Build a Sales Team

Building a sales organization from the ground up is a lot harder than it seems. You have to consider how you’ll create the structure, who you’ll hire, and how to measure success. You’ll also have to consider the cultural aspects of your team and how to keep them engaged and motivated.

• Start by mapping out your company values. To maximize productivity, you’ll need people who align with your company’s vision. Start by defining what that is and what your founders/leaders embody.
• Create a compensation package that attracts the best talent. Your commission structure needs to be worth looking at and your base salary needs to be competitive.
• Hire the right team members. Look for people with experience, a proven track record of success, and an alignment with your company values.
• Set expectations and create a sales process for your team to follow. This includes picking a sales methodology, developing sales playbooks, and investing in sales enablement software that helps them accomplish their goals.
• Create an onboarding process. Effective sales onboarding improves quota attainment by 16.2%. Teaching your reps how to run your sales process and giving them mentorship will help them succeed within your organization.
• Motivate from the top, down. Sales reps feed off the energy of their leaders, so make sure to set an example and be present for your team.
• Measure success with data. Use tools like CRM systems and sales performance dashboards to track progress towards your goals and identify areas for improvement.

Sales Team Development

As your sales department grows, its structure and workflows will change. You need to support the increases in complexity and scale by giving your team members what they need to succeed.

Define clear roles and specializations.

In smaller teams, salespeople often wear many hats (e.g., prospecting, closing deals, customer service). As you grow, it’s essential to introduce role specialization.

In the growth stage, you want to separate roles like SDRs/BDRs for lead gen, AEs for closing deals, and CSMs for post-sale support.

Implement a scalable process.

Create a documented sales workflow you can easily replicate as the team grows. This includes setting clear stages for the sales funnel, standardizing follow-up communication, and using sales enablement tools.

Implement CRM early on to track customer interactions, manage leads, and ensure data consistency across your team.

Build out your management layer.

As the team expands, introduce sales managers to oversee day-to-day operations, set goals, and support the team. These people will be essential in scaling performance by coaching the team and keeping them aligned with company objectives.

Once you hit a certain level of growth, a VP of Sales or Director of Sales can help you manage multiple teams or regions and take on the broader strategies for sales growth.

Develop training and onboarding programs.

A larger sales team requires a streamlined onboarding process for new hires. Develop formal training programs that include product knowledge, sales techniques, and tools.

Also make sure to invest in ongoing coaching and development (e.g., through QBRs, call sessions, and deal reviews) to keep every sales representative aligned with your changing strategies, product messaging, and market conditions.

Foster cross-department collaboration.

Encourage strong collaboration between the sales, marketing, and product teams. Use a sales engagement platform to unify marketing and sales, align on target accounts, and improve lead handoff. And establish feedback loops with product teams to ensure customer feedback is driving improvements.

Provide opportunities for growth within the company.

You might not have any upward mobility beyond a certain point, but you should always be considering how your best reps can contribute more (and get paid more for it). Ultimately, they’re the ones who will drive your business forward, so the best thing you can do is support them.

Let’s say you’ve got one rep who has been a top performer for three years. You can give that rep additional responsibility, such as mentoring new hires or leading a project with another department. When you expand, that’s the person you call on to lead the team.

Improving Sales Team Productivity and Performance

Of course, sales productivity is your #1 concern. You can’t have an effective sales force unless they’re spending their time at work doing things that drive the business forward. And, according to Salesforce, the average sales professional spends just 28% of their time actually selling.

Sales productivity tools are a good solution to this because they cut out the inefficient parts of the sales process (like manual data entry).

But, you’re going to need to teach your sales reps the following to make sure they actually move deals through the pipeline with efficiency:

• Qualifying leads
• Scoring leads (or using your lead scoring system)
• Prioritizing their workload
• Handing off leads to the right team members
• Balancing relationship building with efficiency tasks (like admin work)
• Strategically following up with prospects
• Moving through stages of the sales funnel

Create and train your sales professionals on specific workflows they can apply to each stage of the pipeline, so they can move each new prospect through the process as efficiently as possible.

Sales Team Performance Tracking

Sales KPIs tell you whether your team is performing well or struggling to hit its targets. They also indicate whether your reps are doing what they’re supposed to to drive revenue.

There are a few types of sales KPIs you should measure:

• Revenue-based KPIs like new sales, upsell/cross-sell revenue, and pipeline value
• Activity-based KPIs like # of calls, meetings booked, pipeline volume, and conversion rates
• Efficiency KPIs like average deal size, lead response time, and sales cycle length
• Goal-oriented KPIs like quota attainment, win/loss rates, and growth in target accounts

You can use a sales dashboard in your CRM or revenue intelligence software to track these KPIs in real time.

Sales Team Compensation

How you approach sales compensation depends on whether you’re creating a comp plan for a manager or an individual contributor.

• SDRs/BDRs/AEs get a base salary + commission. They might get a bonus for exceeding quota as well.
• Sales managers get a base salary + bonus for team performance. Sometimes, they’ll get a percentage of each deal their team closes.
• Sales execs get a base salary + equity + quarterly or annual bonuses for driving company growth and hitting wider-reaching objectives.

When designing a compensation plan for your sales reps, you want to consider your OTE (on-target earnings). This is what you expect your sales rep to make if they hit their quota.

To determine your OTE and set sales quotas, you need to understand the average deal size, sales cycle length, win rate, and projected growth rate. This data can also help you set realistic quotas for your team members.

Sales Team Management

Sales management ultimately comes down to finding the right balance between leadership, accountability, and support.

Sales manager role and responsibilities

In addition to setting quotas and building compensation plans, sales managers are responsible for:

• Providing continuous training and development opportunities
• Setting achievable goals and expectations
• Motivating team members with incentives and recognition programs
• Conducting regular performance evaluations and providing feedback
• Managing conflicts within the team
• Building the company culture from within
• Collaborating with other departments to align strategies and drive growth

Remember that a successful sale is not just a result of the sales rep’s efforts, but also the effective leadership and guidance of their manager.

Sales management challenges and solutions

Managing a sales team is no easy task, and it comes with its own set of challenges. Some common challenges include:

• High employee turnover (average sales rep turnover is 35%)
• Low productivity and performance (reps usually spend little of their time selling) 
• Lack of communication and alignment (just 8% of companies have strong sales alignment)

To overcome these challenges, sales managers need to focus on creating a positive work environment that encourages open communication. They also have to facilitate this through collaboration tools and regular team meetings.

Sales team management software

Just as there are tools and software to improve sales productivity, there are also solutions for managing and tracking your team’s performance. These include:

• CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive
• CPQ (configure, price, quote) tools like DealHub
• Digital sales rooms like DealRoom that drive sales efficiency and prospect engagement
• Revenue intelligence platforms like Gong (which integrates with DealHub) that offer comprehensive sales enablement, deal forecasting, and performance tracking features
• Communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams for internal communication and collaboration

By utilizing these tools, managers can easily track their team’s progress, communicate with them effectively, and make data-driven decisions to drive improvement in overall sales performance.

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