Sales Force Management: Goals & Process

No individual is born as an exceptional salesperson. Yes, they may have the necessary skills to become one, but they do require training and motivation. 

Sales force management is the process through which the sales force of a company is moulded to become great at what they do. Sales force management involves a combination of strategic planning, leadership, performance management, etc. It is extremely crucial in creating and maintaining highly skilled sales teams and, ultimately, for the success of a business. Ultimately, the success of a business hinges on the effectiveness of the sales team.

Let's now understand sales force management in detail.

Types Of Sales Force In Marketing

Before we go on to understand sales force management, let’s learn the different types of sales force first.

Companies have two types of sales force, and they can use either or both to execute their sales strategies. These are:

Outside Sales Force

This type of sales force goes into the market to look for new customers. Then they engage with them and sell their products or services. This involves informing the customers about their products, listening to and clarifying their queries, and forming relationships with them.

Inside Sales Force

This type of sales force assists the outside sales force by providing support in executing sales strategies effectively. With the coming of new age technology and the high cost of sales activities, most companies tend to use inside sales force to directly sell products to customers. They make use of the internet and social media platforms to engage with their customers, clarify their queries, and offer guidance.

Sales Force Management

The sales force is the anchor that pulls and accelerates sales operations in the right direction. In simple words, the sales force is the team that is responsible for ensuring that the sales process and deal closure happen effortlessly. It’s essential to manage the sales force effectively by training and motivating them to ensure that sales operations flow smoothly and drive more sales. 

Effective sales force management results in a high-performing team that can meet or exceed targets while maintaining strong relationships with customers.

Example: Airbus is an airplane manufacturing company. Its business involves B2B sales. Their sales force works closely with the customers to ensure their specific needs are taken care of. This helps the company to fulfill the requirements of its customers effectively.

Key Benefits of Sales Force Management:

• Increased Amount of Revenue
• Better Customer Relationships
• Resource Optimization
• Sales Team Motivation and Retention
• Alignment with Business Goals
• Sales Forecasting
• Conflict Resolution

Key Components Of Sales Force Management

The purpose of sales force management is to ensure that sales and marketing plans are executed efficiently and to teach/train employees.

Sales Force Planning

Planning is the first step in efficient sales force management. Establishing clear objectives on the basis of revenue, number of leads, market share, etc. in the very beginning leads to higher performance in the long run as the sales force has a clear direction to follow.

Recruitment

This process involves defining ideal characteristics and qualifications for various sales roles. Assessing candidates through interviews, role plays, and tests also forms a significant part of this process. Finally, the candidates who are onboarded are informed about the company policies, products, and culture.

Training and Supervision

Initial training during this stage emphasises on product knowledge, company processes, and selling techniques. Their skills are also improved upon through workshops, seminars, and e-learning programs. Potential leaders are also groomed and trained for managerial roles.

Sales incentives and motivation

This involves compensation plans, recognition programs, and career growth opportunities. Ensuring that sales teams are motivated through these measures leads to better performance from their side.

Compensation is mainly focused on ensuring that employees are paid a fair wage and also to ensure that they are motivated to do better through incentives such as bonuses. Everyone works better when their efforts are appreciated, monetarily or otherwise.

There are various ways reps are compensated for their efforts, such as:

• Salary
• Commission
• Salary and commission
• Salary and individual bonus
• Salary, commission and bonus

Evaluation and Assessment of Sales Force

Conducting appraisals helps identify strengths and weaknesses in the sales force, and they can be trained wherever necessary. Tracking metrics such as conversion rates and customer acquisition costs.

Different Sales Force Structures

Territorial or geographic structure

Sales teams under this structure are separated according to geographical areas. Every sales representative is in charge of a certain region and concentrates on cultivating a rapport with clients there. Sales representatives can gain a thorough understanding of the local market, consumer preferences, and competition with this method. Because representatives are nearer to their clients, it also saves money and time on travel.

However, the geographic structure can lead to uneven performance across regions, especially if some areas have more potential than others. It may also cause overlap in sales efforts if customer territories are not clearly defined.

Product structure

The sales staff is organised depending on the company's goods or services in a product-based structure. Selling a particular product line is the main goal of each team or salesperson. Businesses with specialised offerings or a broad range of products benefit greatly from this arrangement. It makes it easier for salespeople to address concerns, demonstrate benefits, and close deals by enabling them to become product experts.

Customers are more satisfied when they obtain more informed advice due to this arrangement. Teams may become internally competitive as a result, with each promoting its own line of products above others. If several salesmen use various goods to target the same clients, it may also result in inefficiencies.

Market-based structure

This structure organizes sales teams around specific customer segments or industries, such as healthcare, finance, or education. Each team focuses on the unique needs and challenges of its target market, allowing them to provide tailored solutions. This approach helps build deeper customer relationships and often leads to higher customer satisfaction and retention.

Functional structure

In a functional sales structure, sales roles are divided based on specific functions or tasks, such as lead generation, closing deals, etc. For example, one team may focus on finding new leads, while another specializes in closing sales, and another handles customer retention.

Team members can become highly skilled in their designated responsibilities due to this structure, which improves performance across the board. Businesses that manage high sales volumes or have intricate sales procedures will find it helpful. However, because several teams must coordinate their activities, it may slow down decision-making and, if poorly managed, can lead to communication gaps across teams.

Hybrid or combination structure

A hybrid sales structure incorporates components from various types of sales structures, including functional, product-based, and geographic. This method enables businesses to customise their sales strategy to meet their unique requirements. For example, a business may employ a market-based structure for one product line and a geographic structure for another.

By providing flexibility and customisation, the hybrid structure enables the business to optimise its strengths and minimise its shortcomings in relation to other structures. It can be difficult to manage, though, and may call for extra supervision and coordination to make sure all teams are on the same page.

The assembly line structure

In the assembly line structure, sales teams are divided based on the job description of each salesperson. It gets its name because of the similarities between sales operations under this model and manufacturing assembly lines. Like a manufacturing assembly line, the strategy breaks down the sales process into individual tasks.

This structure is quite popular in small and midsized companies.

This structure leads to operational efficiency and a quicker sales process. However, there’s an increased risk of miscommunication, and numerous handoffs may lead to poor customer satisfaction.

The island structure

In the island model, every seller is unspecialised and possesses knowledge of several different areas. Here, the same rep manages a single customer from prospecting to onboarding, i.e., the rep generates, qualifies, and even closes leads. This type of sales organisation offers reps greater autonomy to build and grow customer relationships.

This structure works well in industries like real estate, where individual expertise and self-driven performance are key to success.

The pod structure

The pod model combines aspects of the island and assembly line models. Similar to the island approach, a single pod controls a customer from prospecting to onboarding. However, similar to the assembly line concept, each pod's reps specialise in a specific stage of the customer's journey.

Larger organisations that wish to manage their sales force prefer the pod model since it makes it easy to assign pods to specific product lines, geographies, accounts, and so on as needed.

Due to smoother lead handoffs as a result of enhanced collaboration, this structure leads to an enhanced customer experience. There’s also less risk of silo formation between roles and functions.

Challenges In Sales Force Management

• Rapid changes in customer preferences or competition can require frequent adaptation.
• Difficulty consistently motivating the sales team, especially in tough markets.
• Designing cost-effective compensation plans while simultaneously keeping sales teams motivated can be complex.
• Difficulty in terms of tracking useful metrics and interpreting data effectively.

Characteristics Of An Efficient Sales Force

• Effective communication skills
• Tech savvy
• Driven and goal-oriented 
• Customer-centric mindset
• Committed to personal development 
• Strong product knowledge
• Strong work ethic 
• Flexible with regards to customer and market needs