Sales Org Evaluation Tool

Sales Org Models

StratificationDescription – Stratify accounts based on size (spend, potential, etc.)

When to deploy this structure

• Significant amount of market potential sits at top of the market• Mid-tier buyers willing to buy virtually with infrequent visits from a rep• Long-tail buyers willing to engage with inside sales• Buying process increases in complexity up the pyramid

Pros Cons

• Best people aligned to best accounts • Strategic customers get required attention• Maximize rev/head in limited resource

environments• Generalists can incorporate SMEs where

necessary• Drives customer engagement at the highest

levels• Selling expenses aligned with opportunities

• Prospects/Customers not managed equally• Generalists at lower levels may struggle to sell

all products• Feeling of ‘elite’ vs. ‘regular’ sales reps• Territories may exhibit large geo dispersion• Balancing mix of current and potential difficult

without proper segmentation

Hunter-FarmerDescription – Roles based on specific activities

When to deploy this structure

• Customer base requires significant Account Management• Customers want to see fewer sales people• Margin available to accommodate two types of sales roles and management• Efficient for high dollar, complex, long sales cycles

Pros Cons

• Sales force develops deep knowledge of how to perform sales activities

• Efficiency is achieved through assigning specific tasks to reps (role clarity)

• Hiring to specific roles often easier• Recurring revenue is protected with focused

resources• Selling expense drops over time• Enables focused acquisition of top prospects

• De-emphasizes customer focus and relationship built during initial campaign

• Increased coordination effort when handing off accounts

• When to hand off accounts can be challenging• Time to results can take longer• Increased Management headcount raises

selling expense

GeographyDescription – Structure sales organization based upon rep proximity to geographic areas

When to deploy this structure

• Customers are densely populated in clustered geo locations• Customers want someone present when they have a problem• Generalist vs. specialist model is able to be deployed• Need to keep T&E costs low

Pros Cons

• Plays to customers’ desire for generalists• Provides customers with local/state

knowledge• Cost containment (keeps T&E expenses low)

• Doesn’t align the best sales resources against the best opportunities

• Each geography needs committed resources• Smaller accounts can inadvertently consume

resources• As product set grows, becomes more difficult

for reps to have expertise• Talent pool potentially reduced by being

location-specific

Industry VerticalDescription – Organize to focus on specific verticals

When to deploy this structure

• Customer base requires significant subject matter expertise on their industry• Industry can support a dedicated sales force• Significant margin available to accommodate multiple role types in the same geo• Efficient for high dollar, complex, long sales cycles• More common in services vs. product companies

Pros Cons

• Sales force develops deep knowledge of how to sell into specific industries

• Potential to leverage referral networks via industry-specific groups

• Can obtain premium pricing based on need for expertise

• No need for SME support

• Selling expense becomes very high• Reps require larger geos to make the #• T&E expense can escalate • Increased Management headcount raises

selling expense

ProductDescription – Structure sales organization based on specific products

When to deploy this structure

• Customers require deep product knowledge• Customers need expertise in product deployment• Product complexity is high • Product can support dedicated sales force• # of products grows beyond the ability for one rep to acquire necessary expertise• Often deployed in silo’d product organizations with BU/GM leadership

Pros Cons

• Customers need to understand the value the product delivers

• Customers need to comprehend implementation requirements to be successful

• Ensures faster results for new products• Reduces the sales cycle for new products

• Customers may become confused with multiple sales representatives calling the same accounts

• Increased selling expense in highly geo-distributed account base

• Limited Cross-sell/Up-sell due to silo’ing• Product sales teams become over-resourced

as market saturation is reached

Social ProximityDescription – Structure sales organization based on social proximity to specific buyers

When to deploy this structure

• Access to high-level buyers is difficult• Marketing has not been able to stimulate enough demand • Evangelical sales that require leveraging relationships to gain access

Pros Cons

• Reps can gain access to buyers based on relationships

• Reps can get into sales early to stimulate latent demand

• Opportunities can be created through strong referral networks

• Sales able to bring key insights specific to well-known buyer community

• Customers may become confused with multiple sales representatives calling the same accounts

• Potentially larger territories can increase selling expense

• Reps need to be product/industry generalists