When building a company from the ground up you often wonder how to build a proper sales team. Building a sales team in an SMB is a pivotal step for growth. This guide delves into the critical aspects of forming a sales team, including when to start, how to structure your team, why it's essential, and key considerations for success.
Whether you're scaling up or starting out, learn the best strategies to enhance your sales operations and drive your business forward. Discover the roadmap to sales excellence for SMBs.
What is the typical structure in most sales teams?
A successful sales team brings tangible results to your business. Your sales organization can be anything but standard and still be wildly successful. However, most sales teams have a fairly standard structure.
On top, there is a Chief Sales Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, or a VP of Sales. This person sets the overall sales strategy and is in charge of sales managers. They report to the CEO or COO.
The sales director or sales manager is in charge of individual sales teams. They set sales targets, monitor performance, provide training and development, and ensure the sales team meets their targets. They report to the CSO/CRO/VP of Sales.
The account executives or sales development representatives are on the front lines and they talk to potential customers every day, making sure deals are closed. Typically, there are about 10-12 sales representatives for one manager.
Building a high-performing sales team is different for each company. Start from a single sales rep and build a strong sales force, one rep at a time.
When should you increase the size of your sales team?
Wonder if you need more sales professionals in your team? There are some tell-tale signs to determine if you should start the hiring process and attract some great sales candidates.
You have a consistent overflow of leads
If your sales reps cannot cope with the number of leads in the pipeline, it's a clear sign that there should be more hands on deck. With a huge volume of leads and a small sales team, you can lose valuable time because of your slow sales workflows.
By the time your sales reps reach out, the lead may have already gone with some other solution.
You miss sales opportunities
When you analyze your sales team performance, you may notice that you're losing out on certain deals. For example, you're not covering a certain area well, your reps need additional sales training to deal with large accounts, you're not giving certain customer segments the attention they deserve, etc.
Adding more people to your sales organization could help capture these missed opportunities.
You struggle to meet your revenue goals
Your current sales team may have aggressive revenue goals set by the management. Even with the most experienced sales representatives, it can be a struggle to sell in large volumes quickly, especially in industries with a slow sales cycle.
You're going through a market expansion
The right time to build a sales team is when you're breaking into new markets or launching new products. Having extra staff can help improve sales performance and meet the new demands more easily.
You're getting negative customer feedback
If customers are complaining about the slow response times of your sales team or that the reps are not giving them adequate attention, it may be time to add to your sales team structure.
You have sales team burnout
If your sales professionals aren't performing their best and are struggling to meet their quotas and KPIs, your sales department may need fresh blood. Also, if you have high turnover and you constantly have to hire new sales professionals because the old ones are leaving, it’s time to start a fresh hiring process.
You have bottlenecks in your sales processes
When you're constantly struggling with the same or similar issues, it can be a sign that your sales organization needs to take a different stance. For example, you can manage the entire sales cycle, but you struggle with closing new customers. This is where hiring new team members can be helpful.
You're in a good place financially
If your existing sales model ensures enough cash flow to pay for everyone's commissions and salaries, you can set aside some extra funds for sales team building. If the entire company is doing well, you can think about introducing new sales team structures and roles.
How to start building a sales team, step by step
No matter if you have five sales leaders or just a single sales rep, we're going to walk you through the process of building a high-performing sales team. Use our tips and replicate them in your own hiring journey.
Step 1: Define your sales strategy and goals
Before you even have your first sales hire, it is time to cover the basics. In this step of sales team building, you need to define:
- Who your target market is
- Who your customer personas are
- What your sales funnel should look like
This solves the first part of the problem. Then move on to goals your first sales hire or team should be able to achieve within their first months of hiring.
For example, the number of new leads they should close, the average number of sales calls to make per day, the average value of a deal that should be closed, and more.
Ensure that the goals are SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
For example: closing 10 new deals from the LatAm market in one month, with an average value of $50,000 per deal.
Define your sales processes at this stage. How will you reach those sales goals? Which sales channels will you be using? What kind of sales automation tools will you employ? What kind of compensation model will you use to award individual sales reps?
If you don't know the answers to all of these questions, you can figure them out as you go and build your sales team structure. An experienced sales leader can help you out, but you have to build the foundations yourself.
Step 2: Design your sales team structure
Do your research to find out the ideal sales team structure for your goals. A common example is the six-person sales pod: three sales reps, two account executives, and one customer success rep.
At this step, you should determine:
- Which key roles do you need: sales development representatives (SDRs), customer success reps, account executives, sales managers, etc?
- The size of your team: only you know how big your sales team should be and how many new sales reps you can afford to take on.
- Define the hierarchy: we've laid out the typical sales team structure and who reports to whom.
Step 3: develop job descriptions and requirements
Before you begin building out your sales organization from scratch, you need to attract the right kind of candidates to your team. As tempting as it may be, don't copy and paste job descriptions from the internet. Instead, create unique accounts of what the role entails and what the person is in charge of.
Some of the key areas to cover include:
- Clear responsibilities
- Required skills for the job (must-have and nice-to-have)
- Required experience (in sales roles, in specific industries, etc.)
- Knowledge of specific sales tools (CRMs, automated dialers, help desk tools, email marketing tools, etc.)
- Required soft skills (communication, time and people management, negotiation skills, leadership skills, etc.)
Step 4: recruit and hire
Great salespeople come from various sources but until you find the right combination of platforms, you'll have to mix and match.
Start from:
- LinkedIn and their paid job ads
- Paid social media ads (on Facebook, Instagram, X) targeting sales professionals
- Employing recruiting companies that specialize in building sales teams
- Starting a referral campaign and offering your existing team bonuses for bringing in successful new hires
Before you begin getting applications through the door, create a structured sales interview process. It should be a series of questions that every candidate should go through. Ideally, have more than one person sit in the interview to establish a more objective hiring process.
Last but not least, there should be some sort of practical assessment of the candidate's knowledge of sales. For example, you could present them with a situation they should resolve, a role-playing scenario, a practical test with a few questions about sales techniques, etc.
If you have the time and resources, have your hiring team do a background check on all applicants as well.
Step 5: onboarding process and training
This is arguably the most important part of the sales playbook because it's building a foundation for the future.
First, introduce your new hires to the basics: your company culture, mission and vision, values, and what makes you different from the competition. Or simply, what makes your company a great one to work for?
Then lead the new hires into the processes you have in place, for sales, marketing, and product: everything that will help the new sales professionals understand how you work and what the overarching goals are.
You should also provide sales training to your team. Get them up to speed with the processes and the technology you use, the reporting system and the metrics they should be in charge of, as well as the tools they're going to encounter in their day-to-day work.
Give each new hire ongoing training and support. Assign them a senior sales team member who can guide them through the onboarding process and help them get settled in.
Step 6: implementing sales tools and technology
If you don't already have a CRM, now is a good time to choose one that best fits your needs and budget. If you're new to sales operations, it's ideal to choose one that is easy to set up and use and doesn't require previous technical knowledge to get started. For example, Capsule CRM.
Besides your CRM, you may also use a number of other tools, e.g. sales enablement, analytics, and prospecting tools.
Step 7: set performance sales metrics and incentives
The key to a good sales organization is knowing which metrics every team member is in charge of. Some great examples of targets for sales teams are:
- Lead conversion rates
- Sales cycle length
- Revenue targets
At this point, it's also a good idea to determine sales incentives and commissions that make the most sense for your sales team structure.
Step 8: monitor and manage performance
If your systems are properly set up and you use the right kinds of sales tools, monitoring, and managing performance should be easy through your CRM. With Capsule, you can stay on top of overall sales performance, individual sales rep activity, deals and processes as they go on in real-time, and much more.
Once you have a dashboard in place with all the performance metrics in place, make sure to set up regular reviews with your team members and talk about how you can further help them crush their goals.
Wrapping up
Building a sales team takes time and effort if you want to do it right. The great news is that there are many successful sales books and strategies you can learn from and copy. If you have a great product, a customer-centric team, and a basic idea of what you want from your sales program, the rest is a breeze.
To succeed in your sales operations, you need a great CRM as the foundation. Something that is easy to set up and use and is easy to scale. That way, it's as functional with one sales representative as it is with an army of reps.
With Capsule CRM, you can confidently build out a sales team because this CRM scales with your needs. Don't just take our word for it - get a free trial today and see for yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What are the key roles in a sales team?
Building a successful sales team involves filling several essential roles, including sales development representatives (SDRs), account executives (AEs), and customer success representatives.
Each role has specific responsibilities: SDRs focus on lead generation, AEs handle closing deals, and Customer success reps ensure client satisfaction and retention. Having a team of sales experts or product experts can also make handling technical inquiries and providing detailed product information much easier.
How can I ensure my sales team is motivated and engaged?
Engaging employees means creating an environment where they feel valued, supported, and inspired to succeed.
Regular feedback, recognition of achievements, and setting clear expectations are what you need in the process. Providing the right tools, ongoing training, and opportunities for personal growth can keep your team motivated. Encouraging collaboration and a sense of ownership can also enhance engagement in your sales team.
What metrics should I track to measure my sales team's performance?
Important KPIs include win rate, lead-to-customer conversion rate, sales cycle length, and customer acquisition cost (CAC). Monitoring these metrics helps identify areas for improvement and ensures your team is meeting its targets.
