Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Concepts

Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment

Concepts of Sales Organization • A sales organization assists the sales manager to carry out needed tasks efficiently and effectively to achieve results • The basic concepts of the sales organization are: • Degree of centralisation • Degree of specialisation • Line or staff positions Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Organization Concepts Specialization The degree to which individuals perform some of the required tasks to the exclusion of others. Individuals can become experts on certain tasks, leading to better performance for the entire organization. Centralization The degree to which important decisions and tasks performed at higher levels in the management hierarchy. Centralized structures place authority and responsibility at higher management levels. Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Force Specialization Continuum Generalists All selling activities and all products to all customers Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Some specialization of selling activities, products, and/or customers Specialists Certain selling activities for certain products for certain customers Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Span of Control vs. Management Levels • Span of control refers to the number of individuals who report to each sales manager • The larger the span of control, the more subordinates a sales manager must supervise • Management Levels define the number of different hierarchical levels of sales management within the organization • Span of control is inversely related to the number of sales management levels Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Span of Control vs. Management Levels Flat Sales Organization District Sales Manager District Sales Manager Management Levels National Sales Manager Span of Control Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Span of Control vs. Management Levels Tall Sales Organization National Sales Manager District Sales Manager Regional Sales Manager District Sales Manager Management Levels Regional Sales Manager Span of Control Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Line vs. Staff Positions • Line Sales Management positions are part of the direct management hierarchy within the sales organization • Line Sales Managers have direct responsibility for a certain number of sub-ordinates & report directly to management at the next highest level in the sales organization • These managers are directly involved in the sales generating activities of the firm • Staff Sales Management positions are not in the direct chain of command • They are not involved in sales generating activities Ingram La. Forge Avila Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Schwepker Jr. Williams

Line vs. Staff Positions National Sales Manager Sales Training Manager Regional Sales Managers Sales Training Manager District Sales Managers Staff Position Salespeople Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Line Position Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Customer and Product Determinants of Sales Force Specialization Customer Needs Different Simple Product Offering Market. Driven Specialization Product/Market. Driven Specialization Geography. Driven Specialization Product. Driven Specialization Complex Range of Products Customer Needs Similar Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Geographic Sales Organization National Sales Manager Sales Training Manager Eastern Region Sales Manager Western Region Sales Manager Zone Sales Managers (4) District Sales Managers (20) Salespeople (100) Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Product Sales Organization National Sales Manager Office Furniture. Sales Manager Office Stationery. Sales Manager District Sales Managers (10) Salespeople (100) Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Market Sales Organization National Sales Manager Commercial Accounts Sales Manager Government Accounts Sales Manager Sales Training Manager Zone Sales Managers (4) District Sales Managers (5) District Sales Managers (25) Salespeople (50) Salespeople (150) Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Functional Sales Organization National Sales Manager Area Sales Manager Telemarketing Sales Manager Regional Sales Managers (4) Telemarketing Sales Executives (2) District Sales Managers (16) Salespeople (160) Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Comparison of Sales Organization Structures Organizational Structure Geographic Product Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Advantages • Low Cost • No geographic duplication • No customer duplication • Fewer management levels Disadvantages • Limited specialization • Lack of management control over product or customer emphasis • Salespeople become experts • High cost in product attr. & applications • Geographic duplication • Management control over • Customer duplication selling effort Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Comparison of Sales Organization Structures Organizational Structure Advantages Disadvantages Market • Salespeople develop better understanding of unique customer needs • Management control over selling allocated to different markets • High cost • Geographic duplication Functional • Efficiency in performing selling activities • Geographic duplication • Customer duplication • Need for coordination Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Salesforce Deployment Sales Force deployment decisions can be viewed as providing answers to three interrelated questions. 1. How much selling effort is needed to cover accounts and prospects adequately so that sales and profit objectives will be achieved? 2. How many salespeople are required to provide the desired amount of selling effort? 3. How should territories be designed to ensure proper coverage of accounts and to provide each salesperson with a reasonable opportunity for success? Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Interrelatedness of Sales Force Deployment Decisions Allocation of Selling Effort Sales Force Size Territory Design Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach How much selling effort is needed to cover accounts and prospects adequately so that sales and profit objectives will be achieved? How many salespeople are required to provide the desired amount of selling effort? How should territories be designed and salespeople assigned to territories to ensure proper coverage of accounts and to provide each salesperson with a reasonable opportunity for success? Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Analytical Approaches to Allocation of Selling Effort Easy to Develop and Use Single Factor Models Low Analytical Rigor High Analytical Rigor Portfolio Models Decision Models Difficult to Develop and Use Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Single Factor Models • Easy to develop and use/low analytical rigor • Accounts classified into categories based on one factor, such as market potential • All accounts in the same category are assigned the same number of sales calls • Effort allocation decisions are based on the analysis of only one factor and differences among accounts in the same category are not considered in assigning sales call coverage Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Single Factor Model Example Market Potential Categories Average Sales Calls to an Account Last Year Average Sales Calls to an Account Next Year A B C D 25 23 20 16 32 24 16 8 Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Portfolio Models • Account Opportunity - an account’s need for and ability to purchase the firm’s products • Competitive Position - the strength of the relationship between the firm and an account Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Portfolio Model Segments and Strategies Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach High Low Account Opportunity Competitive Position Strong Weak Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4 Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Decision Models • Simple Basic Concept - to allocate sales calls to accounts that promise the highest sales return from the sales calls • Optimal number of calls in terms of sales or profit maximization Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Force Size: Key Considerations • Sales Productivity - the ratio of sales generated to selling effort used – In early stages, the addition of salespeople increases sales considerably more than the selling costs. As salespeople continue to be added, sales increases tend to decline until a point is reached when the costs to add a salesperson are more than the revenues that salesperson can generate. • Salesforce Turnover – Is very costly – Should be anticipated Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Force Size: Analytical Tools The Breakdown Approach is used to determine the number of salespeople needed to generate a forecasted level of sales. This approach is easy to develop. However, it is weak conceptually. The concept underlying the calculations is that sales determine the number of salespeople needed—putting “the cart before the horse. ” Salesforce size = Forecasted sales / Average sales person Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Force Size: Analytical Tools The Workload Approach determines how much selling effort is needed to adequately cover the firm’s market. Then the number of salespeople required to provide this amount of selling effort is calculated. This approach relatively simple to develop and is sound conceptually. Number of salespeople = Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Total selling effort needed Average selling effort per salesperson Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Sales Force Size: Analytical Tools The Incremental Approach is the most rigorous for calculating salesforce size. Its compares the marginal profits and marginal costs associated with each incremental salesperson. The major advantage is that it quantifies the important relationships between salesforce size, sales, and costs. However, this method is difficult to develop, and it cannot be used for new sales forces where historical data and accurate judgments are not possible. # of Salespeople 100 101 102 103 Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Marginal Contribution $85, 000 $80, 000 $75, 000 $70, 000 Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Marginal Cost $75, 000 Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Designing Territories • Territories consist of whatever specific accounts are assigned to a specific salesperson. The territory can be viewed as the work unit for a salesperson. • Territory Considerations – Trading areas – Present effort – Recommended effort Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams

Territory Design Procedure Select Planning and Control Unit Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach Analyze Planning and Control Unit Opportunity Form Initial Territories Finalize Territory Design Assess Territory Workload Module 4: Sales Organization Structure and Sales Force Deployment Ingram La. Forge Avila Schwepker Jr. Williams