{"id":10585,"date":"2019-07-16T18:35:46","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T18:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/building-a-scalable-sales-team\/"},"modified":"2024-08-16T01:49:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T01:49:10","slug":"building-a-scalable-sales-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/building-a-scalable-sales-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Executive Search: Mastering Scalable Sales Team Structures"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>The internal revolution that delivers a predictable, rapid growth curve requires a scalable sales team. This revolution always starts with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/leadership-training\/\">sales leadership<\/a>; it is always launched, modelled, promoted and defended by that leader, in close collaboration with the senior leadership of the company; and it always expands outward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In this revolution, the sales organization\u2019s operating cadence eventually sets the rhythm for every other team in the organization, whether or not that team is responsible for sales. This operating rhythm challenges some core assumptions about who should be calling the shots. That\u2019s as it should be. Why? Because salespeople and company leaders are entrepreneurial in nature\u2014and entrepreneurs with discipline are key enablers and promoters in rapid-growth organizations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Implementing such an organizational cadence means that instead of operating within an operational hierarchy like this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Traditional Slow-Moving Companies<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Corporate finance drives:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Product development<\/li>\r\n<li>Product management<\/li>\r\n<li>Operations<\/li>\r\n<li>Marketing<\/li>\r\n<li>Sales<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u2026 sales leaders are actually responsible for creating and operating within an operational hierarchy that looks more like this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><em>Success Cadence Companies<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Executive committee (which includes the sales leader) drives:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Sales, which drives:\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Corporate finance<\/li>\r\n<li>Product development<\/li>\r\n<li>Product management<\/li>\r\n<li>Operations<\/li>\r\n<li>Marketing<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Make no mistake. The rest of the organization\u00a0<em>must<\/em>\u00a0follow the rhythm, the cadence, that you, the sales leader, establish as you carry out your responsibility to attract, onboard, support, and retain an escalating, but always targeted, number of salespeople who are both willing and able. This is the key to building a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-sales-team\/\">scalable sales team<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Sustaining that rhythm, no matter what, is your job. In carrying out that job, you will need to drive budgeting decisions. (By the way, the relationship between sales and finance, at least in the beginning, is absolutely critical\u2014and far more important, at least in the beginning, than the relationship between, say, sales and marketing.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What we have just outlined is, we realize, an untraditional model, one that upsets some people\u2019s assumptions\u2014maybe yours. But it\u2019s the only model that actually delivers aggressive growth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Remember: Making all of this happen means launching an organizational revolution. You will need the support of the CEO, founder, or president of your company if this revolution is to succeed. \u00a0Here\u2019s the essence of what you need to say to them, in your own words:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cWhat really happens when sales is at the back end of the organizational chart? What are the real-world implications of that choice? Here\u2019s the answer. Someone else decides on the product, the marketing, the number that need to be sold, and the compensation program\u2014and then the sales team is informed that it needs to step up and sell it. This is a hit-or-miss proposition at best, and often the result is \u2018miss.\u2019 Why? Because sometimes the sales team\u2014the team that is by definition closest to the customer base\u2014is introduced into the game too late to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We are suggesting a radically different plan of attack, a model in which the executive committee\u2014typically the CEO\/founder and the lead finance person\u2014sets the strategic direction of the company in collaboration with you, the sales leader. You share that strategic direction with your team, which you are personally responsible for recruiting, retaining, and growing, and then you lead that team in creating the action plan. You work with them to get absolute clarity on who they need to target, what territories they will focus on, what resources are needed to succeed, and how you can best support them. Then the rest of the organization can follow your lead and support the sales team as it succeeds\u2014and expands. This is what rapid growth looks like. And a truly scalable sales team is what makes that growth possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>For more on building and supporting the scalable sales team, see our book\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Success-Cadence-David-Mattson-ebook\/dp\/B07RN9BBMM\/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=\"><strong><em>The Success Cadence<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/building-a-scalable-sales-team\/#Great_sales_teams_start_with_great_sales_managers\" >Great sales teams start with great sales managers.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Great_sales_teams_start_with_great_sales_managers\"><\/span>Great sales teams start with great <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/programs\/sales-management-training\/\">sales managers<\/a>.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_12872\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12872\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12872 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/THE-BIGGEST-MISCONCEPTION-ABOUT-THE-TRANSITION-FROM-SALESPERSON-TO-SALES-MANAGER.jpeg\" alt=\"Sales manager leading a meeting for their team\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/THE-BIGGEST-MISCONCEPTION-ABOUT-THE-TRANSITION-FROM-SALESPERSON-TO-SALES-MANAGER.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/THE-BIGGEST-MISCONCEPTION-ABOUT-THE-TRANSITION-FROM-SALESPERSON-TO-SALES-MANAGER-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/sandler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/THE-BIGGEST-MISCONCEPTION-ABOUT-THE-TRANSITION-FROM-SALESPERSON-TO-SALES-MANAGER-768x512.jpeg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 700px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 700\/467;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12872\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sales manager leading a meeting for their team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The internal revolution that delivers a predictable, rapid growth curve requires a scalable sales team. This revolution always starts with sales leadership; it is always launched, modelled, promoted and defended by that leader, in close collaboration with the senior leadership of the company; and it always expands outward. In this revolution, the sales organization\u2019s operating&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":10586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1081,1181,1033,1035,1049],"class_list":["post-10585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-accountability","tag-business-growth","tag-leadership","tag-management","tag-sales-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sandler&#039;s Sales Training: Optimize Sales Executive Search<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover expert strategies to optimize your executive search process. Learn how to hire, develop, and retain top talent for lasting business success.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/building-a-scalable-sales-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sandler&#039;s Sales Training: Optimize Sales Executive Search\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover expert strategies to optimize your executive search process. 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