Sales Organization Structure

The success of any sales force depends, in part, on the strength and suitability of its organizational structure. However, many companies struggle to find the optimum structure – one that balances collaboration, efficiency, cost sensitivities and customer needs while maintaining a continued focus on sustainable, profitable growth. The results of this failure can be serious and will often lead to internal conflict and loss of productivity.

Key elements that all successful sales forces have in common is that they are organized around the customer and the customer’s needs, that their sales process maximizes the customer’s buying potential, and that they are able to deploy their most qualified resources to the areas of highest potential.

At Korn Ferry, we have many years’ experience of helping companies build strong organizational structures for their sales organizations. Every structure we develop benefits from improved communication, a well-defined hierarchy and the ability to create a unified company message.

Our aim is to ensure clients are using the most effective channel mix to reach their overall growth objectives, and that their sales process aligns with customer buying needs. We do this by assessing the organization’s current sales channels and strategic alignment, and then by helping clients optimize their performance, particularly in terms of their sales process, organizational structures, resource requirements, and reporting relationships.

Key questions we help our clients to answer include:

• What is the best sales structure to help support the sales strategy?
• How will the sales resources be most effectively deployed?
• What are the most appropriate distribution channels and how should they be aligned?
• Is the existing sales organization structure sufficient to serve the needs of the market?
• What does the buying process look like?