A Star Sales Team
Setting up a star sales team requires more than just throwing a handful of talented salespeople together. You need to create a structure, define roles and expectations, establish processes, align your team—and that’s just a start.
Who’s responsible for what? What role does each person play in the buyer’s journey? How can you reduce friction and streamline each stage of the sales process?
Over the next few lessons, you’ll learn how to answer these questions for your team. First, you’ll explore the most common sales roles. Then, you’ll learn three ways to structure your sales team. Finally, you’ll learn how to identify different kinds of contributors on your team.
By choosing the right structure, you can lay a solid foundation for your sales team to thrive.
In this video, you can explore some essential considerations for structuring your sales team.
Common Sales Team Roles
Teams run most effectively when every person understands their role and how they contribute to collective success. As the team leader, you need to establish team roles and communicate them to employees.
Expand the rows below to learn about some of the most common roles on a sales team:
Sales Development Representative (The Hunter)
Sales development representatives move potential prospects through the beginning stages of the sales pipeline. These hunters may:
Find prospective customers.
Qualify whether those prospective customers are a good fit for their solution and worth pursuing.
Call, video chat, email, or meet in-person with prospects to discover their needs.
Answer questions and educate prospects about their offerings.
Note: At some companies, sales development representatives may also serve as account executives, a role we’ll cover next.
Account Executive (The Closer)
Sales development representatives pass on qualified prospects to account executives—the closers who specialise in getting a customer to the finish line. Account executives develop proposals, deliver tailored pitches, or otherwise meet with qualified prospects in the final stages of the sales pipeline.
Sales Specialist (The Expert)
Sales specialists provide detailed information about the solution’s features and specifications. These experts may conduct product demonstrations for prospective customers, answer technical questions, and train new sales team members. Sales specialists can also perform market research, analyse sales metrics, and prepare sales forecasts.
Sales Manager (The Leader)
Finally, sales managers are leaders who set goals, track performance metrics, establish team tools and processes, and develop and motivate employees. They ensure their team has the resources, knowledge, and skills they need to succeed.
- Roles may vary by company and industry. A startup company may not have the resources or need to separate these roles, whereas a large and established organization may have additional roles beyond these. Companies may also define each role’s responsibilities differently.
We’ve defined the different types of roles on a sales team. Continue on to the next lesson to learn about building a structure that works to everyone’s advantage.
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