Sales Team Structure: How to Optimize Your Team for Success12 min read

Before we examine some of the typical ways to organize a sales team, it should be noted that not everyone will have a choice. 

Some organizations may be able to implement any of the models with varying degrees of success; however, others either have only one feasible option, or if they do get to make a choice, it comes down to finding the least of possible evils.

Some of the factors that influence the final decision include:

• The size of your company and your sales team
• Your current stage of development
• Experience and specific skills of your salespeople
• Existing interpersonal relationships
• The market you are catering to and target audience preferences

Based on these and other considerations, your sales team will either naturally fall into or at least, gravitate towards one of the three most common structures —  the Island, the Assembly Line, or the Pod.

The Island Sales Team Model

If you are just growing your sales department, working in a developed, competitive market like real estate, or prefer to keep your salespeople on their toes, constantly trying to outdo one another, you might find this model suitable.

Overview

The Island structure, as the name implies, is characterized by independent one-man teams, each in charge of the entire sales cycle for one or more clients, from prospecting to client support. 

These sales reps usually report directly to the company’s owner or founder, and take the brunt of responsibility for every project they are on.

While this can sometimes create a stressful environment, and might even make some salespeople push too hard in hopes of salvaging a sale that seems to be slipping away, it does have its upsides as well.

Why Is the Island Model So Popular?

For one, as it is the simplest model, it requires very little planning and investment in terms of infrastructure, coordination between salespeople, etc. 

This is why this structure is so typical for startups, i.e. all you need to get going is one sales rep with a broad skill set and nerves of steel. 

But this structure is not only interesting to those who are just starting to grow. The competitiveness that this approach creates between the sales reps has been found to be a great incentive in certain markets. 

In industries with high transaction values but fairly straightforward sales processes, the Island model seems to provide the optimal ratio between territory coverage and attention devoted to individual clients.

How Does This Approach Affect Relationships with Clients?

Speaking of clients, this approach is something of a double-edged sword. 

On the one hand, the fact that one rep is in contact with the client during their entire journey through the funnel means that they get to develop a better relationship with the client, learn more about their pain points, and are ultimately able to offer better support. 

On the other, this means that a client is “tied” to the sales rep to some extent and that losing that rep might sometimes mean losing the client as well.

To sum up, here are some of the most important pros and cons of the Island Model: 

Pros

• It’s a proactive approach in which every sales rep builds one-on-one relationships with their customers and is responsible for the entire sales process. Such a boots-on-the-ground approach leads to better results, particularly when it comes to one or two calls-to-close products and services that don’t require a long sales cycle.
• It allows for establishing more profound relationships with customers and deepens emotional engagement, which in turn helps sales reps generate more sales.
• It doesn’t require substantial resources, which is why this strategy is great for companies on a budget. 

Cons 

• It can lead to a very competitive and aggressive sales environment. 
• It reduces the amount of control CEOs and founders have over how their brand is presented since every sales rep follows their own unique sales strategy and style.
• It can be challenging to keep track of sales metrics due to the individualistic nature of this model. 

The Assembly Line Sales Team Structure

Unlike the granular Island approach, this model requires a larger sales team and much more synchronization between its members.

Overview

Instead of guiding one prospect through the entire funnel, sales reps focus on one part of the funnel and are responsible for all the prospects currently in that phase.

Since prospects are constantly being handed off from one team to another, this model requires smooth communication between and within teams. It also allows each of your sales reps to specialize in one part of the cycle. 

This ensures that your salespeople’s talents and skills are utilized to the maximum and that each step of the client’s journey is as optimized as possible.

While you could decide to merge some of these teams together, usually, the Assembly Line model has the following structure:

• Lead generation team gathers prospects and passes them, along with relevant information, to  
• Sales development team, in charge of qualifying the prospects and handing off the most promising ones to  
• Account executive team, who are supposed to finalize the deal and place the new client into the care of 
• Customer support team, meant to help the client with onboarding or any other concerns      

How Does This Approach Affect Relationships with Clients?

While this means that your sales reps won’t get a chance to build strong relationships with their clients, the diffusion of the process between various teams allows for consistency, both in terms of efficiency, and when it comes to how your brand is presented.

Likewise, the fact that they are not associated with any client, in particular, might mean that your sales reps won’t be as heavily invested in their success, but it also contributes to a much more relaxed and collaborative atmosphere. 

Along with the segmentation of tasks, this atmosphere makes this sales team structure ideal for training inexperienced sales reps and finding out which part of the cycle they are best equipped to handle. 

Pros the Assembly Line Model

• Thanks to the fact that every team collects valuable customer information, you’ll be able to improve the accuracy of your sales forecasts and generate predictable revenue.
• Every team member is assigned a specific task, and this system improves productivity and eliminates stress. 
• It’s much easier to identify problems in the funnel and zero in on solving them.  

Cons of the Assembly Line Model 

• It’s hard to establish a deeper relationship with customers as different reps are handling the same account as it moves through the funnel. 
• Splitting your funnel into several stages can bring about friction and miscommunication between departments 
• It can be difficult for companies with fewer resources to organize their teams according to this model.  

The Pod Model

Borrowing something from both of the previously described structures, this approach organizes your sales department into small teams, each of them capable of guiding a client through the entire funnel.

Overview

These teams are basically self-contained Assembly Lines, with one or more sales development representatives, account executives, and customer success managers all working towards a single sales goal and competing with other teams. 

Handling individual clients gives these teams a holistic overview of their journey through the funnel, i.e. nothing ends up being lost in the transition between the stages. Aside from ensuring an increase in close rates, this inspires healthy competition between the teams as well as unity within them.

What Kind of Companies Can Benefit From This Approach?

Since the teams can focus on different territories or products, this model offers great versatility, recommending it to those catering to a varied audience or selling a diverse range of products or services. 

The fact that the teams have to be carefully put together so as to be able to work efficiently, both in terms of the specific skills of the members, and in terms of their relationships, means that this model is not always suitable for new companies. 

Even if you are starting off with a large sales department, knowing how to segment it into pods would require some familiarity with your salespeople. 

Naturally, this is not to say that starting this way is impossible, but this structure usually evolves from one of the other two models. 

It either comes as an elaboration of the customer-centric Island model, where the one-man team is simply expanded or as fragmentation of an existing Assembly Line structure.

Pros of the Pod Model

• Due to the holistic nature of the Pod Model, your entire sales team is highly invested in the entire customer journey. 
• This model prevents friction between the teams in transitions and hand-offs by enabling much better communication.
• It allows for better flexibility and agility.

Cons of the Pod Model

• Lack of competitiveness among the members of your sales team might curb their growth and personal development. 
• As every team member has to wear different hats, they might find it difficult to specialize in a certain area.

Alternative Sales Team Structure Models

Functional sales team structure

This structure divides the team based on specialized roles, such as lead generation, sales development, account executives, and customer success. 

It promotes expertise in each stage of the sales process, ensuring efficient handling of prospects and clients.

Geographic sales team structure

If your business operates across various regions, this structure might be ideal. 

Teams are assigned to specific territories, allowing them to understand local markets, build relationships with regional clients, and tailor their sales approaches accordingly.

Market-based sales team structure

This structure is focused on targeting specific industries or customer segments. 

Teams develop in-depth knowledge about their target markets’ needs, challenges, and buying behaviors, leading to more effective sales strategies.

Product sales team structure

If your company offers a diverse product portfolio, consider this structure. 

Each team specializes in selling specific products or product lines, becoming experts in their features, benefits, and applications.

Hybrid sales team structure

This model combines elements from different structures to create a tailored approach. 

For instance, you might have geographic teams with functional specialists within each region. This offers the benefits of both specialization and localized knowledge.

Account-based sales team structure

In this model, teams focus on high-value accounts, tailoring their efforts to the specific needs and goals of each key client. 

This approach fosters strong relationships and maximizes revenue potential from strategic accounts.

Channel sales team structure

If you leverage partners or resellers, this structure is relevant. 

Teams manage relationships with these channels, providing support, training, and resources to ensure successful sales through indirect channels.

Customer success sales team structure

This structure emphasizes ongoing customer relationships after the initial sale. Teams focus on onboarding, adoption, and upselling, ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes and maximizing long-term value.

Tips for Implementing the Right Sales Team Structure 

Every sales team structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, so once you decide on which one to implement, make sure to keep a close eye on your metrics and team performance. 

That way, you’ll be able to identify whether the selected structure works for you or needs some tweaking. 

Here are some tips to help you at this stage of the process.

1. Leverage data  

Understanding your target market and having historical data is essential. You need to know how many sales reps you need in order to hit your sales targets. 

If you notice that the model you chose doesn’t yield the expected results, you should reconsider it, identify the issues, and make adjustments accordingly. 

2. Invest in sales tools

Understanding your target market and having historical data is essential. You need to know how many sales reps you need in order to hit your sales targets. 

If you notice that the model you chose doesn’t yield the expected results, you should reconsider it, identify the issues, and make adjustments accordingly. 

3. Control high-performer turnover

The cost of replacing a salesperson is, on average, three times their annual salary, but when it comes to top performers, it can be much more. 

Usually, one of the key reasons why top performers leave lies in their discordant relationship with their managers. It’s usually the case when managers have a lot on their plate and when they’re too overloaded to check in with their high performers and assess their engagement, morale, and motivation. However, besides tracking all these metrics, it’s crucial to update the benefit packages of your employees and review the salary they see in their legitimate pay stub regularly.

Again, sales tools and metrics come to the rescue and give managers insight into numbers, trends, and potential dips in performance. This way, they can spot the problem before it snowballs into a bigger issue that can’t be resolved. 

The Bottom Line

If you have taken care of the other important considerations, such as ensuring that your employees receive adequate training and are properly motivated, the next decision that demands your attention is how you will structure your sales team.

Which model you will choose to adopt will depend on a number of factors, but the crucial ones are team size and skillsets.

• If you have only a couple of salespeople, but they are relatively versatile and not afraid of intense competition, you might find the Island structure the most suitable.
• On the other hand, if you have a larger team, with highly specialized sales reps, committed more to efficiency than to nurturing lasting bonds with individual clients; you might find that the Assembly Line model offers rapid turnaround and is perfect for industries with a large number of transactions.
• Finally, if you want your salespeople to be as invested as possible in the individual clients, while still devoting all of their attention to only one part of the funnel, you might want to try segmenting them into pods and giving them common projects. 

A company can easily go through all of these stages during their growth, and while it can be difficult to decide if it’s time to transition to the next phase, not doing so is bound to take its toll. Luckily, each of the models can be implemented on a micro-scale so you can measure its effectiveness and make a decision based on the observations.