A capable team can still produce weak results when the structure holds it back: poorly cut territories, overlapping roles, headcount that cannot deliver the coverage promised, or an incentive that rewards the wrong behaviour. This work addresses that structure and how to change it without unsettling existing accounts.
When structure becomes the limiting factor
Some signs are unmistakable. Two salespeople call the same customer without knowing it. Entire regions are visited once a year. People spend half their time on administration. A manager oversees twelve reports and accompanies none of them in the field. In situations like these, neither motivation nor training will change much, because the obstacle sits in the organisation itself. The diagnosis separates what belongs to individuals from what belongs to territory design, workload and internal rules.
Cutting the market: territories, sectors, key accounts
Geographic division is the most common approach but not always the right one. An SME selling to very different industries sometimes does better splitting by sector, even if that means two people travelling the same region. Others treat the handful of accounts that carry the revenue separately. The criterion is simple: what expertise does the customer expect from the person in front of them? A design that forces one salesperson to master six technical worlds produces shallow visits, however willing that person is.
Splitting roles: hunting, farming, inside sales, technical support
Winning an account and looking after it call for different temperaments and different rhythms. Many companies give both jobs to the same people, then wonder why prospecting disappears: serving an existing customer is safer and pays off sooner. Separating the roles is one option, provided the handover and the pay are settled. Inside sales deserves the same attention, because what it absorbs, or fails to absorb, directly determines the time available for visits, often more than any additional tool.
Sizing: real workload against expected coverage
Sizing is calculated rather than estimated. Start from the number of customers to visit, the frequency wanted per category, the average length of a visit and the distances specific to the region. The result regularly contradicts intuition: the coverage announced would require twice the current headcount, or one person holds time nobody has allocated. The arithmetic is not an exact science, but it makes the discussion possible and replaces the vague impression of an overloaded team with a figure management can act on.
Span of control and preparing the management line
A sales manager with too many reports ends up doing nothing but reporting. Past roughly six to eight people, field accompaniment is the first casualty, then the one-to-one meetings. The question of number comes with the question of preparation: many managers were promoted because they sold well, without ever learning to run a debrief, hold a standard or lead a pipeline review. Developing that middle layer, through sales management and leadership training, often produces more effect than another course delivered to the salespeople.
Variable pay and what it actually encourages
A pay system states what the company rewards, whatever is said alongside it. Commission on revenue alone encourages discounting; a bonus limited to new accounts pulls attention away from existing customers; an annual target set too far away steers no weekly decision at all. The review compares the rule in force with the behaviour observed, then corrects carefully, since any change touches people's income and is agreed individually within the applicable legal framework.
Tools and the minimum useful data
A tool does not create an organisation; it records the one that exists. Before choosing or replacing a CRM, decide what must be tracked: active accounts, live deals with their decision date, quotations issued and their outcome, visits made. A short list genuinely maintained beats a complete system filled in halfway. The most useful rule concerns who enters the data and when; without it, information arrives late and the monthly review runs on figures that are already out of date.
Recruitment, onboarding and departures
A structure holds through the people in it. Sales recruitment suffers from a common flaw: an advertisement written from the previous jobholder rather than from the real need, followed by an interview about past experience with no practical exercise. Onboarding deserves as much attention, since a salesperson left alone with a catalogue takes months to become useful. Departure is prepared too: a portfolio taken over without organised handover costs customers, and the loss usually appears long after the replacement arrives.
Managing the transition, and how Swiss Sales Partners works
Changing a sales organisation touches established relationships. A new territory moves income, a new role creates anxiety, and customers rarely welcome a change of contact. The transition is planned: order of steps, announcement to the people concerned, information to key customers, and an overlap period during which two people talk to each other. Swiss Sales Partners supports this work under a written mandate, drawing on more than 30 years in B2B selling, field sales, commercial management and sales management, notably at Hilti, Egli Fischer (efco), Berner and Bouygues.
FAQ
Should prospecting be separated from account management?
It depends on team size and sales cycle. Separation protects prospecting time, but it requires clear rules for the handover and for how each role is paid.
How many people can one sales manager lead?
Six to eight in an SME, if regular field accompaniment and one-to-one meetings are expected. Beyond that, the role quickly narrows down to chasing numbers.
Can territories be redrawn mid-year?
Yes, though rarely without consequences. Redrawing moves income and customer relationships; it needs a clear announcement, an overlap period and an agreement on commissions in progress.
Will a CRM solve an organisation problem?
No. It records the organisation you already have. Decide first what must be tracked and by whom, then pick the tool, or you install a system nobody maintains.
Where do we start if everything seems to need reviewing?
With real coverage: who visits whom, how often, and with what time available. That calculation usually exposes the single point that constrains everything else.