How do you set up a sales organization that really works?

By Ainhoa Carpio-Talleux

Published: July 28, 2025

Is your sales team stagnating despite your position in a buoyant market?

Are your sales people struggling to meet their targets while the competition is making progress?

The problem lies in a faulty sales organization. This situation paralyzes even the best talent and slows down your company's development.

👉 That's why we've decided to help you! In this guide: "How to set up a profitable sales organization", you'll find all the advice and best practices you need to get your sales off the ground.

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Diagnose your current sales organization

This diagnostic phase is the foundation on which you'll build your new organization. Without it, you risk missing out on many opportunities for improvement.

Analyze the existing structure

Get a clear picture of your current sales team. Ask yourself how many sales people make up your sales force, and what their skills are. The answers to these questions will reveal any gaps in your sales team.

You should also take a close look at your customers' usual career paths (from initial contact to contract signature). This will help you to spot any gaps between your sales team's practices and actual market expectations.

In many cases, the stages of the sale do not correspond to current buying habits. This discrepancy complicates the sales team's task and is detrimental to customer relations. Take the opportunity to examine prospect qualification methods. When several approaches coexist without clear coordination, your sales organization becomes unstable. This vagueness generates confusion and hampers the allocation of time between prospecting, follow-ups and follow-up on current business.

Identify blockages

👉 Dysfunctions often appear in information transfers:

the marketing department passes on contacts without checking their commercial maturity ;
the customer service department sends few alerts to the sales manager;
the sales team does not receive useful feedback to adapt its actions.

This lack of continuity creates internal tensions that can have repercussions on customer relations.

👉 Some bottlenecks are directly linked to the tools you use. Without a reliable CRM (Custumer relationship management), sales people act without a solid strategy. This creates a lack of coherence that reduces the team's ability to manage its sales activity with rigor.

👉 Other obstacles come from the organization itself, such as :

duplication of tasks,
unclear distribution of accounts to be handled,
poorly-defined objectives are a major source of demotivation.

A salesperson's performance depends as much on his or her skills as on the environment in which he or she operates. A clear diagnosis of these stumbling blocks enables the sales manager to make targeted adjustments.

Different sales organization models

A sales organization is not based on a universal model. It depends on a number of criteria, such as the type of activity, the sales cycle, the level of sales maturity and even the targeted customer profiles. Choosing the right organization clarifies each salesperson's priorities and limits conflicts of allocation.

Organization by business sector

This approach involves specializing your sales staff according to your customers' sectors of activity. For example, one agent might focus exclusively on the automotive industry, another on the healthcare sector. This specialization develops in-depth expertise in your staff, giving them a better grasp of the issues specific to each market.

As a result, your sales force acquires a better understanding of :

purchasing processes,
the competition,
trends specific to their sector. They speak the same language as their prospects and understand their business needs.

☝️ It's worth noting, however, that it takes time to train sales staff to become industry experts.

Not to mention that access to sector-specific data remains complex for SMEs. This organization is therefore best suited to companies that already have sufficient resources to train their teams!

Geographical organization by territory

Geographical division is the most widespread sales organization, especially for SMEs and developing companies. Each salesperson manages a defined territory. This may be :

a region ;
a department ;
an urban area divided according to prospects.

This method simplifies day-to-day management and reduces travel costs. Your sales reps develop a solid local network and a good knowledge of their region. They can schedule appointments and follow up closely with their customers.

☝️ Note that this organization quickly reveals its limits. Your sales staff may find themselves competing in neighboring areas. This can lead to conflict. Territories with a low density of potential customers may also not generate enough work for a full-time salesperson, wasting resources.

More problematic still, this structure becomes ineffective when dealing with customers spread over several zones. A customer with subsidiaries in three different regions, for example, will find himself having to interact with three different contacts. If they don't coordinate their discourse, the customer is likely to be confused. Geographical organization works best for companies selling locally with short sales cycles.

Organization by customer size

Segmenting your sales organization according to customer size enables you to tailor your approach to the needs of each category. One dedicated team handles key accounts, another focuses on SMEs, and a third on very small businesses or private individuals.

Sales cycles, decision-making processes and expectations differ according to the size of the companies you approach. The cost of acquiring a major account may be 10 times that of an SME, but its "customer lifetime value" more than compensates for this investment.

☝️ But what happens when a small SME grows into a giant? Which sales representative will retain the relationship? On what criteria is the transfer made? You need to anticipate these situations before they arise.

Without precise rules, this type of organization generates more internal conflicts than it does benefits!

Organization by product or service range

Specializing your sales force by product range is ideal for companies with a diversified catalog or complex technical solutions. Each salesperson is fully conversant with his or her product range, and can provide prospects with in-depth technical expertise.

☝️ This type of organization does, however, generate silos between teams. When a customer needs several ranges, he finds himself dealing with several contacts, with no real coordination between them. If a specialized sales rep leaves the company and his or her expertise has not been properly centralized in a CRM or repository, it disappears with him or her. In certain sectors, where staff turnover can reach 25% a year, this represents a significant loss of technical expertise accumulated over the years.

Design a motivating remuneration policy for your sales force

Compensation for sales staff is strictly regulated by the French Labor Code. Whatever their performance, they must never be paid less than the minimum wage.

Commissions must be calculated according to objective and verifiable criteria, clearly defined in the employment contract. In the event of termination, any commissions earned remain the employee's due.

The variable component usually represents between 20% and 40% of total remuneration, depending on the business sector. It must motivate your sales force. The choice of variable should reflect your priorities:

sales,
margin,
acquisition of new customers,
loyalty.

A system based solely on sales leads to the negotiation of large discounts, to the detriment of profitability.

Monitoring variable remuneration requires effective tools and transparent communication. Your sales reps need to know in real time their level of performance and the amount of commission earned. A sales dashboard updated monthly is the minimum you need to put in place. Policy adjustments, on the other hand, must be used with care, at the risk of confusing your sales force.

The essential tools for managing your sales activity

Using the right technological tools boosts your sales force's efficiency tenfold. Here are four digital solutions that come in handy for steering your sales development:

👉 CRM (Customer Relationship Management):

centralizes all prospect and customer information,
automates repetitive tasks,
tracks every interaction,
provides the sales manager with a global view of the sales pipeline, with real-time performance indicators.

👉 ERP:

connects the sales function to other company departments: accounting, logistics, production ;
enables direct consultation of inventories;
automates commission calculations;
facilitates payroll management.

👉 Marketing automation tools feed your pipeline by automating:

prospecting ;
lead qualification ;
follow-up e-mails;
network publications.

👉 Business Intelligence tools:

analyze sales trends,
identify growth opportunities.

Create synergy between sales and marketing teams

These 2 teams too often work in silos, generating misunderstandings and loss of efficiency. Good collaboration between them improves customer satisfaction.

Harmonize the objectives and methods of both departments

Marketing thinks in terms of visibility and image. Sales thinks in terms of conversion rates, revenues and sales cycles. These ways of seeing don't necessarily clash.

💡 To get the 2 departments to work together, you can, for example, define a common lead evaluation system combining marketing criteria (commitment, channel) and sales criteria (budget, sector, decision-maker). You can also organize monthly meetings between the two teams.

This synergy doesn't happen overnight. It is built by clarifying the role of each department in the customer journey:

marketing acts upstream, preparing the ground, calibrating messages ;
the sales team takes over for mature prospects, with a coherent message and aligned priorities.

Use collaborative tools for better internal communication

The effectiveness of a sales organization also depends on the channels through which information circulates, in particular :

a common CRM ;
a customer feedback platform
a space for exchanging information on current campaigns.

Each person remains master of his or her own area, but information circulates better, bottlenecks are brought to light earlier, and teams gain in agility.

Pool field data to optimize customer approach

In direct contact with their customers, sales people pick up weak signals on a daily basis that neither surveys nor dashboards can capture. Sharing this information with marketing teams enables them to fine-tune messages, offers and sales aids as close as possible to the field.

Conversely, behavioral data from marketing tools enrich our understanding of the customer's buying journey and guide sales actions. This back-and-forth flow of information creates a virtuous loop: data becomes usable, decisions more relevant and actions better coordinated.

Encourage initiative and individual responsibility

The best ideas don't always come from head office. It's often the salespeople themselves who, in the course of meetings, identify :

what makes customers tick,
what's holding up a sale,
or what's missing from the offer.

You need to give them the freedom to make decisions without systematically consulting their superiors.

Unfortunately, in some companies, compliance is praised, not risk-taking. This reflex blocks employees. A sales manager who wants his team to progress needs to set a clear but open framework.

Giving autonomy doesn't mean delegating everything. A junior will not make the same decisions as an experienced salesperson. Likewise, a strategic account is not the same as cold prospecting. Autonomy is adapted to experience and the stakes involved.

Continuously improve your sales organization

A sales organization is only as good as its ability to adapt without becoming unstable. This ability to adjust is not a matter of instinct or spur-of-the-moment decisions, but of rigorous, structured monitoring.

Identify and track the right performance indicators

Not all indicators are there to comment on results. Some are there to trigger an alert.

💡 A 15% drop in the transformation rate in one month, or a 20% lengthening of the sales cycle on a strategic segment, should immediately prompt targeted analysis.

It's by cross-referencing data that weak signals become visible:

Is the cycle lengthening while the average shopping basket is shrinking? You're wasting time on unprofitable opportunities;
a stable closing rate, but a declining margin ? Perhaps it's time to review your positioning and sales pitch.

It's these deviations, rather than averages, that guide decisions on which tools, priorities or methods to adjust.

Regularly adjust your organization according to results in the field

Modifying a sector, redistributing accounts or changing a sales method can weaken the internal balance. Some salespeople perceive these adjustments as a loss of territory, especially if they manage recurring customers. To ensure that the organization evolves seamlessly, the company needs to set up time-limited tests.

💡 You could, for example, carry out a new segmentation over three months , or run a test on a volunteer team. This framework limits passive resistance and provides proof of the method's effectiveness before it is generalized. Adjustments can only be made if teams understand them, experiment with them and see their value.

Anticipate changing market needs to stay competitive

Anticipation doesn't mean waiting for informal feedback from a lone salesperson. Your company needs to organize a structured sales intelligence system, defining the frequency of feedback, the method of collection and the analysis process. Every week, a dedicated channel should centralize weak signals:

repeated customer requests
new objections in the field,
changes in purchasing behavior, etc.

A marketing-sales pair then qualifies this information, distinguishing objective facts from more subjective feelings. This approach makes it possible to spot weak signals earlier, capture market trends and identify opportunities before the competition does. The sales manager can then refine his strategy and adjust his team's actions in line with emerging trends.

Develop the skills of your sales team

The quality of sales service depends as much on CRM tools as on the skill level of your staff. Targeted training enables you to adjust your sales methods and develop your sales function on an ongoing basis. This approach boosts the effectiveness of your sales force in the field and improves customer relations.

Training your sales force doesn't mean piling on modules. Instead, create a clear framework, integrated into the sales team's day-to-day reality. A monthly or fortnightly session is all it takes to address an identified sticking point in the sales process. This rhythm allows sales staff to test out new prospecting methods and then pass on their feedback to the sales manager.

Training also concerns the integration of new employees into your sales organization. When a new salesperson joins the team, an experienced buddy should accompany him or her as he or she learns about management tools and internal processes. Business topics must be clearly defined according to the company's sales strategy. Each stage of the learning process must be carefully designed to ensure that the newcomer masters sales techniques and understands customer needs. This progression is followed from the very first weeks to identify what's working, correct what's holding back sales activity and accelerate your company's sales development .