Sales Management: Towards the End of Hierarchy?

In a sales organization, the roles are clearly defined: a sales director, area managers, field managers and sales representatives. However, Numerous technological innovations, increasingly tough competition and increased professional mobility have shaken up the pyramidal hierarchy, requiring a rethink of sales management with a more cross-functional system, where autonomy, communication, mutual assistance and coaching are the new pillars.

How can these changes be applied to sales forces?

Empower your salespeople

What do salespeople need to deliver their full potential? In 2017, we no longer manage employees; we coach them. Instead, we manage activities and performance. Coaching is a leadership skill that unlocks a salesperson’s full potential by allowing them to focus on the activities and behaviors that lead to the expected results. To achieve this, it is essential to provide salespeople with all the tools they need to monitor their performance.

To be autonomous, salespeople must be able to analyze their own performance. This is where the manager comes in. They must both listen carefully to their colleagues and find the right words to help the salesperson interpret the various signals: verbal signals, of course, but also unspoken ones. Expressions, postures, and omissions are all signs that must be analyzed and used to support teams.

To gain autonomy, salespeople can also enrich their pitch, their knowledge of the product/service, and improve their performance, which must constantly evolve. Why not set up micro-training courses, accessible at any time and on any platform (smartphone, computer, tablet, etc.)? On some platforms, salespeople can, for example, view short training videos or quizzes that will perfectly meet these needs.

Focus on internal communication

Communication is the keystone of your sales organization. Three aspects of internal communication must be considered:

Communication with the marketing department.

This is a pitfall that’s still all too common within companies: misaligned marketing and sales strategies. By aligning the strategies of these two teams, you’ll ensure employees have a clear vision of the company’s future.

Communication from the top down.

In recent years, contact between different hierarchical levels has been facilitated by the advent of numerous technological tools. Use less formal mediums (instant messaging, for example) that allow for more personal and warmer exchanges, particularly to boost your teams.

Bottom-up communication.

Encourage your teams to share feedback from the field: for example, it can be beneficial for the entire sales organization to share best practices learned from working with customers and prospects, or sales advice on a specific product.

Why not try holacracy?

An organizational trend called “holacracy,” which first emerged in the United States, has gained widespread traction in France in recent years. Holacracy is based first on the company’s “raison d’être,” then on a circle structure. Each circle corresponds to an activity, without any hierarchy: roughly speaking, one circle for accounting, one for maintenance, one for sales organization, and so on.

Within each circle, the organization is alive and can evolve according to needs. One person acts as the “first link,” but they cannot organize or reorganize the circle as they see fit: this requires a “governance meeting.” It is therefore important to give all employees the opportunity to express themselves and make proposals. The idea is not to spend hours discussing all the solutions, but to solve problems one by one by sharing each idea.

Holacracy is a form of horizontal management that can help a sales organization find solutions as a team, by shifting the hierarchy. However, for this method to work, employees must embrace vision and communication as core company values.

And you, how are your sales teams organized? Have you tried any new methods?

Find out how Incenteev supported the transition to collaborative and agile management for our clients.