Top 3 Sales Team Structures (Pros/Cons & Graphics)

When you’re building a sales team, there are a variety of options when structuring your sales team.

Each structure has its pros and cons but which is right for your team? Well, depending on your product and stage, specific structure may be more advantageous than other. In this article we’ll be breaking down the pros and cons of each and sharing which structure is best for your company.

Let's dive in!

Option #1) The Island

To put it simply, the island is every man for himself. This sales structure is often seen in newer companies because it requires less organization. Unfortunately, it also leads to fewer successful sales reps. When your sales team is not specialized, you’re counting on each individual sales rep to be able to bring in deals and close them.

It’s also worth noting that it’s common to see high commissions and low base pay with this structure, promoting aggressive sellers and demoting low performers.

Pros:

Easy to Set Up
Easy to identify high performers
Supports affordable hires

Cons

Sales reps are not specialized
Hard to manage sales reps
Hard to train sales reps
Sales reps spend less time learning from each other
Does not scale well
Doesn’t support complex sales processes

Use when…

you’re a small business, startup, or just getting started.
You have a simple sales process.
you have little sales management experience.
your sales team is independent contractors.

Option #2) Assembly Line

The assembly line is one of the most popular methods for scaling a sales team. It allows specific teams to specialize and perfect their specific sales motion. If one aspect of your company is lacking, the assembly line allows you to target a step of the process and solve it opposed to “The Island”, where changing a sales process may require retraining a long list of sales reps.

Pros:

Team members are specialized / more productive
Specialized managers make it easier to manage
Scales well

Cons

Requires more sales staff to get started
Can complicate enterprise deals
Customer journey can feel disconnected because of multiple handoffs
Can require higher base salaries

Use when…

you’re running outbound sales.
you’re in the growth stage.
you’re looking to get more organized.
your sales team is salaried.

Option #3) The Pod

The Pod is a great sales structure for building team cohesion. Instead one stage of the funnel vs the other, you force your team to work together to meet pod quotas.

One of the most amazing aspects of pods is the ability to project revenue based on adding new pods. This is because you know the exact cost of each pod and the revenue generated by each pod. If your pods bring in more money than they cost, then you can simply hire additional pods and start scaling exponentially.

Pros:

More cohesive customer journey
Forces team collaboration
Simplifies sales projecting (building blocks)
Simplifies enterprise deals
Scales well

Cons

Requires more sales staff to get started
Less competitive sales environment
Managers may have to manage multiple functions
Can require higher base salaries

Use when…

you’re running outbound sales.
you're in the growth stage.
you have a multi step sales process.
It's easy to train your sales team.
you want a more cohesive team.

Wrapping Up

There are tons of different structures for sales teams but at the end of the day, the best structure for you depends on your company. Some teams sell complex products to enterprise companies, while other products may require just one call to close a deal. Regardless, spend time thinking about how each structure will fit into your company and select the one that is best for you.