Sales roles, processes and incentives should support the customers and economics the business has chosen.
01 · The picture
Sales roles, processes and incentives should support the customers and economics the business has chosen.
Follow the decisions
01Chosen customer
02Buying process
03Sales capability
04Delivery and return
02 · The idea
How I understand it.
A sales strategy has practical consequences for hiring, training, account selection, pricing and incentives. Begin with the customers you want to serve and the buying process you need to support. A complex purchase may require technical help and several conversations; a simple repeat purchase may suit a lighter process. Define what the salesperson must do well and what support the organisation must provide. Check whether rewards encourage suitable customers, sustainable terms and a reliable handover into delivery. More activity can create little value if it brings expensive accounts or promises the business cannot fulfil. Review the whole system when the product or market changes. Product features, pricing and the sales process interact, so changing one can create new demands on the others.
03 · A fictional example
Put it into a business.
A software company moves from small monthly subscriptions to larger business accounts. Salespeople now need to understand procurement and involve technical specialists. The company adjusts training, account qualification and handovers. It reviews incentives alongside implementation capacity, watching whether signed contracts become satisfied, paying customers and whether the longer sales cycle still produces sustainable overall economics for the business.
04 · Bring it into the room
Does your sales process match how your chosen customers buy and how your business earns a return?
One decisionOne next actionOne way to check
Where this note comes from
An original explanation drawn from my saved learning material. The worked example is fictional.
Harvard OPM · Unit 2Course reading or session material
Module Overview - Sales (Cespedes)
Session faculty: Frank Cespedes
PDF pages 1–4; sales organisation, Showpad and strategy-to-sales connections
These notes collect my interpretations and applications. The schools and authors retain their original teaching materials.