Navigating the intricacies of how to build a B2B sales team can be daunting, but it’s crucial for success.
A strong sales team is the engine behind thriving relationships, growth and a healthy bottom line. But to jump-start this engine, you need the right components in place.
To shed light on the subject, we teamed up with two industry frontrunners:
- David Bentham, VP of GTM at DinMo.
- Frida Ottosson, former VP of US Sales at Cognism.
In this blog, we present a blueprint for forging a sales team that thrives in the ever-changing B2B industry. By the end, you’ll have a roadmap and actionable strategies to assemble a top-notch B2B sales team.
Ready to delve into their insights? Dive in now! 👇
1. Define your strategy
Before building a team, work out the following:
- Target audience: Who are your ideal customers (ICP)? Enterprise? Mid-market? SMB?
- Sales motion: Is it outbound, inbound, product-led, or account-based selling?
- Sales cycle length and complexity: Tailor your team based on how consultative or transactional your sales are.
To get this information, conduct market research and gather feedback from your existing customers.
2. Decide on your sales team structure
Building a robust B2B sales team requires a nuanced understanding of your product, target audience, and sales cycle.
It’s crucial that your sales team’s structure aligns with your business goals.
David said:
“Step one is understanding what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, what kind of volume and what the average sales cycle looks like. You can decide how you’ll structure your team from there.”
Once you have this clear understanding, you can lock down a structure. But what structures are available?
Let’s take a closer look 👇
The specialised structure
In this model, each segment of your sales process is managed by a dedicated team member, forming a well-organised assembly line of expertise.
Specialised sales roles include:
- Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) who prospect for and qualify leads.
- Marketing Development Representatives (MDRs) who focus on inbound lead qualification.
- Account Executives (AEs) who run product demos and close deals.
- Sales team managers who set strategy and mentor junior colleagues.
- Customer Success Managers who guide customers through product onboarding and adoption.
- RevOps Managers who oversee and try to improve processes, data analysis, and tech stacks.
An example of this structure would be:
A new lead would be contacted by an SDR, handed off to an AE for a demo and deal close, then transitioned to a CSM for onboarding and long-term support.
This structure works best for complex customer journeys. It aims to maximise efficiency and leverage individuals’ unique skills.
The 360 salesperson structure
In contrast, the 360 salesperson structure sees a single person guiding the prospect throughout their journey.
Instead of multiple people performing different tasks, one salesperson performs all the tasks, from prospecting and outreach to closing the deal and sometimes even post-sale account management.
This method works best for startups or small businesses with limited headcount or in high-touch, relationship-based industries.
The one big benefit of the 360 structure?
It fosters deep, enduring partnerships with customers, as David told us:
“It’s all about the relationship. If building a deep, long-term relationship with the customer is your goal, then the 360 approach works well.”
3. Master the recruitment and hiring process
Identifying the right sales skills is foundational in assembling a winning B2B sales team.
Traits such as resilience, optimism, and drive are markers of potential top performers. Recognising excellence in various fields and focusing on candidates with clear, financially-driven goals is essential.
David stressed:
“If you’re hiring right, your sales team will naturally be competitive.”
Here are some sales recruitment tips:
Know what you’re hiring for
If you know your sales team structure (see above!) then you know the types of roles you’re hiring for, whether it’s SDRs/AEs or full-cycle reps.
But beyond that, you must define the personality traits of your ideal sales professional.
Look for candidates with:
-
Coachability: Open to learn new skills and techniques.
-
Grit and resilience: Salespeople face rejection daily.
-
Curiosity: This fuels better conversations, deeper discovery, and more tailored solutions for customers.
-
Emotional intelligence: Even if you’re selling tech, remember people buy from people; it’s the relationships that count.
-
An ownership mindset: This drives accountability, initiative, and long-term success.
Craft compelling job descriptions
This is crucial for attracting top talent.
Clearly highlight the roles’ earning potential. Also, be transparent about expectations and career progression.
This will make your roles more appealing to applicants.
Engage promptly with candidates
Don’t drag out interviews - top reps won’t wait!
Use a mix of:
-
Phone screen interview (to assess communication and motivation).
-
Panel or hiring manager interview (deep dive into experience).
-
Role play or case study (real skill evaluation).
Conduct thorough interviews
Interviews are a crucial step in forming a successful sales team.
Your objective?
Find candidates who fit the company’s goals and your team’s culture.
Here’s how to manage the process:
- Use role-specific assessments: Give the candidates real-life sales scenarios (e.g., mock cold calls, objection handling, demo role play).
-
Prioritise culture add, not just culture fit: Look for people who bring diverse thinking and unique strengths.
-
Assess motivation and drive: Find out what they want from a sales career and how they bounce back from failure.
4. Develop a clear onboarding program
A well-structured onboarding program gets reps ramped faster and selling smarter.
Start with a clear 30-60-90 day plan that outlines key goals and learning milestones:
Days 1-30
New reps should immerse themselves in the product, understand your ideal customer profile, and get a grip on the full sales process.
Train them on core tools like your CRM and sales intelligence platforms, and encourage them to shadow top performers.
At this stage, it’s about building the foundations for your team to have confident conversations.
Days 31-60
Now, it’s time to get hands-on!
By this stage, reps should be prospecting, booking meetings, and owning things like discovery calls and qualification criteria.
Your job as a sales manager is to support them! Help them to refine messaging, practice objection handling, and start building their pipeline.
Days 61-90
By this point, reps should be running full sales cycles with minimal oversight. They’ll work active deals, forecast accurately, and start closing business.
This is also the time to identify development areas, set personal growth goals, and get ready for full quota responsibility.
The goal: turn potential into performance, fast!
5. Cultivate a strong sales team culture
Why is culture important in a sales team, you might ask? Let’s break it down.
A positive sales team culture is far from a fluffy concept; it’s a concrete foundation that aligns your team on shared goals and, ultimately, drives success.
Consider this:
A team’s culture influences its members’ behaviours and attitudes. This influence then shapes their approach to selling and interacting with customers.
At Cognism, a core tenet of our sales culture is deeply understanding the customer’s needs.
Frida stressed why:
“In order to generate value for the customer, you need to grasp how they make money.”
This perspective goes beyond mere sales tactics - it’s a deep-rooted mindset. The end result?
Our sales team consistently digs deep to truly understand what our customers are all about.
But recognising the importance of sales culture is just the beginning. Let’s look at the practical steps you can take to build and nurture a thriving culture.
Define your company’s sales culture
Start by defining what values are paramount to your organisation. Outline clear expectations and establish a mission that resonates with every member.
This definition steers your team in a unified direction.
Create alignment on shared goals
Alignment is pivotal. Establish clear and measurable objectives that reflect your defined culture.
Regular communication and feedback sessions ensure everyone is on the same page, moving together towards shared targets.
Motivate and incentivise your team
When your team feels genuinely valued and inspired, they will naturally surpass quotas.
Set up a rewards system that emphasises both individual achievements and team spirit. Celebrate every win, big or small, to show genuine appreciation.
Open, honest communication about company direction and individual trajectories ensures everyone feels connected to the larger vision and understands their role.
Encourage continuous learning
In sales, the learning curve never truly flattens.
Regular training, workshops, and updated resources keep your team at the cutting edge, ready to adapt and grow.
David said:
“We use quizzes consistently to solidify our training - and while they’re undoubtedly fun, their primary purpose is reinforcing key concepts.”
Gamification is a great way to instil continuous learning - it taps into the inherent competitiveness of sales teams!
Transforming lessons into engaging challenges makes learning enjoyable and ensures key concepts stick.
Promote collaboration and teamwork
A collaborative team is a successful team - develop an environment where ideas are shared freely.
Team-building activities, open forums, and collaborative projects facilitate teamwork and ensure every team member feels valued.
6. Create a robust sales process
Constructing a formidable B2B sales process is like building a house: it requires a solid foundation, precise planning, and the right tools.
Here’s how to do it:
Start with the customer journey
When considering how to build an effective B2B sales team, begin by understanding and mapping out the customer journey. Detail every interaction from the introduction to the closed deal.
A clear picture of this journey allows your team to anticipate client needs, proactively address concerns, and tailor their approach.
Prioritise lead qualification and scoring
With a thorough understanding of the customer journey, you can identify which interactions strongly indicate a lead’s intent to purchase.
A well-tuned lead scoring system helps your team focus on the most promising leads, ensuring they engage prospects at the right time.
Iterate based on feedback
A successful sales process is one that adapts and grows. Encourage your team to share feedback consistently, discussing both the challenges they face and the successes they’ve had.
This hands-on experience is invaluable. It sheds light on parts of the process that might need adjustments.
Regularly reviewing and making changes based on this feedback ensures that your sales process stays relevant and efficient. It also means your business will stay up-to-date with the ever-changing industry landscape.
7. Document your sales team process
Your team’s processes should never live in someone’s head! They need to be clear, repeatable, and documented.
Start by mapping every stage of the sales funnel, from first touch to closed-won. Your team must know exactly what’s expected at each step.
Next, build out the tools that bring your process to life:
- Sales playbooks for step-by-step guidance.
- Discovery frameworks to dig deeper than surface-level pain points.
- Qualification criteria like BANT or MEDDICC to separate real opportunities from time-wasters.
Don’t stop there! Launch a sales enablement program:
Arm your reps with polished proposal templates and objection-handling guides so they’re never scrambling to create from scratch. The more resources you deliver, the more time they have to sell.
The bottom line:
A defined process keeps reps aligned, leaders informed, and deals moving.
8. Invest in sales coaching
Great sales teams aren’t just hired, they’re developed.
Ongoing coaching turns average reps into top performers and keeps your best players sharp. Start with regular 1:1s, deal reviews, and targeted skill coaching.
Supplement with sales training sessions, whether led internally by leaders and top reps or externally by expert trainers.
Focus on real-world skills: discovery, negotiation, storytelling, and objection handling. Short, high-impact workshops beat long, forgettable lectures every time.
Most importantly, build a culture of continuous feedback and peer learning. Encourage reps to share call recordings, wins, losses, and cold calling tips. Celebrate what works, dissect what doesn’t, and make learning a team sport.
When coaching is baked into the culture, your team never stops levelling up.
9. Leverage technology
Integrating the right tools can significantly improve a B2B team’s efficiency.
Why is technology so pivotal?
It drives your sales strategy, simplifies processes, improves communication, and provides insightful data.
This allows your team to adjust their pitches and better understand client needs, leading to more successful deals.
When should you invest in sales tech?
There isn’t a hard and fast answer to this.
The timing hinges on various considerations, including assessing your team’s growth phase and the evolving demands of your sales processes.
Use these tips to guide your decision-making:
- Complexity of sales processes: As sales processes become more intricate, the need for technology to manage and streamline these processes increases.
- Volume of customer data: A growing volume of customer data necessitates robust technology to collect and analyse this data effectively.
- Team expansion: As your team grows, B2B technology becomes crucial for maintaining smooth communication, collaboration, and overall efficiency.
- Changing market demands: As the market evolves, technology allows you to stay adaptable. Use it to remain competitive and quickly respond to changes.
What are the essential B2B sales tools?
We asked David to whittle down the essential tools for building a B2B sales team.
He told us:
“LinkedIn, an outreach tool and a data provider like Cognism are starting points. A laser focus on your CRM is critical; proper CRM data storage offers long-term benefits.”
Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail.
CRM
This system does more than just manage contacts. It records every interaction with customers, their preferences, and any feedback they give.
Regularly collecting this data through a CRM makes communication with prospects more personal and effective.
A key platform for building and maintaining relationships in the B2B space.
LinkedIn streamlines networking and provides useful insights for understanding and connecting with prospects.
Outreach tools
They’re essential for initiating and maintaining contact with potential clients. They automate and manage communication, helping sales teams to effectively connect with prospects, understand their needs, and tailor pitches.
This makes the engagement more personalised and increases the chances of winning over decision-makers.
Data providers
These tools are vital for ensuring you have accurate contact details, preventing wasted time and resources on incorrect information.
Data quality and accuracy are critical for efficient and effective outreach in the B2B market.
⚠️ Want to see a complete list of sales tools and platforms? Check out Cognism’s ultimate sales tech stack!
Building a B2B sales team: final thoughts
So there you have it; this ultimate guide has provided a comprehensive framework for how to build a B2B sales team primed for success.
We’ve explored various sales team structures, roles, and recruitment strategies. We’ve also discussed the significance of cultivating a positive team culture and the benefits of integrating essential tools.
Your next step?
Apply this wealth of knowledge in the real world and watch your B2B sales team soar to unprecedented heights!
And if you’re looking for more B2B insights? Click 👇 to access Cognism’s guide for sales managers!
