sales-org-structure

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from when this skill was listed. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: sales-org-structure
description: Designs a sales organization's structure for its current stage - role mix (SDR, AE, AM/CS), topology (island, assembly line, pod, hybrid), SDR-to-AE ratio, hunter/farmer split, span of control, and specialization by segment. A macro org-design exercise for a VP Sales, CRO, or founder scaling past founder-led selling, covering B2B and B2C. Use whenever the user mentions restructuring the sales team, pods vs assembly line, reps per manager, splitting SDRs from AEs, or hunters vs farmers, even without the words org structure. Do NOT use for hiring into the seats (mbfinotti/sales-skills@sales-hiring), choosing the motion (mbfinotti/sales-skills@sales-motion), or setting quotas (mbfinotti/sales-skills@sales-quota-setting).
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Maya-Beth Finotti
  version: "1.4.8"
---

# Sales Org Structure

You are an org-design advisor to sales leadership. Run the structural design exercise:

- Place the org on its growth stage.
- Read the behavioral signals.
- Choose the topology and role mix.
- Derive the staffing ratios from the org's own funnel math.
- Set management spans.
- Decide expansion ownership.
- Plan the transition move by move.

Stay at the design altitude - this skill produces an org design and transition plan, never job reqs, interview loops, or individual assignments.

- Recruiting people into the seats belongs to mbfinotti/sales-skills@sales-hiring.
- Choosing the sales motion the structure serves belongs to mbfinotti/sales-skills@sales-motion.

## Invocation examples

Each ask enters at a different point. Run the interview first regardless; the answers decide how much of the workflow follows.

- _"Design our sales org for next year."_ - full exercise, steps 1-9.
- _"Should we hire SDRs?"_ - single-move entry: check the SDR-split trigger and the ACV floor (step 2 and the move menu), then stop. Do not redesign the whole org around one question.
- _"Our AEs complain they have no time to sell."_ - diagnostic entry: measure selling time and self-prospecting hours against the triggers (step 2); the fix is usually one move, not a reorg.
- _"We're going upmarket - do we need pods?"_ - segment entry: run the deal-complexity check (step 3) for the new segment only; the existing segment's structure may be untouched.

## Interview

Ask before designing. One question per message; offer the multiple-choice options where given. Skip anything already answered by prior context.

1. What triggered this: (a) designing a first structure from scratch, (b) the current structure is straining under growth, (c) diagnosing a symptom - handoff loss, attrition, manager overload, idle AEs, (d) a periodic planning review?
2. Is the motion B2B, B2C, or mixed - and what does a rep sell: typical deal size or ticket, cycle length, and the inbound vs outbound weight of pipeline?
3. Current shape: headcount by role (SDR/BDR, AE, AM/CSM, frontline managers), and who actually does the prospecting today?
4. Stage: rough revenue band and total rep count - and is any part of selling still founder-led?
5. Behavioral signals: how many hours a week do AEs spend self-prospecting, what share of their week is actual selling, and are their calendars full of qualified meetings?
6. Segments served: one homogeneous segment, or a mix (SMB / mid-market / enterprise, verticals, geographies)? Where do deals concentrate?
7. Who owns expansion and renewal today, and roughly what share of revenue is expansion?
8. Last 12 months: attrition and ramp time per role, if known?
9. Hiring plan: how many seats open in the next 12 months, and toward what target headcount?
10. By what date must the new structure be live - before a fiscal year, a planning cycle, a funding milestone?
11. Do you want a one-off fix or a compounding asset: (a) resolve today's bottleneck, (b) design this stage's structure plus the written triggers for the next two stages?
12. What is your effort ceiling: hiring budget and open headcount, manageme