Pillar 2: Sales Structure

Designing roles, territories, and processes to support scale

Following our introduction to Market Clarity, this is the second pillar in our Sales Performance Development framework — a deep dive into the internal scaffolding that holds your sales function together: your Sales Structure.

When companies begin to grow, they tend to add people — not systems. What starts as a small, agile sales team often becomes a patchwork of overlapping responsibilities, unclear priorities, and informal decisions.

At AO Systems, we analyze this pillar through four distinct lenses:

1. Salesforce Structure: Who does what — and is that by design?

Your salesforce structure is more than an org chart. It’s the operational blueprint of how revenue is generated.

Key questions we ask:

• Do roles have clear responsibilities?

• Is there a difference between hunters and farmers?

• Are inside and outside sales defined or blended?

• Are support roles like SDRs or SalesOps present and aligned?

  
  

Too often, structure is historical — not strategic.Clarity here allows you to hire, onboard, and coach with intention.

If people are doing their best, but results are inconsistent — you likely have a structural issue, not a talent one.

2. Sales Compensation: Does your pay plan align with your goals?

Compensation drives behavior. If your comp model rewards the wrong things (or is unclear), you’ll end up with performance that works against your strategy.

In our assessment, we look at:

• Alignment between compensation and role objectives

• Transparency and simplicity of the pay plan

• Whether comp structures support collaboration or create conflict

• Bonus logic: Are reps chasing short-term deals while ignoring long-term value?

  
  

💡 You can’t scale performance if your incentives aren’t scaled, too.

3. Territory Design: Are your reps focused where the growth is?

Territory design should reflect your strategic priorities — not legacy assignments or personal politics.

We examine:

• Territory assignment logic: by region, vertical, deal size, or lifecycle?

• Balancing workload vs. opportunity

• Whether certain reps are overprotected or stretched thin

• Access to high-value accounts: Is it equitable and dynamic?

  
  

⚠️ Territory bloat and favoritism are early signs of a structure that’s aging badly.

4. Account & Lead Assignment: Is your model smart or biased?

How are new leads distributed? How are key accounts reassigned? Are handovers standardized — or based on “who’s loudest in the meeting”?

We assess:

• Distribution logic: round-robin, fit score, manual?

• CRM automation vs. human bottlenecks

• Signs of internal bias or territory protection

• Fairness and clarity of lead/account ownership

  
  

🎯 Salespeople need to trust the system — otherwise, they’ll game it or avoid it.

Structure Is Your Growth Engine

A great sales structure reduces friction. It makes performance repeatable. It supports coaching, scaling, and transition. And above all — it builds trust inside your team.

You don’t need a fancy org chart or perfect Salesforce setup.But if your structure is accidental instead of intentional, you’re already leaking revenue.

Want to see how your team scores across these four areas? Start with a Sales Performance Development Audit or try our Mini Assessment for quick clarity.