Introduction
Tesla is a clean energy automotive company specializing in the manufacture of electric vehicles. Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning established the company in July 2003 in California, United States, and it has since then established its presence in several countries. Tesla’s establishment was motivated by the global climate crisis and the need to create clean and safe energy for sustainable development. The company’s vision is to create the most captivating car company by supplying the world with 21st-century electric cars. Its mission is to fasten the world’s transition to the use of electric vehicles for sustainable transport through mass marketing. The company opened its first headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, in 2017. Tesla faced stiff competition from other more established companies in Spain, like Toyota, requiring elaborate sales and marketing strategies to achieve a competitive advantage. This essay is a brief layout on how to organize the Sales team for more achievements.
Organizational Design
The organizational structure of a sales team is crucial for the success of the sales department (Chunawalla, 2021). A salesperson may perform well in a specific environment than the rest. A sales structure allows the sales team to optimize its operations by assigning the right persons to the areas that best suit them. For instance, a person who used to sell to a specific social group may encounter difficulties when taken to a different class of customers. The organizational design allows the sales director to assign the right salespersons to the corresponding target groups (Chunawalla, 2021). Also, specializing in a given area allows salespersons to excel as they learn more on the field and achieve better competency. The four main structures of a sales team may be based on the industry, customer or account size, product or service line, and geographical location or territory (Palyvoda et al., 2018).
For Tesla, Spain, some structures may not be applicable. The company deals in one line of products, electric vehicles. Therefore, all salespersons will be in the same service line. A geographical structure includes dividing salespersons according to regions. Different locations have specific needs and approaches. Specializing in a location allows salespersons to create an excellent long-term relationships with specific target groups (Palyvoda et al., 2018). Customer structure is based on the financial abilities and business size of potential customers. Different industries have specific needs; industry structure is based on the kind of businesses the target customers venture into. For Tesla, a geographic structure will be highly effective as it will allow salespersons to capitalize in their regions. The structure may be as shown in figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Geographic Structure for Tesla, Spain
Roles and Responsibilities
A good organizational structure should outline the responsibilities for each position to ensure smooth learning of the business. Defining responsibilities prevents overlapping and conflict among workers (Hartmann et al., 2020). In every structure, there must be persons to delegate duties, supervise, and others to receive orders. Roles refer to one’s position in the sales team, while responsibilities define what each individual should do for the success of the team. A successful sales team must have leaders, and each member should understand what is expected of them (Hartmann et al., 2020). Also, the team must have clear objectives that each member strives to achieve within specific timeframes. Constant training is essential to ensure the team is updated on market trends and new techniques in their area of work. There should be effective communication among all team members to ensure efficient performance.
For Tesla, the sales director is responsible for overseeing all operations in the department and representing the team in the board of directors (Hartmann et al., 2020). The sales director carries out market research and formulates sales strategies, action plans, and tactics to grow company sales and hit financial targets. The sales managers report to the sales director. They are in charge of hiring and training salespersons. They track sales performance for their teams in annual, quarterly, weekly, or any other period of choice. Sales managers generate reports for each salesperson to track their progress. Salespersons are the ones who carry out the actual marketing duties. Their responsibilities include identifying potential customers, approaching and persuading them to buy the company’s products (Hartmann et al., 2020).
Staffing and Hiring
Having the right personnel in a sales team is crucial for excellent performance. The staffing process includes advertising, interviewing, and hiring. The sales director is hired by a company’s senior management and is responsible for recruiting sales managers. A competent sales manager should have excellent leadership skills and substantial experience in the field (Leavy, 2022). A good sales manager should know what to look for when recruiting salespersons. They should possess commendable critical thinking and decision-making skills and should have experience in the management team. They should also have coaching skills to grow a reliable team and have a good record in previous work areas (Leavy, 2022). Sales managers should communicate effectively and possess leadership skills, including transparency, accountability, hard work, and a desire to achieve more. For the geographical structure, it will be most appropriate to hire sales managers who have prior experience in the regions they should serve. This will be beneficial as they will have a good understanding of the market. Salespersons should b based on their specific geographical locations. Being outgoing is an essential trait for salespersons. They should be confident, knowledgeable, and willing to learn. Consistent training will help nature the sales representatives. Salespersons should be good communicators, excellent listeners, and always prioritize customers’ needs.
Personnel Assessment
A productive sales team is defined by its achievements (Chunawalla, 2021). Each person should be assessed to identify the areas being underperformed. A sales director at Tesla will need to evaluate the performance of their team. However, it may be difficult to assess each member of the team. Consequently, assessment must be broken down into regions. The regional sales manager should be responsible for assessing each salesperson in their team. Assessment of salespersons is best done by tracking down the number of sales they accomplish within a specific period. Sales managers may develop weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for each salesperson. Representatives recording a continuous decrease in the number of sales should be summoned, and necessary actions should be taken. They may be retained on a probation basis, fired, or offered assistance where needed. Those with good progress should be recognized and rewarded accordingly. Regional managers will report to the sales director with overall sales for each territory. The sales director will evaluate geographical performance and give necessary recommendations, fire, and hire where necessary. Regular reporting and evaluation will enable the team to identify and work on their failures and shortcomings.
Sales Training Programs
There are constant changes that occur in each market. New technologies and needs arise each day. The sales team must constantly acquire knowledge and change their marketing tactics based on market demand (Slavković & Slavković, 2019). A sales director will need to coordinate with regional managers to conduct regular staff training programs. Training requires proper planning and financing and must be approved by the company’s management. The director should ensure that the company allocates necessary resources for such training. The regional managers should oversee the training programs in their respective areas (Slavković & Slavković, 2019). Sales managers may provide coaching to their salespersons or outsource professionals. The sales managers should understand their salespersons’ needs and hire the right trainers for specific areas. For instance, if the training is about fishing for new clients, the trainer should have excellent knowledge and achievement in this field. Also, training programs should help the salespersons acquire knowledge on Tesla vehicles, new advancements, and how that is beneficial. A knowledgeable salesperson with the right skills will easily convince customers to settle for the company’s products. Quarterly training may be practical for salespersons. Also, the managers may always share short insights with salespersons through posters or social media posts on a weekly basis.
Leadership Development
As a sales director, it is crucial to possess excellent leadership skills to effectively coordinate the department. There are various theories of leadership, including trait, great mind, contingency, behavioral, situational, relationship, management, and participative theories (Uslu, 2019). The great mind theory is based on the assumption that one is born a leader, while trait theory states that a person can inherit certain qualities that make them a good leader. Contingency theory is based on specific environmental aspects. It states that a given leadership style is only perfect for specific environments. The situational theory states that a leadership style is determined by the current situation. The behavioral theory states that a good leader emerges from training, not by birth. Participative theory recommends involvement in leadership style, while relationship theory recommends a good relationship between followers and their leader. A sales director at Tesla should adopt contingency, management, and relationship theories. Contingency theory will allow the manager to apply strategies relevant to each geographic area and establish a good relationship with subordinates. Management leadership is crucial as the director is also the manager of the sales team.
Conclusion
Tesla is a company that produces luxurious vehicles while conserving the environment, fulfilling the world climate objective of creating clean energy. Tesla needs elaborate sales to plan to attain a bigger market share in Spain, where it has operated since 2017. The geographical structure is the best organizational design for the sales team as it will allow the salespersons to focus on territories they are familiar with. The hiring plan should include advertising, interviewing, and recruiting suitable members for each position in the team. The sales manager is responsible for hiring and training the salespersons. Regular training and reminders should help the members achieve better results. A continuous evaluation of the salesperson should help identify underperformers and reward excellent workers. Quarterly training programs may help the team stay updated with the current market trends for better performance. The sales director should adopt management, contingency, and relationship leadership theories to achieve better results. The sales director should establish a strong functional sales team to attain more sales and retain customers in Spain.
References
Chunawalla, S. A. (2021). Sales Management. Himalaya Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. http://dspace.vnbrims.org:13000/jspui/bitstream/123456789/4905/1/SALES%20MANAGEMENT%20With%20Personal%20Selling%20and%20Salesmanship.pdf
Hartmann, N. N., Wieland, H., Vargo, S. L., & Ahearne, M. (2020). Advancing sales theory through a holistic view: how social structures frame selling. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 40(4), 221-226. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08853134.2020.1838916
Leavy, E. (2022). A study of the evolving needs of hiring managers in the business-to-business technology sales sector in Ireland (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin, National College of Ireland). https://norma.ncirl.ie/5805/
Palyvoda, O., Karpenko, O., Bondarenko, O., Bonyar, S., & Bikfalvi, A. (2018). Influence of network organizational structures on innovation activity of industrial enterprises. Problems and perspectives in management, (16, Iss. 3), 174-188. http://www.irbis-nbuv.gov.ua/cgi-bin/irbis_nbuv/cgiirbis_64.exe?C21COM=2&I21DBN=UJRN&P21DBN=UJRN&IMAGE_FILE_DOWNLOAD=1&Image_file_name=PDF/prperman_2018_16_3_16.pdf
Slavković, A., & Slavković, V. (2019). The importance of training in contemporary organizations. Hotel and Tourism Management, 7(2), 115-125. http://htmanagementvb.com/index.php/HITM/article/view/35
Uslu, O. (2019). A general overview to leadership theories from a critical perspective. Маркетинг і менеджмент інновацій, (1), 161-172. http://www.irbis-nbuv.gov.ua/cgi-bin/irbis_nbuv/cgiirbis_64.exe?C21COM=2&I21DBN=UJRN&P21DBN=UJRN&IMAGE_FILE_DOWNLOAD=1&Image_file_name=PDF/Mimi_2019_1_15.pdf
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