HBR's 10 Must Reads on Sales (with bonus interview of Andris Zoltners) (HBR's 10 Must Reads)

Match Your Sales Force Structure to Your Business Life Cycle

by Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha, and Sally E. Lorimer

SMART BICYCLE-RACING TEAMS MATCH their strategies to the stages of a race in order to win. In the flat stretches, team members take turns riding in front because it’s easier for the team leader to pedal when someone ahead is cutting the wind. In the mountains, some riders make the task easier for the leader by setting the pace and by choosing the best line of ascent. In the time trials, a few team members maintain steady speeds over long distances to lower the team’s average finishing time. Talent always matters, but in most races, the way teams deploy talent over time, in different formations in different contexts, makes ...