There is a pattern that repeats in many B2B companies with between 10 and 100 employees: the sales team works. They make calls, send emails, hold meetings. But the pipeline does not grow, deals are not closed consistently, and at the end of every quarter, the same conversation is repeated about why the target was not met.

The usual response is to hire more people, apply more pressure, or change the pitch. But the problem is rarely there. It lies in the structure of the sales force: in how roles are defined, whether or not a documented process exists, and what is being measured.

In this article, we analyze the 3 structural errors that most frequently destroy the sales force in B2B companies, what signs betray them, and how to resolve them before they continue costing business. Based on the experience of SalesDose accompanying more than 100 B2B sales teams.

What is the sales force in B2B

The sales force is the set of people, processes, tools, and methodology that a company uses to generate and close new business. It is not just the sales team. It is the entire system that converts market interest into customers.

In B2B, the sales force is usually made up of several roles with distinct functions: those who find and qualify new opportunities (SDRs or BDRs), those who manage the sales process and close (Account Executives), and those who develop and retain existing accounts (Account Managers). When these roles are not well defined or the same profiles do everything at once, efficiency suffers.

What roles make up the B2B sales force

Understanding the composition of the sales force is the starting point for identifying what is failing. Each role has a different function and requires distinct skills:

SDR or BDR: the prospecting role

The SDR (Sales Development Representative) or BDR (Business Development Representative) is the profile responsible for generating new opportunities through active prospecting. Their function is to identify target accounts, contact them, generate interest, and qualify if there is a fit before passing them to the closing team.

It is the first link in the sales force. If it does not work well, the pipeline dries up and the closing team has nothing to work with.

Account Executive: the closing role

The Account Executive (AE) manages the sales process from the first qualified meeting to the close. It is the profile that drives conversations, answers objections, builds the proposal, and takes the deal to signature. In a well-structured sales force, the AE does not prospect. Their time is too valuable to spend on pipeline generation activity.

Account Manager: the retention and expansion role

The Account Manager takes care of customers after the close. They manage the relationship, detect expansion opportunities, and prevent churn. In many B2B companies, this role does not formally exist and the AE does everything, with the consequent cost in time and focus for the sales force.

Error 1: not separating the prospecting and closing roles

The first error that destroys the sales force in B2B is asking the same profiles to do prospecting and closing at the same time. It is the all-in-one salesperson model: they find customers, call them, have the meeting, send the proposal, and close the deal.

The problem is that these two functions require different skills, different paces, and different mindsets. A good prospector is comfortable with rejection, disciplined with volumes, and has a funnel vision. A good closer is empathetic, strategic in deal management, and detail-oriented regarding the proposal.

When one person does both, they typically do one well and the other average. And depending on where the pipeline is at that point in the month, they will prioritize one over the other. The result is a sales force with peaks and valleys instead of a constant flow.

How to resolve it

The solution is to separate the roles. If the company does not have the budget to hire a dedicated SDR, it can consider an external sales force for prospecting: an external team of SDRs that feeds the pipeline while the internal team focuses on closing. For more details on this model, you can consult our sales strategy consulting page.

Error 2: not having a documented sales process

The second error is operating the sales force without a documented process. Each salesperson sells their own way, with their own pitch, their own cadence, and their own qualification criteria. When something works, it is hard to know why. When something fails, it is impossible to identify where.

A documented sales process defines what happens at each stage of the pipeline, what must occur for a deal to move to the next stage, what questions are asked in each meeting, and what criteria determine whether an opportunity is qualified or not.

Without that, the sales force is not scalable. When a salesperson leaves, they take the process with them. When a new one arrives, it takes months to find their rhythm because there is nothing to replicate.

How to resolve it

Documenting the process does not require months. It requires sitting down with the team, mapping out what actually happens from the first contact to the close, and transferring it to the CRM. For more details on how to structure the process, consult our B2B sales strategy guide.

Error 3: measuring activity instead of results

The third error that destroys the sales force is confusing activity with performance. Counting how many calls the team makes, how many emails they send, or how many meetings they book without connecting it to conversion is measuring effort, not results.

An SDR who makes 200 calls a week with a 0.5% conversion rate to a qualified meeting has a quality problem, not a quantity problem. If only call volume is measured, that problem is not visible. If the conversion rate is measured, it appears immediately.

The sales force that consistently improves is the one that measures performance by phase: how many calls generate a meeting, how many meetings generate a proposal, how many proposals close. These conversion rates are what allow you to identify where the bottleneck is and act with precision.

How to resolve it

The first step is to define the correct metrics per phase and configure them in the CRM. A good way to automate the sales force is to connect those metrics to real-time dashboards so that the sales director does not have to wait for the weekend manual report to know how the team is doing.

When to outsource part of the sales force

When the three previous errors are present and the internal team does not have the capacity to resolve them in time, outsourcing part of the sales force can be the fastest option to stabilize the pipeline while rebuilding the internal structure.

An external sales force for prospecting allows for separating roles without hiring, starting in weeks instead of months, and applying a documented process from day one. It is not a permanent solution, but it can be the bridge that prevents the pipeline from drying up while the final team is built.

To evaluate if this option makes sense in your case, consult our sales outsourcing page to find out how our process works and if it can adapt to your needs.

How SalesDose structures the sales force with its clients

At SalesDose, we work with the sales force as a system: defined roles, documented process, metrics connected to results, and tools configured so that the team has real-time visibility.

The process begins with a diagnosis of the current state: what roles exist, how their functions are defined, what process they follow, and what they are measuring. With this, we identify which of the three errors is most present and in what order they need to be resolved.

Then comes implementation: separation of roles if necessary, documentation of the process in the CRM, definition of metrics by phase, and, when it makes sense, incorporating an external sales force to accelerate prospecting while consolidating the internal team.

To automate the sales force and free up the team's time from repetitive tasks, we integrate automation tools within the complete sales process.

Frequently asked questions about B2B sales force

What is the sales force and what does it include?

The sales force is the entire system that a company uses to generate and close new business. It includes people (SDRs, AEs, Account Managers), the sales process, tools (CRM, automation), and tracking metrics. In B2B, a well-structured sales force has differentiated roles with clear functions and a documented process that can be replicated.

When does it make sense to have an external sales force?

An external sales force makes sense when the company needs to scale prospecting without assuming the costs and time of hiring its own team, when the pipeline is irregular and needs to be stabilized quickly, or when trying to test a new market without committing internal resources. For a company in a growth phase, it can be the bridge between the current state and the definitive team.

How to automate the sales force without losing the human touch?

Automating the sales force does not mean replacing conversations with robots. It means eliminating repetitive and low-value tasks so that the team can dedicate their time to what matters: quality conversations and deal management. Prospecting sequences, lead follow-up, and CRM updates are tasks where you can automate the sales force without losing the personalization that B2B requires.

How many SDRs does a B2B company need?

It depends on the volume of pipeline that the closing team can manage and the average deal size. As a reference, a well-trained SDR with a documented process can generate between 10 and 20 qualified meetings per month in medium-to-high ticket B2B. If the team needs more pipeline than one SDR can generate, it needs more. If the bottleneck is in closing and not in prospecting, adding SDRs does not solve the problem.

What is the difference between sales force and sales team?

The sales team refers to the people. The sales force also includes the process, the tools, and the metrics. A company can have a sales team without having a structured sales force: people selling without a common process, without an updated CRM, and without clear metrics. The difference between the two terms is the difference between having people selling and having a system that sells.

At SalesDose, we structure the sales force of B2B companies so that it has clear roles, a documented process, and metrics that allow for week-by-week improvement.

Do you want to diagnose what is failing in your sales force? Speak with our team at SalesDose →