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

The standard response is to hire more people, put on more pressure, or change the pitch. However, the problem is rarely there. It lies in the structure of the sales force: in how roles are defined, whether a documented process exists, and what metrics are being tracked.

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

What is the sales force in B2B

The sales force is the combination 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 complete system that converts market interest into customers.

In B2B, the sales force is usually composed of several roles with distinct functions: those who prospective 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.

For more context on the specific roles within the sales force, consult our guide on what is an SDR in sales and our guide on the Account Executive.

Which 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 outbound activity. Their role is to identify target accounts, contact them, generate interest, and qualify if there is a fit before passing them to the closing team.

This is the first link in the sales force chain. 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 through to completion. This is the profile that drives conversations, addresses objections, builds proposals, and takes the deal to signing. 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 handles clients after closing. They manage the relationship, identify expansion opportunities, and prevent churn. In many B2B companies, this role does not formally exist and the AE does everything, resulting in a cost in time and focus for the sales force.

Error 1: failing to separate prospecting and closing roles

The first mistake that destroys the sales force in B2B is asking the same profiles to perform both prospecting and closing at the same time. This is the all-in-one sales rep model: they find clients, call them, hold the meeting, send the proposal, and close the deal.

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

When one person does both, it is normal for them to do one well and the other average. And depending on where the pipeline stands at any point in the month, they will prioritize one over the other. The result is a sales force with peaks and valleys instead of a steady 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 outbound: an external SDR team that feeds the pipeline while the internal team focuses on closing. For more details on this model, consult our guide on sales outsourcing.

Error 2: not having a documented sales process

The second mistake is operating the sales force without a documented process. Each sales representative sells in their own way, using 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 in each phase of the pipeline, what needs to occur for a deal to move to the next phase, what questions are asked in each meeting, and what criteria determine whether an opportunity is qualified or not.

Without this, 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 first contact to close, and transferring it to the CRM. For more details on how to structure the process, consult our guide on B2B sales strategy.

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 linking it to conversion is measuring effort, not results.

An SDR who makes 200 calls a week with a 0.5% conversion rate to qualified meetings has a quality problem, not a quantity problem. If you only measure call volume, that problem goes unnoticed. If you measure the conversion rate, 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 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 for each phase and configure them in the CRM. A great way to automate your sales force is to connect these metrics to real-time dashboards so that the sales director does not have to wait for manual weekend reporting to see how the team is performing.

For more details on which indicators to use, consult our guide on sales KPIs.

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 the internal structure is being rebuilt.

An external sales force for outbound allows you to separate roles without hiring, launch in weeks instead of months, and apply a documented process from day one. It is not a permanent solution, but it can serve as a bridge to prevent the pipeline from drying up while the ultimate team is built.

To assess whether this option makes sense in your case, consult our guide on outsourcing sales.

How SalesDose structures the sales force for its clients

At SalesDose, we approach the sales force as a system: defined roles, documented processes, metrics connected to results, and tools configured to give the team 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 prominent and in what order they need to be resolved.

Then comes the implementation: separating roles if necessary, documenting the process in the CRM, defining metrics by phase, and, where appropriate, introducing an external sales force to accelerate outbound 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.

Find more details on our B2B Sales Consulting page and on our Customer Acquisition Systems page.

Frequently asked questions about B2B sales force

What is the sales force and what does it include?

The sales force is the complete system a company uses to generate and close new business. It includes the people (SDRs, AEs, Account Managers), the sales process, the tools (CRM, automation), and the tracking metrics. In B2B, a well-structured sales force has distinct 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 a company needs to scale outbound without absorbing the costs and times of hiring an in-house team, when the pipeline is irregular and needs to be stabilized quickly, or when testing a new market without committing internal resources. For a company in a growth phase, it can bridge the gap between the current state and the ultimate team.

How do you automate the sales force without losing the human touch?

Automating the sales force does not mean replacing conversations with robots. It means eliminating repetitive, low-value tasks so the team can spend their time on what matters: quality conversations and deal management. Outbound sequences, lead follow-ups, and CRM updates are tasks that 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 the pipeline that the closing team can manage and the average deal size. As a benchmark, 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 requires more pipeline than one SDR can generate, you need more. If the bottleneck is in closing rather than prospecting, adding SDRs will not resolve 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, tools, and metrics. A company can have a sales team without having a structured sales force: individuals 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 to ensure clear roles, a documented process, and metrics that allow for week-over-week improvement.

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