You have to think about how you structure your team in this new environment, because things will likely need to change—and they should.
Here are five key considerations to keep in mind:
The first question to ask is whether you need to hire more salespeople or can you reconfigure the existing team. Don’t just assume you need to bring in a bunch of new hires—take a step back and evaluate what roles you truly need to support your expansion.
Do you need SDRs (Sales Development Representatives) to fill your pipeline? Or is the bigger issue having more AEs (Account Executives) to service new territories or a larger client base? Maybe you need both—but how many of each?
Expansion is the perfect time to look at your current team’s skills and gaps. You want to think about how to continue bringing in new clients while still taking care of your existing customers.
Don't just throw people at the problem—figure out where the gaps are and fill them with the right roles.
The second big consideration is geography—are you entering new territories or expanding deeper into existing ones? Each comes with its own set of challenges.
If you're entering a new territory, make sure you understand the market requirements:
* Are customer needs in this new territory the same as in your existing ones?
* Does your product meet the needs of the new market's Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
* Do you have a strong product-market fit (PMF) for this new area?
This is where a go-to-market (GTM) analysis can help you decide what resources you need, whether that’s extra sales staff, support teams, or marketing efforts.
On the other hand, if you're adding salespeople to an existing market—say you’re dividing the U.S. into eight regions instead of four—you’ve got to plan extensively.
Each territory should offer your salespeople the same level of opportunity, such as a balanced mix of large and small clients.
As your team expands, you’re not just adding new people—you’re adding new layers of complexity. This means your management structure has to be reviewed as well.
Good sales managers do more than just chase pipeline reports. They train, coach, and drive their teams to continuous improvement.
But there’s only so much bandwidth they have. Overloading your sales management transforms them into administrative staff, chasing pipeline reports and running sales meetings, while rendering them unable to add value through proactive coaching and 1:1 mentoring.
Culture might seem like a strange thing to think about when you're in the middle of expanding your sales team, but trust me—it’s important.
Whether it’s a focus on collaboration, work-life balance, or customer-centric values, make sure those elements don’t get diluted as you grow your team. As your team does expand —especially into new regions or countries — maintaining company culture is essential. After all, it has been an instrumental part of your success thus far.
Maintaining your unique way of working, both internally and externally, must be maintained as you bring on staff, expand into new territories or open offices overseas.
Salespeople thrive on commissions and earning potential. As your team grows, two things need to be considered when it comes to compensation:
If your compensation plan doesn’t reward behaviors that align with your growth strategy, it risks not getting the results you want. Your compensation plan must reflect the evolving priorities of the business.
As you add products and enter new markets, the comp structure has to encourage the right behavior to meet those goals.
One last point—don’t expand your sales team until your current salespeople are maxed out and performing at a high level.
If you’ve got a team of four, and only one person is performing well while the other three are just average (or worse), you’re better off fixing the current team before expanding. Get everyone operating at peak efficiency before you bring in more people—otherwise, you’re just adding complexity to a problem that hasn’t been solved yet.
Expanding your sales team is a big move, whether it’s through mergers, acquisitions, entering new markets, or just growing your existing team. Each situation comes with its own challenges, and it’s important to carefully consider the roles, territories, management structure, culture, and compensation.
In times like these, it can be invaluable to have a seasoned Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) guiding the process. At Atomic Revenue, we provide fractional executives to help you through these kinds of challenges.
As I always say, “It helps to have at least one person in the room who’s been there and done it before.”