The Evolution of the Strategic Sales Organization

An important change which has occurred during the last decade in many sales organizations is a shift away from a tactical focus to a strategic emphasis. This article examines these imperatives and their implications. It details how sales organizations are becoming more involved in business and marketing strategies, and concludes that the emergence of the strategic sales organization can be explained by several factors: changing customer relationship requirements; change in sales task; and the importance of strategic sales capabilities to cope with complexity, growing customer sophistication,...

An important change which has occurred during the last decade in many sales organizations is a shift away from a tactical focus to a strategic emphasis. This article examines these imperatives and their implications. It details how sales organizations are becoming more involved in business and marketing strategies, and concludes that the emergence of the strategic sales organization can be explained by several factors: changing customer relationship requirements; change in sales task; and the importance of strategic sales capabilities to cope with complexity, growing customer sophistication, commoditization pressures, and the need for radically different selling approaches. This article discusses the characteristics of the strategic sales organization in terms of the factors significant in developing a new sales domain and those exercising a broader shaping influence on how a strategic sales organization will function.