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Cases

Ohjelma
Bike Lease Finland

Bike Lease Finland

Leasing and maintenance of employee bicycles, digital services.

Ohjelma
Excelence Solutions

Excelence Solutions

Consulting and data analytics, expert services and consulting.

Ohjelma
Finnish Timber Oy

Finnish Timber Oy

Ecological log buildings and construction site processes, project business.

Ohjelma
Green Scape

Green Scape

Customized green wall services for B2B clients, service business.

Ohjelma
Marine Craft

Marine Craft

Customized motorboats, project delivery, manufacturing industry.

Ohjelma
Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian Design

Leasing and maintenance of company bicycles, digital services.

Task

Sales Organization Roles



In this task, the student designs a simple sales organization for a case company and defines its key roles and responsibilities. They examine how sales collaborates with other functions, such as marketing and customer service, and consider what skills salespeople need. The goal is to understand how sales should be organized in practice and what it requires from the people who work in sales.

Learning objectives

After completing the task, the student:
1. Can design a simple yet functional sales organization for the case company.
2. Understands how sales roles and responsibilities should be divided among different individuals.
3. Can describe the collaboration of sales with marketing, customer service, and other functions.
4. Identifies the key areas of expertise that salespeople need to succeed in their work.

Step by step

  1. Sales organization roles

    Objective:
    The objective of this assignment is for the student to design a simple sales organisation for the case company: the key roles, responsibilities and collaboration with other functions. In addition, the aim is to consider what skills and competences salespeople need to succeed.

    Material:

    • The selected case company’s case description from the learning material.

    • The assignment is based on the case description and moderate, logical assumptions about the company’s size, customer base and growth goals.

    Assignment process (instructions for the student):

    1. Describe briefly the sales need and customer base
      Write 5–8 sentences describing:

      • what the case company sells (products/services)

      • what kinds of customers it has (e.g. consumers, business customers, public sector)

      • what type of sales approach is typical (e.g. in-store sales, field sales, online sales, B2B solution selling).
        This serves as the background for designing the sales organisation.

    2. Define the key roles of the sales organisation
      Design 3–6 roles needed in the case company’s sales. Examples:

      • sales manager / head of sales

      • account manager / key account manager

      • new business salesperson / prospector

      • customer service representative or inside sales supporting sales.
        Write a short description (3–5 sentences) for each role: what the role does, what it is responsible for, and who it reports to.

    3. Describe the responsibilities and division of work
      Prepare about ½ page explaining how sales work is divided across roles:

      • who is responsible for sales targets and reporting

      • who handles new customer acquisition and who manages existing customers

      • how customers are allocated among salespeople (e.g. by region, industry, company size).
        Emphasise how to ensure that multiple people do not “own” the same customers ambiguously.

    4. Plan the collaboration with other functions
      Describe in about ½ page how sales works together with, for example:

      • marketing (leads, campaigns, materials)

      • customer service (feedback, complaints, upselling)

      • production/experts (solution design, proposal content).
        Explain what kinds of practical interactions are needed (e.g. weekly meetings, joint customer meetings, shared tools or systems).

    5. Consider the skills and competences needed
      List 5–8 key competence areas that the case company’s salespeople particularly need, for example:

      • understanding the content and value of the product or service

      • identifying customer needs and active listening

      • negotiation and closing skills

      • ability to use sales tools and systems (e.g. CRM)

      • collaboration skills and the ability to work with other functions.
        Briefly explain why each competence is important for this case company.

    6. Prepare a concise “organisation proposal” for the management
      Write a final 5–7 sentence summary suitable for presenting to the case company’s management:

      • what kind of sales organisation you propose (roles and core responsibilities)

      • how collaboration with other functions is arranged

      • what competence development should be prioritised for the sales team.

    Submission and evaluation:
    Submit a text of approximately 1–2 pages showing:

    • a background description of the case company’s sales and customers

    • the proposed sales organisation roles and their main responsibilities

    • a description of the practical division of responsibilities and work

    • a plan for collaboration between sales and other functions

    • an analysis of the sales competences needed and justification

    • a concise organisation proposal for management.

    Evaluation will focus on how well you:

    • design roles and responsibilities appropriate to the case company’s situation

    • take into account collaboration with marketing, customer service and other functions

    • identify key competence areas for the sales team

    • write clearly, logically and with justification.

    Recommended working time: about 45–60 minutes, individually or in pairs.

Tasks by audience and theme

University of applied sciences

Polytechnics and higher education studies.

68 tasks