How Sales Operations Strategy Transformed Struggling Sales Team into Top Performers

In the competitive landscape of B2B global sales, inefficient sales teams and the lack of support for account managers can significantly hinder business growth. Industry data shows that the average account manager spends only about 28% of their time actually selling, with the rest consumed by manual data entry, scheduling, and other non-revenue-generating activities.

Without a structured sales strategy and effective sales operations, companies often face lower win rates, longer sales cycles, and reduced productivity. Companies with a well-defined sales operations department enjoy 20% to 30% growth in sales productivity.

In this article I will describe the most common pain point of lacking an effective sales operation. You will get a proven concept to implement a sales operation in your sales process. Furthermore, a case study at the end will give you insights of a real organization.

Challenges of ineffective Sales Support

1. Navigating Technological Advancements

Sales teams often struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving sales technologies and tools. Integrating new systems, as CRM and Marketing automation, ensuring compatibility, and providing adequate training are ongoing challenges that can hinder productivity and adoption.

2. Operational Inefficiencies and Process Challenges

Inefficient internal processes, manual tasks, and data silos lead to lost productivity and errors. Sales reps frequently spend excessive time on administrative work instead of selling, and outdated or fragmented systems further intensify these issues.

3. Support and Enablement Gaps

Lack of adequate support, onboarding, and training leaves sales teams incapable to use tools or address customer needs effectively. Insufficient internal support can result in not matching the customer needs, non-competitive offers to customers, poor value propositions and difficulty in accessing help when needed.

4. Collaboration and Communication Breakdowns

Poor alignment and communication between sales and other departments (such as marketing or customer support) create information silos, inconsistent messaging, and missed opportunities. Difficulty connecting with the right internal resources can delay responses and weaken sales efforts.

5. Relationship Management and Customer Focus

Building and maintaining strong customer relationships is essential but increasingly difficult amid long sales cycles and intense competition. Sales teams need better internal support to personalize outreach, understand customer pain points, and deliver value throughout the buyer journey.

Sales Operations Playbook for B2B Environment

Companies which have implemented and maintain an effective support for the sales teams recognized a one-time improvement of 20-30% higher sales productivity and a sustained annual increase of 5-10%.

Implementing a sales operations function in an organization acting in a B2B environment requires a structured, phased approach. Below is a practical playbook based on industry best practices and tailored to the business context:

1. Define and Document Sales Processes

• Map out your end-to-end sales workflow, from lead generation to post-sale support, ensuring alignment with how your customers buy industrial equipment.

• Identify bottlenecks and pain points unique to your manufacturing sales cycle (e.g., complex quoting, technical demos, long lead times).

• Standardize processes for quoting, order management, and customer handoff, integrating with existing systems like CRM and product configurators.

2. Set Clear Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Establish measurable objectives for the sales operations team, derived from the company’s strategy, such as increasing win rates, reducing sales cycle length, or improving forecast accuracy.

• Define KPIs for both Account Managers and the Sales Ops team (e.g., lead response time, quote turnaround, conversion rates, pipeline health).

• Use KPIs to monitor performance, identify measures, and drive continuous improvement.

3. Build the Sales Operations Team and Structure

• Start with a cross-functional team that includes sales, marketing, order processing, and operations to ensure broad buy-in and diverse perspectives.

• Assign clear roles for CRM, process optimization, technology integration, and sales enablement.

• Decide on a centralized or decentralized structure based on company size and complexity; smaller firms may benefit from a lean, multi-skilled team, while larger organizations may need specialized roles.

  
  

4. Integrate and Optimize Technology

• Audit your current tech stack (CRM, quoting tools, ERP, etc.) and identify gaps or interface issues

• Implement or upgrade to integrated platforms that streamline data flow and reporting-CRMs, sales enablement tools, and product configurators are essential for equipment manufacturers.

• Automate repetitive tasks (e.g., quote generation, follow-up reminders) to free up Account Managers for higher-value activities.

  
  

5. Enablement, Training, and Continuous Improvement

• Develop a sales operations playbook that documents all processes, tools, and best practices-this should be concise, actionable, and regularly updated.

• Create enablement materials tailored to complex equipment sales (e.g., technical product guides, value calculator, objection handling scripts, demo systems).

• Provide ongoing training and coaching, using real sales data to reinforce best practices and adapt to market changes.

• Foster a feedback loop with Account Managers and other stakeholders to refine processes and tools over time.

  
  

6. Foster Cross-Departmental Collaboration

• Align sales operations with marketing, product, and customer support to ensure unified messaging and seamless customer experience.

• Hold regular cross-functional meetings to review performance, share insights, and adjust strategies as needed.

  
  

7. Data-Driven Decision Making

• Ensure data governance and maintain high sales data quality for accurate forecasting and reporting.

• Use analytics to identify trends, maintain healthy sales pipeline, and guide strategic decisions (e.g., which markets or products to prioritize).

Sales Operation Playbook

Case Study: Sales Operations for Project Business

A major process automation company faced challenges with an underperforming sales team and not meeting the benchmark for customer-facing time. An assessment revealed that the sales team had complex tasks to fulfill, such as lead generation, managing internal stakeholders, creating proposals, demonstrating solutions, and clarifying delivery topics with project teams, factory, and order processing.

To address these issues, a new sales process with an integrated sales operations concept was developed in collaboration with the Sales Directors. This included dedicated positions that formed a supporting team, allowing Account Managers to focus on direct customer interaction along the customer journey. The new sales process followed the customer journey, and tasks for the newly formed Sales Operations were described. The assessment identified profiles of each Sales team member, fitting them into the new sales process. The Sales Operations organization included three sub-teams: Sales Consultancy, Proposals, and Sales Tools & Analysis.

The results were significant: Account Managers' customer-facing time increased threefold, processing time from RfQ (Request for Quotation) to bid submission was reduced by 35%, and the customer deadline for bid submission was ensured, which was previously met only 60% of the time. Dedicated Sales Consultants created an up-selling business of 15%, transitioning from a product-driven sales approach to a solution-selling approach. Employee satisfaction increased, and collaboration with supporting teams improved.

This case study highlights how a structured sales operations approach can transform sales productivity and drive substantial growth in a B2B environment.

Conclusion: Increased Performance by Sales Operations

In summary, implementing a structured sales operations can significantly transform the performance of B2B sales teams. By addressing inefficiencies, streamlining processes, and providing comprehensive support, companies can achieve higher win rates, shorter sales cycles, increased productivity, and improved revenue growth. The case study of the process automation company demonstrates the tangible benefits of sales operations, including increased customer-facing time, reduced processing time, and enhanced employee satisfaction. Managers in global sales must prioritize sales operations initiatives to drive sustainable growth and achieve sales excellence.

For companies embarking on this challenging journey, the support of an Interim Manager, an expert in sales, is invaluable. Such a professional provides the strategic guidance and hands-on expertise necessary to align local sales teams, including those in overseas region, with the new solution-selling paradigm, ensuring a smooth and successful transition toward sustainable growth.

Want to learn more? Reach out to discuss tailored plans to integrate in your organization a sales operations concept. Let’s make the change together.