A sales department is the system that turns the leads marketing brings in into contracts: people, CRM, scripts and KPIs. Without it, even the best advertising is just money set on fire.
In most of the projects that come to us, the problem is not the ads but the process after the lead. The lead comes in, gets a late call, hears the price over the phone, and that is the end of it.
In short:
- Roles: operator, sales manager, head of sales.
- Tools: CRM, IP telephony, scripts.
- Measurement: conversion at every stage and KPIs.
- Reporting: marketing and sales in one table.
What roles make up a sales department?
In a small B2B company, three roles are enough.
The operator calls every lead on the day of the request, picks out the MQLs and books meetings. The operator does not sell.
The sales manager or founder identifies the problem at the meeting, gives the price range and prepares the commercial proposal. At DeepVision the founder ran the B2B meetings personally, and on a big deal this builds trust.
The head of sales tracks the numbers, updates the script and exchanges a weekly report with marketing.
What tools do you need?
The minimum set: CRM, IP telephony and recorded calls. Without a CRM you cannot see at which stage leads are lost. And call recordings are the best material for improving the script.
In the Hilol Meat case, within 2 months we set up a CRM/ERP, IP telephony, a sales team with KPIs and work with influencers. The result: B2B contracts with 80+ stores.
How do you write a script?
A script is not text to read word for word, it is the direction of the conversation. In B2B it has four parts:
- Greeting and a reminder of the request.
- 3–4 questions: current situation, problem, decision timeline.
- An offer of a free audit or a meeting.
- Agreeing on an exact time and place.
If they ask for the price: "The price depends on your situation, we will give the exact figure at the meeting." More here: B2B call script.
How do you set KPIs?
A KPI is a measurable result for each role. For the operator: number of calls and the share of calls that end in a booked meeting. For the manager: the share moving from meeting to commercial proposal (KP) and from KP to contract.
In the VISAINFO case, a sales team of 14 managers working with KPIs reached 400 sales a month, and in about 4 months sales passed 3 billion soums. A team managed by numbers grows on its own.
Where do most people go wrong?
The first mistake is turning on ads before the sales department is ready. Leads come in and there is nobody to answer.
The second mistake is the idea that "if we find a good salesperson, everything will be solved." The right way is a system: if one salesperson leaves, the process keeps working.
The third mistake is marketing and sales living separately. Without a shared weekly report, the two teams blame each other.
Conclusion
In short, the sales department is half of the marketing result.
- Separate the operator and salesperson roles.
- Connect CRM and IP telephony from day one.
- Update the script based on call recordings.
- Set a KPI for every role.
- Exchange a weekly report with marketing.
Let's review your sales system together: book a consultation.
About the author. Safarmurod Abduroziqov is the founder and CEO of AURA Digital: 6 years in marketing, 50+ IT projects, ~$1M in managed ad budget. Telegram · LinkedIn
Frequently asked questions
When should you build a sales department?
Before turning on ads. If nobody answers leads and holds meetings, the ad budget goes to waste.
How many salespeople does a small company need?
To start, one operator and one sales manager (or the founder) are enough. As lead flow grows, expand based on KPIs.
What KPIs should a sales manager have?
The share moving from meeting to KP and from KP to contract, and monthly sales volume. For the operator: number of calls and the share of calls that end in a booked meeting.
Can a marketing agency build a sales department?
Yes, in many projects we build the sales process too. At Hilol Meat, a CRM, telephony and a team with KPIs were set up in 2 months.