Two Lines, One Sales Force
A Guwahati-based company sells two lines: diesel and electric irrigation pumps (unit price ₹8,000-25,000, highly seasonal, sold through 210 dealers) and solar pump controllers and panels (₹1.2-4 lakh, sold to dealers and contractors, project-based). Twelve representatives cover Assam and parts of Meghalaya. Five sell only pumps, three sell only solar, and four sell both. Field reports show 40% of dealer calls are duplicated, dealers complain of 'two company people with two price lists', and solar reps lack the pump knowledge needed for cross-selling. One assistant sales manager supervises all 12; cost-to-sales is 9.4% against a target of 7%. Sales are ₹9.6 crore; solar is 22% of sales but 41% of gross margin. Management wants solar at 35% of sales within 18 months without adding more than two people.
1. Evaluate three structural options - pure product specialisation, pure territory, and a hybrid - and recommend one with reasons.
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Judge each option on four criteria: cost of coverage, technical selling capability, dealer relationship clarity and accountability for margin. Pure product specialisation gives solar the technical depth it needs but doubles dealer contact and makes each rep a stranger to half the dealer's business. Pure territory is cheapest and fixes duplication, but four reps cannot credibly sell ₹4 lakh solar controllers alongside pumps, so solar growth stalls. The hybrid fits best: every dealer has one territory owner accountable for the relationship and the pump line, while two or three solar specialists support high-potential dealers and contractors on specifications, subsidy paperwork and system sizing. Set written rules of engagement: one face to the dealer, specialist called in by the territory owner, shared credit split (for example 60:40) so nobody blocks the other, and a single price list. Solar's 41% margin share justifies the specialist cost.
2. Recommend the span of control and reporting structure after the two new hires, explaining where they should be deployed.
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One assistant sales manager for 12 reps across two very different product lines is too wide; six to seven is a workable span for a technical, dispersed team. With 14 people after the two hires, create three teams of four to five under three assistant managers - for example, Upper Assam, Lower Assam, and a solar projects team - or two territory managers plus one solar manager. The two new hires should be solar specialists in the districts with the highest contractor and dealer potential, not general reps, because solar is where the margin growth is. Keep the territory owner accountable for the dealer's total business and pump targets; make the specialist accountable for solar specification wins and technical conversion. Publish an escalation path for account disputes. Test the added cost against the ₹9.6 crore base: two hires plus one manager should not push cost-to-sales above 8.5% in year one.
3. What transition risks and KPIs should management watch in the first six months?
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Transition risks: dealers exploit confusion to play one rep against another on price; duplication persists if the rules of engagement stay informal; pump reps feel demoted; solar specialists get pulled into routine service calls; and the new hires take six to nine months to become productive. Mitigate with a written account charter, a single dealer-facing price and scheme sheet, a 90-day parallel run in which the territory owner introduces the specialist personally, and a dispute forum at assistant manager level. KPIs: unique dealer calls per month, duplicate-call percentage, solar share of sales, cross-sell conversion, cost-to-sales, dealer satisfaction and rep attrition. Review at 90 and 180 days. If solar share has not moved two points by month six, the specialist model is not being used and the rules of engagement, not the structure, need fixing.