The Ultimate Guide for Sales Development

In the fast-moving world of sales, where market conditions change rapidly, having a solid strategy isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential. The McKinsey 7S model offers a proven framework to ensure your sales strategy aligns perfectly with every other part of your business. This article will break down the 7S model and explore how it can directly benefit your sales development, while offering real-world examples to show how to use it effectively.

What is the McKinsey 7S Model?

The McKinsey 7S model is a framework developed by consultants at McKinsey & Company in the late 1970s to help organizations achieve alignment and improve performance. The model highlights seven key areas (or “S’s”) that need to be aligned for success:

Strategy
Structure
Systems
Shared Values
Style
Staff
Skills

In simple terms, the model is like a recipe where each ingredient needs to work in harmony. If one part of your sales strategy isn’t aligned with the others, it could derail your efforts.

Breaking Down the 7 S’s

Let's dig into how each of the 7 elements applies to sales development.

1. Strategy

Your sales strategy is the overall plan for achieving your sales goals. It includes your target market, sales methods, and positioning. A good strategy should align with your broader business objectives.

Example:

Imagine a B2B tech company selling cloud software. Their sales strategy is focused on growing their client base through personalized demos and offering a freemium model to drive interest.

If the company doesn’t align this strategy with its marketing, pricing, or product development efforts, it might lose deals to competitors who have a clearer vision.

2. Structure

Structure refers to how your sales team is organized. Do you have dedicated teams for lead generation, account management, and customer success? Or is it one team handling everything?

Example:

A company trying to increase enterprise-level sales may find its current structure too flat. As a result, they decide to build a new sales team dedicated solely to enterprise clients while their existing team continues to focus on SMBs. By structuring their team more effectively, they can provide better service to each market segment and ultimately drive more growth.

3. Systems

Systems are the processes and technology you use to drive sales. This includes your CRM, lead management tools, performance metrics, and sales training programs.

Example:

Let’s say your sales reps aren’t following up with leads fast enough, and the competition snatches them. The issue could be a lack of systems in place—your CRM might not be flagging hot leads, or there could be a delay in processing customer inquiries. By implementing a more robust sales system, like automated lead scoring, you ensure reps focus on the highest-value prospects immediately.

4. Shared Values

Shared values are the core beliefs and cultural principles that guide your organization. These values help shape the behavior and decisions of your sales team.

Example:

A SaaS company values customer-centricity, so its sales team isn’t just focused on making the sale—they’re trained to build long-term relationships with clients, ensuring they understand the product’s value over time. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and, ultimately, more renewals and upsells.

5. Style

Style refers to the leadership style within your sales organization. Are your sales leaders directive, collaborative, or hands-off?

Example:

In a company with a hands-on leadership style, the sales managers are deeply involved in deals, helping to close high-value clients. However, for a sales team driven by autonomy, this approach could feel micromanaging and could demotivate high performers. Aligning leadership style with your salespeople’s preferences can boost morale and productivity.

6. Staff

Your staff is the team responsible for executing the sales strategy. It includes your salespeople, their skills, and their roles within the team.

Example:

A startup that suddenly expands into international markets realizes it lacks team members experienced in cross-border sales. The result? Deals in new regions take longer to close. The startup then focuses on hiring staff with international experience, leading to smoother negotiations and faster growth.

7. Skills

Skills are the abilities and competencies of your team members. Are they well-equipped to sell your product effectively?

Example:

A company selling highly technical products, like AI-powered software, needs its sales team to have a deep understanding of how the product works. Without this knowledge, they struggle to explain the benefits clearly to potential customers. The company invests in sales enablement training, and as the team’s skills grow, so do the deal sizes.

How the McKinsey 7S Model Benefits Sales Development

Now that we understand the model, let’s look at how it can benefit your sales development:

Holistic Approach

The 7S model forces you to examine every aspect of your business, ensuring that your sales strategy isn’t siloed from other critical functions like marketing, product development, and customer success.

Alignment Across Teams

When every "S" is in harmony, teams across the organization work better together. For example, if your sales structure is aligned with your customer support systems, both departments can collaborate on upselling to existing clients.

Identifying Gaps

This model helps you pinpoint weaknesses in your sales strategy. Maybe your systems aren’t set up to handle the volume of leads you’re generating, or your staff lacks the necessary skills to close enterprise deals. Identifying these gaps early allows you to fix them before they become critical issues.

Adapting to Change

Markets evolve, competitors grow, and customer preferences shift. By regularly assessing all seven elements of your sales organization, you can adapt more quickly to changes and stay ahead of the curve.

How to Effectively Use the McKinsey 7S Model in Sales Development

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using the 7S model to enhance your sales process:

Conduct a Self-Assessment

Start by assessing each of the seven elements within your sales department. Identify where you’re strong and where there’s room for improvement.

Involve Stakeholders

Get input from sales leaders, marketing, HR, and customer service teams. Each group will have insights into how different elements of the model affect their role.

Set Priorities

You won’t be able to fix everything at once. Prioritize changes based on what will have the most immediate impact on sales performance. For example, if your CRM system is outdated, that could be a quick win.

Create an Action Plan

Once you know what needs to change, develop a detailed action plan with clear timelines. Assign ownership for each task, and ensure regular check-ins to track progress.

Monitor and Adjust

As you roll out changes, continue to monitor how well each element is aligned. The sales landscape is always shifting, and regular adjustments will be necessary to stay on track.

Final Thoughts

The McKinsey 7S model is more than just a framework—it’s a roadmap to ensure every part of your sales organization is working together. By aligning strategy, structure, systems, and the other key elements, you can create a sales powerhouse that’s equipped to grow and evolve. Whether you’re scaling a startup or optimizing an established team, this model can provide the clarity and focus you need for effective sales development. #McKinsey7SModel