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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 August 2009
The chief sales officer (CSO) is part of the CXO round table when sales and sales growth are of such importance to the company that the executive function of marketing is divided into CMO and CSO. The CSO's primary focus is top-line growth, at any cost. However, the CSO cannot ignore strategy and profitability, two key tension points between sales and marketing. Having a CSO is sometimes a short-term decision when sales growth is a new key item on the CEO's agenda. Often, market share growth on a global scale and head-to-head competition with key competitors is to be expected and the CSO's job is to keep sales growth at the top of the corporate agenda.
In this chapter, the authors explain how the CSO's role is distinct from that of the CMO and focus on how the CSO works within a global organization's top leadership team. They explore the CSO role in different types of companies, B2B vs B2C and the challenges the CSO faces working alongside colleagues in the CXO team.
The role of the chief sales officer
As the executive vice president of sales, I am responsible for worldwide sales of products in over a dozen divisions. We have a diverse set of products, mainly for end consumers, but we sell mainly to doctors, hospitals and governments, and recently we have been losing market share to some of our key competitors in both big-pharma and the generics. Motivating our sales staff of over 1,000 employees and communicating a single vision from the headquarters is one of the key challenges I face. […]
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