Sales Territory Management: 6 Steps to Creating an Effective Plan

sales territory map

Are you struggling to optimize your sales territories and boost your sales team’s productivity?

You’re not alone! 64% of companies struggle with ineffective territory planning.

In this blog post, we will guide you through the essential steps to create an effective sales territory management plan that will lead your team to success.

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1. Master Key Sales Territory Management Principles

Sales territory management is an important tool to help outside sales reps be effective and successful. It can directly contribute to the increase in closed deals and sales efficiency. By implementing an effective sales territory plan, you can boost sales productivity, provide better customer service, and ensure maximum success.

Historically, sales territory plans were based on geography, but it has evolved to encompass much more. So, what exactly does sales territory management entail, and how can you maximize your sales success with a territory management plan?

Let’s dive in!

In a nutshell, sales territory management involves the continuous process of allocating resources, prioritizing opportunities, and measuring performance to achieve sales success.

It incorporates both inside and outside sales opportunities, with inside sales targeting the SMB and mid-level market, and outside sales focusing on the enterprise-level and above. Conducting a SWOT analysis is a crucial step in creating a successful sales territory plan, as it provides an insightful understanding of your current market position and a renewed outlook of your business operations.

A group of sales team members discussing a sales territory management plan

The Role of Sales Territory Management

Territory management plays a vital role in optimizing sales resources, targeting specific markets, and increasing productivity. By understanding and prioritizing opportunities, allocating resources effectively, and evaluating performance, you can drive sales success for your organization.

Striking a balance between new business development and account management is also essential, as it allows your sales force to focus on fresh business opportunities and maintain existing customer relationships.

An effective sales territory plan should consider both inside and outside sales opportunities and help sales reps manage their accounts within their own sales territory. By having a system for developing and moving accounts through the sales process pipeline, your sales reps can effectively monitor and manage their accounts, and ultimately close more deals.

In essence, territory management is the key to unlocking your sales team’s potential and achieving maximum success in your sales efforts.

Benefits of Effective Territory Management

The advantages of effective territory management are numerous, including higher revenue, enhanced customer satisfaction, and boosted sales rep morale. By pursuing new business, you can expand your reach and grow your customer base, while maintaining high morale among sales reps can boost productivity, allowing them to close more deals and keep existing customers satisfied.

Moreover, sales metrics and allocating resources to prospects and customers who have the highest potential to be converted into paying customers can help increase your company’s revenue.

In short, having an effective sales territory management plan in place can lead to significant benefits for your business, contributing to its overall success and growth.

2. Build an Effective Sales Territory Management Plan

To create a successful sales territory management plan, there are a few key components to consider, including market segmentation, customer profiling, and sales rep skill assessment.

By dividing leads effectively based on account type, referral source, product interest, or account size, you can create a sales territory that maximizes your sales impact and better understand your prospects and customers. Additionally, considering your sales team’s skills, interests, and working style can help ensure the success of your sales territories.

Incorporating these essential elements into your sales territory management plan can help you not only optimize resources and prioritize opportunities, but also achieve greater success in your sales efforts. By doing so, you can:

  • Stay ahead of the competition
  • Capitalize on customer needs
  • Increase sales value
  • Improve customer satisfaction
  • Foster cooperation
  • Enhance team cohesion

Market Segmentation and Customer Profiling

Understanding your target market and creating customer profiles is crucial in sales territory management, as it allows you to allocate resources effectively and capitalize on specific opportunities. You can segment your customers based on:

  • Demographic information
  • Psychographic information
  • Behavioral information
  • Geographic information

This segmentation gives you a better understanding of your customer base and enables your outside sales reps to tailor their approach to the unique needs, goals, and pain points of each segment.

By analyzing your customers and creating profiles, you can uncover what makes them unique and what sets them apart from each other. This valuable information can help you better allocate resources, assign territories, and ultimately, drive sales success for your organization.

Sales Rep Skill Assessment

Assessing the skills of your sales reps is a significant factor in territory management, as it helps you allocate them to the most appropriate territories. Designing sales territories for outbound efforts should start with strategically laying out the territories. Afterwards, strategically overlay the prospecting territories according to how salespeople are allocated.

Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team can help you assign them to the most suitable territories and maximize their potential. Properly assigning territories is essential to avoid any potential overlap and ensure that each sales rep can focus on the most lucrative opportunities within their assigned territory, ultimately improving the overall performance of your sales teams.

FURTHER READING

3. Craft a Winning Territory Management Strategy

Now that you understand the key components of a successful sales territory management plan, it’s time to develop a strategy. Crafting your sales territory planning involves strategically setting goals, allocating resources, and assigning territories.

To get started, take a closer look at your business goals and objectives, and create a strategy map that considers financial, customer, internal, and learning and growth perspectives in the context of territory planning.

The GSOT method can be used to create an effective sales strategy that will help you reach your goals. By prioritizing accounts, documenting sales territories, and identifying seasonal business, you can ensure success in your sales territory management efforts.

Setting Realistic Goals and Targets

Setting achievable goals and targets for your sales team is essential to guarantee success and inspire motivation. To determine your sales goals and maximize your success, start with the big sales numbers and then work your way downwards for a more achievable approach. Break down your annual goal into quarters, months, and even weeks to keep yourself motivated and on track.

By setting realistic goals and tracking your progress, you can ensure that your sales team stays focused and motivated throughout the year, ultimately leading to increased sales success and growth.

Moreover, setting achievable goals can help increase motivation and confidence among your sales reps, allowing them to perform at their best and achieve maximum success in their sales efforts.

Allocating Resources and Assigning Territories

In order to achieve success in sales territory management, it’s crucial to:

  • Allocate resources and assign territories based on market segmentation
  • Consider customer profiles and sales rep skills
  • Utilize this information to effectively distribute resources and assign territories in an efficient and effective way

By following these steps, you can ensure maximum success for your organization.

Achieving success in sales territory management necessitates access to:

  • Sales data
  • Customer information
  • Market research
  • A reliable CRM
  • Tools for managing sales territories

By strategically allocating resources and assigning territories, you can stay ahead of changing market conditions and business needs, ultimately leading to increased sales success and growth.

4. Implementing & Monitoring Your Territory Management Plan

With your sales territory management strategy in place, it’s time to put it into action and monitor its progress. Successful implementation of your plan requires:

  • Fostering communication and collaboration among sales team members
  • Tracking progress and measuring performance
  • Adjusting strategies as needed By regularly monitoring your sales territory plan, you can:
  • Analyze cost metrics
  • Identify and address any inefficiencies in the system
  • Improve overall results.

Moreover, a SWOT analysis can help you identify valuable characteristics, such as training needs for your sales team, gaps in systems and tools, or even gaps in your products themselves. By staying on top of your sales territory management plan and adjusting it as necessary, you can ensure continued success and growth in your sales efforts.

A sales team discussing a sales territory management plan and tracking progress

Communication and Collaboration

Clear communication and collaboration among sales team members are crucial for successful territory management. By fostering a culture of open communication and working together, your sales team can achieve the following benefits:

  • Increase sales value
  • Improve customer satisfaction
  • Enhance cooperation among team members
  • Strengthen team cohesion

Effective communication and alignment can also help sales reps in managing existing customer relationships and securing new business opportunities.

Call monitoring is one way to facilitate communication and collaboration in your sales team. By listening in on sales calls and providing coaching to reps, you can help them enhance their performance and close deals more quickly. Encouraging open communication and collaboration among team members will ultimately lead to greater success in your sales territory management efforts.

Tracking Progress and Adjusting Strategies

Tracking progress in sales territory management is key to analyzing, monitoring, and maximizing performance. By setting realistic goals, tracking progress, and adjusting strategies as needed, you can ensure you are making progress in sales territory management and achieving maximum success in your sales efforts.

Analyzing data, such as sales figures, customer feedback, and market trends, is a great way to measure performance in sales territory management. By regularly reviewing your plan and making necessary adjustments, you can stay ahead of changing market conditions and business needs, ultimately leading to increased sales success and growth.

5. Empower Territory Management with Must-Have Tools

In order to achieve success in sales territory management, it’s crucial to have the right tools at your disposal.

Field Sales CRM systems and mapping tools are essential for achieving optimum results in your sales territory management efforts. Sales performance tools can help optimize your sales territory mapping by automating the process, making it faster and easier for your team.

Some of the most successful sales mapping software includes Badger Maps, Maptitude, and Xactly AlignStar, while Salesforce and Zoho CRM are among the most sought-after CRM software available. By leveraging these essential tools, you can streamline your sales territory management processes, optimize resources, and achieve greater success in your sales efforts.

A sales team using a CRM system to manage their sales territories

CRM Systems

Using a CRM system for sales territory management can help you track customer information, manage sales activities, and analyze data for more informed decisions, ultimately leading to greater success. CRM systems can also help you stay organized, track all sales team activities, and keep conversation history and key details of prospects in one place, making it easier to close deals successfully.

Some of the best practices for achieving success in sales territory management with a CRM system include regularly reviewing and refreshing your plan and promoting ongoing learning and growth in skills. By leveraging a CRM system in your sales territory management efforts, you can ensure that your sales team stays focused and motivated, ultimately leading to increased sales success and growth.

Mapping and Visualization Tools

Mapping and visualization tools are essential for creating, managing, and optimi