Newsflash : Sales Territory Design has untapped potential!

If you are in sales, take a moment and think about the conversations you have had about sales ROI and growth. More often than not, leaders will talk about broader themes like larger company goals or resources. Top-down approaches are understandable. But, here’s something you should know! Harvard Business Review reports that territory design can increase revenue by 2 to 7 percent without making a single change to the company’s overall resources or strategy. 

Nevertheless, the majority of companies struggle to utilize this potential within the sales pipeline funnel. Sales operations encounter challenges with territory design, which is often viewed as a laborious and time-consuming task. Conversely, sales representatives perceive territory design as a random process, resembling a lottery, without taking into account crucial factors such as relationships or local conditions. However, things are changing with more data-driven approaches now coming to the fore. Recently, the value in territory design has urged many growth leaders to tap into this missed opportunity. 

In fact, multiple studies have time and again pointed out that digital territory planning, as a crucial aspect of the sales recruitment process, can

• Lead to a 15 percent increase in revenue as a result of increased penetration and expanding the customer base
• A 20 percent boost in sales productivity because reps are happy with their assigned territories 
• Automation can help in reducing the time it takes to plan territories by 75 percent and make it easier for sales ops to attempt this strenuous task
• Reduce attrition and save money in terms of rep replacement cost

On the flip side, companies can also address bottlenecks in their current territory design approach including  

1. Missed quotas
2. Lower revenues
3. Poor employee performance
4. Low motivation 
5. Sales rep turnover 

When optimized, territory design can ease process pain and create opportunities to realize revenue goals.

Are your territories optimized?

Merely assigning territories does not mean that they are automatically optimized. There are a whole bunch of challenges lined up- data silos, outdated systems and manual processes among others. 

If you have decided to optimize your territories, here’s a short list of questions you can refer to get started-

• Which locations generate the most leads?
• Do you have the capacity and resources to serve these territories?
• Are key buyers located in your chosen territories?
• Have sales increased in any new territories you targeted?
• Is there any potential in under-served territories?
• Are there any territories that you have previously overlooked that may provide opportunities now?
• What resources do your reps need?
• How many reps should you assign in each territory?
• How are your competitors performing in your selected territories? What is their market share?

Optimizing your territories: Three Components

Data-driven Insights

Reps often feel that territory design is unfair, and they may be right! It is imperative for territories to be objectively assigned. How can that be achieved? Data!

Data-driven territory assignment is the way to go, and most growth leaders are opting for it to stay ahead of the competition. Emphasizing the importance of sales value, the aim here is to be comprehensive in optimizing territories for enhanced sales effectiveness and customer satisfaction.. To collect as much data as is needed for creating a plan that works. The data that you are feeding your CRM needs to be gap-free and have all the relevant information. Remember, the end goal is to have a data set large enough to be turned into actionable insights. When collected and analysed properly, data can

• Give insights into rep capacity and workload
• Provide a better understanding of quota achievement
• Deliver fair compensation to reps 
• Boost morale and motivate reps to perform better

Automation

A good Automation tool will help you break the silos of legacy systems by collecting your data from multiple sources (spreadsheets or any other homegrown systems) and streamlining it into a single source of information. This macroscopic viewpoint makes your data usable, helping you create more accurate territory maps and make better business decisions. 

With all the relevant data in one place, sales ops can proceed to analyze it more deeply and give holistic insights. Things that simply weren’t possible with static spreadsheets like identifying problem areas in real time are possible with an automated system. 

Collaboration

In sales territory management, it is essential to consider local conditions before optimizing territories. To gain a deeper understanding of local markets and relationships, field sales managers can be encouraged to actively participate in the territory alignment process. By doing so, they can provide valuable insights that contribute to more effective sales territory management.

It is also important to understand that territories need not be clubbed geographically. There are multiple variables around which territories can be clubbed. Decisions like these are better informed when different teams are roped in. 

Collaboration therefore decentralizes and enriches the territory design process.

Over the years, it is becoming increasingly clear that SPM is not just a preference but a priority for most sales leaders to gain the agility and accuracy needed to thrive in today’s business environment. While territory design is a very small step in any company’s larger SPM goals, it can be a useful instrument in increasing revenue. 

Kennect’s SPM streamlines operations, automates menial tasks and aligns processes so that your top sales people are free to do what they do best. Sell! Book a demo today!