With so many different types of business models, each unique in its own way comes many different types of sales territories to take into consideration with territory planning. Every business must find what strategy works best for their company and their sales team. What is most profitable for one company could be detrimental to the next.
Just a Few Different Sales Territory Examples:
- Geographically: Perhaps the most commonly known sales territory is the geographic strategy. This plan is divided by a geographic area. Depending on the size of the company and how what product is being sold will determine just how big of an area constitutes a sales territory. Some examples are cities, regions, and even countries. This strategy is very easy to set exact area guidelines for, however, these territories are hard to make equal between team members depending on how populated an area is.
- Company size: This is a great way to assign different territories based on experience and seniority. For example, if you have a senior sales team member that is able to be successful in handling large company accounts then you know you can trust him to handle your largest accounts. On the other hand, if you have an intern or someone just out of college getting started in their sales career you can assign them to smaller companies that call for less workload. Ultimately, being able to trust that your most important clients are in good hands so as to only have a positive effect on your sales and operations.
- Industry: This technique works very well when you are trying to dial in on a specific niche. When you have a sales team that is dedicated to a specific industry they are able to learn everything about their territory and really specialize in what they are trying to sell. One downside to this technique is that you will need different sales team members for each industry that you are trying to acquire business from.
- Alphabetically: When you assign your sales territory to your sales team members you are giving everyone a taste of every different company that you are trying to reach out to. While this is an easy way to assign territories, it can also become a bit of a random workload. If it just so happens that someone is placed with 3 large accounts and someone gets stuck with 3 small accounts, you may have some unhappy employees. One way to solve this problem is by changing assignments every quarter so everyone is able to work with all accounts.
Integrating valuable sales data from multiple sources
