Well-designed sales territories help increase market coverage and sales volume, as well as provide better services to clients. This also serves to increase a sales team’s morale and inspire team cohesion. However, learning how to divide sales territories can be challenging. To gain a better understanding of proper sales territory division, read this article.

Dividing Sales Territories Step-by-Step

Dividing sales territories in a strategic manner creates balance and ensures that customer needs are being met. By diving sales territories, your sales team will have full control over its sales areas and target audience. This step-by-step guide explains how to properly divide sales territories:

1. Understand The Area Geographically

Before sales territories can be properly divided, it is important to have a firm understanding of the area, geographically. One of the most common ways to structure a sales territory map is by geographic location, such as by zip codes or states. Knowing the area geographically helps to ensure that the territories are properly balanced and equitable to all team members.

2. Identify Sizes Of Companies Within The Area

When dividing sales territories, it is also important to consider company size. Instead of assigning reps to certain boundaries on a map, they may be assigned to specific accounts. For example, senior reps who have proven track records may receive larger accounts, while new reps may be given smaller accounts.

3. Determine Whether Your Organization Has A Niche

Sales territories may also be divided by a particular niche or industry. When sales reps are able to focus on a particular niche, they can avoid generic sales pitches and tailor their marketing materials to the specific industry.

4. Divide The Area Into Zones Based On Findings

Sales territories should be divided based on determinations from research, including market analysis and customer segmentation. This involves a better understanding of the customer base better and learning how to best use the resources available to close sales. Existing sales data from previous years can also provide sales teams with a better understanding of buying patterns. Territories may then be divided into zones based on these findings.

5. Develop A Strategy To Win Business

A clear understanding of customer segmentation and how to best leverage the skills and experience of team members allows businesses to develop a strategy for closing more deals and achieving continuous growth. The plan may need to be fine-tuned and updated on a regular basis as circumstances change.

Utilizing Sales Territory Mapping Software For Diving Territories

A sales territory map is the main component of the operational strategy for a sales team. Sales territory mapping software streamlines the creation of sales territory maps, ensuring that all information is visually accessible to all members of the team. Utilizing sales territory mapping software has a multitude of other benefits, such as the following:

Gain Better Visibility Over Territories

Sales territory mapping software enables sales teams to maintain better visibility over territories. Managers and reps are able to work together to ensure that all territories are fully covered and no opportunities are being overlooked. Sales territory maps are easily shared on any web-enabled device which also allows for real time visibility, encouraging collaboration as a team.

Assign Client Accounts Easier

The use of sales territory mapping software for dividing sales territories allows managers to easily map out and assign territories to the reps. A sales territory map should display how many customers are in each territory and the unique demographics for the prospects or customers being targeted. Assignment of the right reps to the proper accounts creates the best opportunity for closing a deal.

Optimize Sales Planning And Routes

Sales territory mapping software also simplifies the route planning process. When sales routes are not optimized, sales reps inevitably waste time and money on the road. In turn, this leads to lost opportunities and poor performance. Implementing innovative sales territory mapping software gives sales managers the ability to determine the most time efficient and cost-effective routes for sales reps to cover all prospects and customers in their assigned territory.

Improve Overall Decision Making

In the past, sales managers were forced to manually divide sales territories by hand. The introduction of sales territory mapping software has greatly simplified this process, also allowing sales managers to consider a variety of valuable data when making important decisions. Advanced territory maps enable sales teams to consider the historical revenue of each area and overall value of individual territories to make decisions that are likely to show the greatest success.

Get Started With Sales Territory Mapping Software

Any business that has sales reps in the field or regularly meets with prospects or clients face-to-face will benefit from the use of sales territory mapping software. To learn more about how to divide sales territories or for information on how to obtain sales territory mapping software for a small business, talk to the sales territory mapping experts at Geographic Enterprises today.