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Sales territory mapping is critical for any sales team wanting to optimize performance. This process can help you optimize sales productivity while supporting your team in identifying new opportunities, understanding their customers, and tracking overall performance. It’s occasionally time-consuming and complex, making it difficult to upkeep.
Owners can use mapping software to establish these territories. Every software offers different advantages, with some programs like Maptive helping users assess specific boundaries within each sale using population density, customer concentration, and transportation routes. Creating an up-to-date and accurate sales territory map is essential for anyone needing to rely on geographic territories to drive sales.
Understanding Sales Territory Mapping
According to a recent study, teams implementing and using territory management software saw a 20% increase in their win rates. Likewise, 24% of questioned sales representatives believe their territories aren’t fairly distributed, while a massive 67% of representatives believe their territories are too large.
Different Types of Sales Territories
There are many different sales territories, with the most common type being a geographic territory based on physical boundaries. These boundaries might include states, counties, and zip codes. Other examples of territories include the following:
Customer Territories: These territories are based exclusively on the company’s consumers. For instance, this company may hold different territories for small and large businesses.
Industry Territories: These territories are based on a business’s specific industries. For instance, a company may hold different demographics within the auto and health care sectors.
Product Territories: These territories will divide based on the specific products or services a company sells. This company may divide territories using different product lines.
Why Does a Business Need Sales Territory Mapping Software?
The sales territory mapping is a complex process, making it challenging to keep up with economic conditions. Thankfully, technology can help sales teams get organized and remain efficient while providing a platform for analyzing sales data, tracking customer data, and creating territories.
Other benefits of sales territory mapping include:
Increased Flexibility
Sales territory mapping software will provide teams with greater flexibility regarding territory management. Traditional territory management methods often rely on sales teams sticking with pre-determined geographic boundaries, making it challenging to optimize sales efforts. Using sales territory mapping software, sales teams can create custom territories based mainly on customer demographics, competitor activity, and purchasing habits.
Targeted efforts improve with automation too. Real-time insights into territory performance make it easier to identify problems early on and correct them promptly.
Thorough Analysis
A business that relies on sales territories will understand those territories should be well-defined and understood to thrive. Sales territory mapping can comprehensively analyze customer data while helping identify trends. Users can also optimize their territories to maximize efficiency. Users can track results over time, allowing minor adjustments within the boundaries. Sales territory mapping brings powerful tools to businesses that depend largely on sales territories for revenue.
Increase Your Productivity
Sales territory mapping primarily benefits sales organizations, especially regarding increased productivity. Automating the process of developing and maintaining sales territories allows the team to spend more time with consumers and less time working through administrative tasks.
This mapping capability will also make it easier for the sales team to monitor, identify, and nurture leads or customers. The sales team will effectively target their efforts and close more deals, bringing more revenue to the company overall. It’s a much-needed boost for productivity, regardless of the industry.
Tips for Designing Your Sales Territory Plan
Knowing how to design and implement a sales territory plan properly is essential for any company that relies on geographic territories. To start, define your goals and how they relate to your sales territories. Do you want to increase the market share within a specific region? Maybe you’d like to drive sales of a new product or service?
After visualizing the goal, you’ll want to know who your target customers are. Determine whether you’re likely to acquire new target customers or if the current consumer will expand their product interest. Would you like to target specific territories? Maybe you’d like to focus on a particular geographic area?
Finally, analyze your data within the goals and customer assessment. Make sure you understand how the current sales performance will improve opportunities for growth moving forward. After establishing these parameters, mark the territories that capitalize on both the goals and the target consumer.
