Territory Optimization - Key Tactics to Drive Revenue Growth
Boosting revenue is the main goal for most sales leaders. There are various ways to accomplish this, including optimizing territories and expanding into new markets.
Effective territory design balances workload, eliminating coverage gaps. It also allows sales reps the time to service customers and prospects. When they care for their accounts, customers are more likely to buy again and refer business.
Focus on the Right Accounts
To drive revenue growth, you have to focus on the correct accounts. Sales territory optimization divides territories into areas that generate the most revenue based on customer demand, sales rep experience and various account attributes (size, complexity, profitability).
With the help of software’s like eSpatial, you can perform this task quickly and accurately using advanced data mapping tools that enable you to model multiple scenarios for different growth rates. You can then use the results to find the best way to assign and rebalance territories and set quotas based on equitable opportunities.
As a result, your team will be more likely to hit their revenue goals. It will also be easier to forecast and plan for the future. And when you optimize your sales territories, you can eliminate coverage gaps that waste time and money on travel. By reducing the number of accounts your reps have to cover, you can also increase their efficiency and help them improve their productivity. This is especially true when you use an automated tool that enables you to create compact regions, automatically adjust for changes in demographics or sales numbers, and even re-distribute accounts between territories as needed.
Optimize Your Sales Process
Sales data is all the rage, but it isn’t very sensible without accurate territory optimization. Territories must be designed with all relevant metrics and KPIs in mind: historical revenue trends, sales potential, areas of high demand for a product or service, the locations of promising leads, etc. A sales mapping tool like WeMapSales can help you model territories based on these factors and more to ensure that your reps cover all the bases.
According to research, optimized territories can increase revenue by up to 7%. To maximize this impact, regularly update your territory plan and reassess its performance every quarter. This way, you can adjust your resources and strategy as the market changes.
As a result, you can be confident that your sales team will spend more time nurturing and managing qualified leads and less time on administrative tasks. This will enable them to build stronger customer relationships and boost the percentage of qualified leads that convert into sales. Moreover, a well-optimized territory will minimize the need for resourcing and travel, saving your business money.
Hire the Right People
It’s no secret that hiring the right people is critical to revenue growth. By investing in recruiting, training, coaching, and performance management initiatives, you can ensure your team is well-equipped to handle their territory.
Employee satisfaction translates into customer satisfaction. Employees who enjoy their work are likelier to go above and beyond to deliver the best customer service. This, in turn, can lead to increased revenues for your business.
If you want to grow your revenue, focus on strategy, structure, and people—not just administrative tasks that keep you busy. If you do, you’ll be on your way to reaching revenue goals faster than ever.
Focus on the Right Technology
Most sales management teams will go through territory re-optimization or realignment at least once during the year. Often, this will include splitting or merging territories as growth opportunities present themselves or customer needs dictate the addition of new parts.
A vital element is evaluating the competitive landscape to determine which regions offer the most potential and what resources should be allocated to each. For example, more competitive territories may require additional salespeople to penetrate the market effectively, while fewer representatives can service less competitive regions.
Sales metrics are also vital in determining the effectiveness of each territory. A good territory management platform should offer analytics that shows sales performance across time, space, and dimensions – including maps that allow you to visualize data points and trends on a geographical map. Automation also increases operational efficiency by eliminating manual processes and reducing errors in collecting, aggregating, and analyzing territory inputs. It also reduces costs by minimizing fuel and travel expenses. This technology can help you better understand the data that will inform your territory management decisions and deliver significant business results.
Focus on the Right Marketing
Effective territory optimization requires a thorough, structured, reliable, and consistent process. Companies can use sales and account planning software to formalize this process, ensuring that all territories are aligned with the company’s overall revenue goals.
For example, a sales leader may need to balance opportunities between new business and existing accounts in each territory. This requires a deep understanding of customer demographics, purchasing patterns, and geographic boundaries.
Another important consideration is the level of competition in each territory. Regions with high levels of competition require more effort to penetrate and may offer lower sales potential than less competitive areas.
Once the right opportunity balance is in place, it’s time to set achievable targets for each rep and territory. This will help ensure that all agents are on track to meet their quota, and it will give management confidence in the ability of the sales organization to hit its revenue goals.