The key to getting more sales, and to increasing your business, is a combination of perseverance, hard-work, skill and a great sales presentation.
And of course, all of these do help and are great elements to sales success – but one thing that at times is overlooked is the sales territory plan.
Of course, in this short article we shall be explaining to you what a sales territory is, why you need one, and how to create one; but if you would like more in-depth support, or would like help creating a sales strategy, then please do get in touch with us using one of the methods of contact on our website.
What is a Sales Territory Plan?
We don’t want to overcomplicate this, and put very simply, this is your strategy on how your team will prospect and approach prospects, leads and close existing customers.
Years ago, the sales territory plan would feature predominately around geographical locations – which makes a lot of sense. However with the advent of the internet, and how these normal geographical lines are now a lot more blurred, they tend to include the likes of business size, business sector, deal potential and at times, roles too.
Why do I need a Sales Territory Plan?
Setting up a sales territory plan will help you outline your sales presentations and target down whom it is you are selling to. It stops the standard ‘hit and hope’ method of selling and ensures that your prospects needs and wants are met to a tee.
It will also help you to align your sales team’s strengths to their prospects. Each person in your team will have their own skillset and experience and setting up a sales territory plan will help you to match the right person in your team to the right prospect.
A solid sales territory plan will also help you to set realistic goals, KPIs and will allow you and your team to spend more time actually selling, as opposed to wasting time on people whom will not have a need for your products or services.
How to set up a Sales Territory Plan
First things first, you want to define your overall sales goals and targets. These want to be as defined and refined as possible. They want to be realistic enough to be reached, but extensive enough that drive people to want to achieve higher!
Secondly, you will want to define your market. Remember, this should be segmented down to business size, sector, location, function, and even geographical.
Spend some time researching these potential customers and look to understand what benefits you can deliver to each of these segments, and tailor any sales material accordingly.
Then, assess your team and look at their strengths and weaknesses – you can include your team in this too. Out of your team, who likes to deal with HR managers the most? And whom is better at closing sales at small to medium size businesses?
Once you have ascertained these, assign leads and prospects to those people whom will have the best chance of sales success!
As mentioned earlier on in this article, a sales territory plan can take a while to set up, and is an ever-evolving entity that should always be evaluated and monitored. If you would like any support in setting one up, or even auditing, get in touch with the team here at C3 Sales and Consulting today!
