Territory Development & Time Mgt – Mr.

: Saddam Ejoyi - +256 783757903/+256 770702054

Theme 4: TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT AND TIME MANAGEMENT

OVERVIEW
A sales territory consists of a group of consumers or a geographical area assigned to a
particular salesperson. The area allocated to the salesperson contains the present and
the potential consumers of the organization.
It would be very difficult for the sales manager to monitor the total market as it is too
large and unmanageable by one person. Hence it is divided as per territories to manage
effectively and efficiently and control the sales force.
The salesperson does not only pay attention to the area but also the consumer
prospects. Sales territory is for the big companies having huge market share. Small and
medium scale companies do not use geographically defined territories. The market share
is not so high to divide into territories.

DEFINITION OF SALES TERRITORY

A sales territory is defined as a group of present and potential customers assigned to an
individual salesperson, a group of salespersons, a branch, a dealer, a distributor, or a
marketing organization at a given period of time.
According to Still and Cundiff (2004), a sales territory is a grouping of customers and
prospects assigned to an individual salesperson.
According to Cranfield (1987), a sales territory is a geographical area containing the
present and potential customers who can be effectively and economically served by a
single salesperson, branch, dealer, or distributor.
According to Mynard and Davis, “Sales territory is the basic unit of sales planning and
sales control.”
Reasons for sales territories
The main motive of establishing sales territories is to simplify the planning and
controlling of the selling function.
More specifically, the reasons for having sales territories include:
 To provide proper market coverage
 To control selling expenses
 To assist in evaluating sales personnel
 To contribute to sales force morale
 To aid in the coordination of personal-selling and advertising efforts
 To obtain thorough coverage of the market
 To establish the salesperson’s job and responsibilities
 To improve customer relations
 To reduce sales expenses - no duplication of work by sending two salespersons in
the same area.
 To improve control of the sales force - salesperson has to work on the same
routes, schedule and everything is predetermined.
 To coordinate selling with other marketing functions - marketing functions as
well.

BENEFITS OF TERRITORY DESIGN

1. Increase sales and reduce costs with balanced and optimized alignments
2. Measure performance through reporting and data-driven analytics

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Territory Development & Time Mgt – Mr.: Saddam Ejoyi - +256 783757903/+256 770702054

3. Identify hidden insights with data visualization

4. Delegate work through hierarchies
5. Increase team collaboration with sharing
6. Save time with an easy-to-use sales territory mapping solution

BASES FOR TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT

Here are some of the ways to divide an area or audience into sales territories:
1. Geographic location
Most popular ways to develop sales territories is using existing geographical boundaries
and regions.
Some examples of geographic territories include:
 Country
 Region
 State
 Store radius
2. Population
Split your target audience by population to ensure a fair distribution of customers and
leads for your team.
3. Account size
With account size territories, experienced, senior salespeople usually serve the category
of large, high-value accounts, while newer salespeople manage the territory of smaller
accounts.
4. Niche
This method is ideal for businesses that sell to multiple market segments that have
minimal overlap.
For example, a company that sells office supplies could have one team that specializes in
working with educational institutions while another works exclusively with law firms.
5. Products
Companies that sell multiple product lines may distribute sales assignments based on the
product category. Having each salesperson specialize in a product line encourages them
to become experts in its features and applications.
6. Client name
Some businesses assign sales territories alphabetically, meaning each salesperson
handles a group of letters from the alphabet.

IT AND THE SALES INFORMATION SYSTEM

The Sales Information System is a flexible tool which allows you to collect, consolidate,
and utilize data from Sales and Distribution processing. It can be used at different levels
in the decision-making process as a control and planning instrument, enabling you to
recognize market developments and economic trends early on and to take appropriate
measures.

Benefits of IT in Sales Information Systems

1. Organized data base
2. Accurate sales forecast

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Territory Development & Time Mgt – Mr.: Saddam Ejoyi - +256 783757903/+256 770702054

3. Sales team performance improvement

4. Improved internal collaboration
5. Better flexibility
6. Better source of analyzed prospects – allocate resources to effective useful
areas
7. More structured sales cycle – identify qualified leads and focus on.

MERITS OF TIME MANAGEMENT

Time and territory control is first-class described as “getting the most out of your sales
day by planning the most efficient use of scarce resources.”
The advantages of powerful time and territory control are many, including:
1. much low pressure and worry,
2. decreased expenses,
3. a healthier pipeline,
4. account growth,
5. extra sales,
6. better earnings, and
7. extra time to spend together along with your family.

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