In the last quarter at the latest, it is high time to take a closer look at your current situation and your outside sales territories. What are the strengths and weaknesses in your sales structure, where is there still unused potential and how can you make the most of it? These are all important questions that you should ask yourself every year – because sales via outside sales is a very cost-intensive sales channel, which is why resources should be used effectively and efficiently. However, with optimal planning, it is also one of the best drivers of growth and turnover.
Keep an overview: Our checklist shows you what needs to be done in each individual phase of sales territory planning.
Checklist sales territory planning
PHASE 1: GOALSETTING
Record the current situation
Reasonforareaplanning
Defineplanninggoals
Document specifications/restrictions (locations, working hours,...)
Explore the data situation (data sources)
Involvement of stakeholders (works council, regional sales manager, ...)
PHASE 2: PREPARATION
Internal data preparation (customer list, territory allocation, outside sales locations)
Balancing conflicting goals between workload and capacity planning
Create scenarios (rough planning)
Scenario evaluation & choice of favorites
Detailed planning taking qualitative criteria into account
Benchmark scenario vs. initial situation
PHASE 1: COMMUNICATION & IMPLEMENTATION
Documentation from OLD to NEW (key figure based)
Table exports (customers, zip codes, areas) with all data (characteristics, assignments)
Obtain commitment from stakeholders as well as from outside sales team and the works council
Implementation of reassignments into systems
Plan optimal sales regions with RegioGraph
Our geomarketing software RegioGraph provides a suite of powerful tools for planning and optimizing your sales territories directly on digital maps, allowing you to save time, money and headaches. Import your customers and employee assignments into the software and display your sales structure on a map in just a few clicks. This quickly reveals ineffective assignments as well as areas with poor customer accessibility.
RegioGraph allows you to optimize your sales territories based on various criteria, such as turnover, potential, workload and accessibility. You can also weight these parameters according to your priorities. The software quickly calculates different territory scenarios as part of the search for the optimal sales structure. Once you’ve selected the best scenario, you can fine-tune your structure using manual adjustments. Powerful features help with this process, such as an intuitive planning view with an interlinked chart, table and map.
After optimizing your sales structure, use the RegioGraph TeamConnect add-on to share the results online with your colleagues. This keeps everyone on the same page and streamlines communication.
Take a look at our RegioGraph videos on sales territories now:
Territorial alignments
Reassigning sales territories
Display turnover figures in sales territories
Create single area maps
Take advantage of our expertise & let us guide you through a sales territory optimization
Our experts can collaborate with you to create a sales structure based on your unique priorities and planning requirements. The goal is always to boost your efficiency and help you tap the most possible market potential. If desired, the optimization process can also take into account your existing structure and conditions. In that case, we analyze your existing structure and identify over- and underperforming areas as well as hidden growth drivers.
The planning process also includes a careful evaluation of workload and the available potential in order to promote successful market development.
Our transparent approach, many years of experience and objective recommendations simplify and support the process of communicating and building consensus with all involved parties.
