Common Territory Strategies

Different companies have their own unique sales strategies and different factors that affect them. So, it is important to find out the relevant ones and the ones to consider. When you have completed performing some of this entry-level analysis, you will realize that such analysis of existing customers and new possibilities is done to identify their overall significance.

Now it is time for you to focus on the expenditure of time, so that more time is given to tasks that have the highest overall significance”. Taking this as a reference, it is needed for you to define your own boundaries. For some better understanding, let us divide all prospects into three ranking groups – ‘'Bigger Value'', ''Medium Value'' and ''Smaller Value” as shown in the following table −

The above figures are used only for the sake of demonstration and will be variable greatly according to your industry. The value associated with a prospect is not something that can be made up, simply on a random basis. Some more factors we need to take into consideration that can influence new business prospects are −

• When a new buyer takes over, who is capable of either slowing down or speeding up the process of buying.

• When the customer has a lag in budget to facilitate your solution within a specific period of time.

• When the customer has an agreement with a different supplier until a certain stipulated date.

• When customers are taking part in a merger and/or acquisition and new purchases are being delayed.

• When there are more than one decision makers in case of the selling or buying of an organization whose approval is needed to make the deal.

The managers should be informed whether a salesperson has moved out of the ''discovery'' (assessment of needs) stage, or is going to make a presentation on sales. If he is going through the discovery stage, the buyer may possibly be in the evaluation stage. This may happen if the client asks for a sample of the product, or requests him for a demonstration.

It can be easily seen that a common idea here is that all the factors mentioned are related to the cycle of sales or the structure of the sales, also known as the cycling of prospects. This is crucial to ensure that the opportunities are divided on the basis of their priorities. You, along with your salespeople, as a team can identify where you are in the sales process.

You should also keep the following points in mind while setting a territory strategy −

• Any technique needed to manage prospective customers should to be embraced by the team in such a way that it goes hand-in-hand with the environment of your business. For instance, strategies that regulate sales may not only vary because of the status of the prospective customers versus the customer, but may also vary with the number of existing customers versus that of new customers.

• The range of the prospects handled by your sales team may vary from thousands to as few as less than 10 prospects. Your sales team, along with your efforts and advice, will need to know how to use time in the best possible ways.

• It is also needed for you to keep a record of and agree on the course of action of each member of your team. By doing this, you will develop a great idea over the prospects they handle and the territory they work on.

It is also equally important to understand how to manage your time in a productive way. You can clearly notice that the management of time is an important attribute because it corresponds to the territory planning and the strategies for prioritization of the prospective customers.