salestrainingterritorymanagement

1.TerritorymanagementDrEarlStevens,October2009<br/>10.SalesTraining<br/>10/08/11<br
/>1<br/>
2.NatureofTerritoryManagement<br/>Salespeoplearenotonlyresponsibleforindividual
customers(accountmanagement)butalsoresponsibleforagroupofaccounts(territory
management).<br/>Itisdefinedasplanning,implementation,andcontrol,ofsalespersonsactivities
withthegoalofrealizingthesalesandprofitspotentialsoftheirassignedterritories.<br/>Although
geographicconsiderationsplayaroleinsettingboundaries,salesterritoriesareprimarilybasedon
customergrouping.<br/>Shouldthesalesexecutiveassignedaterritoryonthebasisofthe
geographicallyareaorcustomerbase?<br/>Whatifacustomerhasmultipleplantlocation?<br
/>Ortheclientshiftsitsbusinessarea?<br/>10/08/11<br/>2<br/>
3.TypesofAccounts<br/>MajorAccounts<br/>Customerswhosesignificancetothecompanys
businessrequiresspecialattentionandexperience.<br/>Majoraccountsarealsotermedaskey
accounts<br/>Theyareusuallycalledoneitherbyspecialsalespeopleseniorsales
representativeorkeyaccountsmanager,orbyregionalordistrictsalesmanagers.<br/>Direct
Accounts<br/>Largeaccountsinvolvingspecialarrangementsintermsofpricing,creditorproduct
design.Fore.g.centralbuyingofficesofamultinationalfirm.<br/>ThesearealsocalledHouseor
Nationalaccountsthoseservedbyhomeofficepersonnelorexecutives.<br/>10/08/11<br/>3<br
/>
4.TerritoryActivities<br/>10/08/11<br/>4<br/>
5.SalesTerritoryDesign<br/>Designingsalesterritoryinvolvesbreakingdownafirmscustomer
basesothataccountscanbewellservedbyindividualsalespersons.<br/>Poorterritorydesigncan
leadtoinadequatemarketcoverage,unequalworkload,lackofcontrolovertheworkforceand
depressedmorale.<br/>Acompany'ssalesterritoryrepresentsbasicaccountabilityunitstothe
lowestlevelofaggregation.<br/>10/08/11<br/>5<br/>
6.ManagetoSucceed<br/>10/08/11<br/>6<br/>
7.Reasonsforestablishingsalesterritories<br/>Companiesformsalesterritoriesmainlyto
maximizesalesandprofits.<br/>Thereare3pairsofguidingprinciplesthatcausesales
managementtoemployterritoriesintheiroperations:<br/>(a)customerrelated<br/>(b)
salespersonrelated<br/>(c)managerial<br/>10/08/11<br/>7<br/>
8.CustomerRelated<br/>REASONS<br/>Provideintensivemarketcoverage<br/>Provide
excellentcustomerservice<br/>BENEFITS<br/>Producehighersales<br/>Producegreater
satisfaction<br/>10/08/11<br/>8<br/>
9.SalesPersonRelated<br/>REASONS<br/>Generatesenthusiasmandmotivation<br/>Facilitate
performanceevaluation<br/>BENEFITS<br/>Leadtolessturnover,employeesatisfaction<br
/>Offerrewardsrelatedtoeffort,payforperformance<br/>10/08/11<br/>9<br/>
10.ManagerialRelated<br/>REASONS<br/>Enhancecontrol<br/>Coordinatepromotion<br
/>BENEFITS<br/>Tighthandleonsellingexpenses/allocatecostbyterritory<br/>Planforstaff
incentives<br/>10/08/11<br/>10<br/>
11.ReasonsforRevisingTerritories<br/>Majoraccountsopenorclosedownfacilities,moveintoor
outofthearea,orshiftincustomersbusinessgeographicallyortechnologicalinnature<br
/>Aggressivedomesticorinternationalcompetition(marketsaredynamicandconditionschange)<br
/>Changesincompanysbuyingpoliciesorstructure<br/>Salespersonsrelatedrevisiondueto

physical,social,orpsychologicalchanges.<br/>Asalespersonmaydisplayareducedenergylevel,
familyproblemsofvariouskindscaneffectterritoryperformancesignificantly.<br/>Ifaterritorys
salespotentialwasunderestimatedoroverestimated.<br/>Managerscanalsofindthattheyneedto
realignterritoriesasnewproductlinesareintroducedintothecompanysproductmixandthe
presentationandservicingburdensbecometoolargeunderoldarrangement.<br/>10/08/11<br
/>11<br/>
12.ReasonsforNOTestablishingsalesterritories<br/>Whenacompanyissmall(fewresources)
<br/>Whenfriendshipsalesisimportanttomaintainforlongtermrelationship<br/>Whenhigh
technologysellingisinvolved.Inhightechnologyapplicationthereareoftenaverylimitednumberof
potentialcustomersnationwidethatrequirehighlyspecializedadvice.<br/>10/08/11<br/>12<br/>
13.DevelopingTerritories<br/>Drawingupterritoriesranksamongthemostimportant
responsibilitiesofsalesmanagers.<br/>Itaffectsthesalesforcemoraleandperformance.<br
/>Resultscanbemeasuredbysalesvolume,relativemarketshareorprofit.<br/>10/08/11<br
/>13<br/>
14.FactorstoconsiderinestablishingTerritories<br/>Salespersonsworkloadandnatureofthe
job,fore.g.aprospectingsalespersoncanhandlealargerterritoryassignmentthenapersonwho
mustprovidefullserviceforeachaccount.<br/>Thetypeofproduct/productlines<br/>Thetypeof
competitionfacedbythecompanyineachterritory.<br/>Thedesiredintensityofthemarket
coverage/challengingterritories<br/>Channelsofdistributionavailableandtransportation<br
/>system<br/>Salespotentialandservicingrequirement.Limitedpotentialterritoriescanbeusedas
atraininggroundsfornewmembersofasalesforce.<br/>Salespersoncanbeassignedtomore
challengingterritoriesinaccordancewiththeirperformance.<br/>10/08/11<br/>14<br/>
15.ModelofTerritoryManagement<br/>Territorymanagementcanbedefinedbroadlyintermsof:
<br/>Planning(Analysis,Objectives,Strategies,Tactics)<br/>Implementation(achievementofnew
businesstargets,reporting)<br/>Control(comparesintendedandactualresultswithaviewto
takingcorrectiveaction)<br/>10/08/11<br/>15<br/>
16.1.Planning<br/>Analysis:<br/>Accountloadthenumberofactualandpotentialcustomers
assignedtoasalesperson<br/>Accountpotentialtheshareofanaccountsbusinessthatthefirm
canreasonablyexpecttoattract.<br/>Servicingrequirementsestablishedandnewaccountshave
servicingrequirementsthatarebasedonboththepastvolumewiththecompanyandtheirunique
needsandproblems.<br/>Objectives:<br/>Concernhereisthesalesvolumeandmarketshare
goalsintheterritory,whichisderivedintopdownmanner,startingfromcorporateobjectives.<br
/>Strategies:<br/>Havetoworkonvariousstrategieslikepricing,promotional,deliveryterms,
paymentandcreditterms.<br/>Tactics:<br/>Routingandschedulingtask,avoidrepetitivetasks,
intensityofterritorycoverageandminimizingnonproductivetime.<br/>Designingasalesperson
travellingplanorthesequenceoflocationtobevisited(knownasRouting).<br/>Properscheduling
orsequencingofappointments.<br/>10/08/11<br/>16<br/>
17.2.Implementation<br/>Establishingcustomerbasesellingandservicingtheseaccountsisthe
principalactofterritoryactivity.<br/>Newbusinessdevelopmentshouldbeacontinuous<br
/>undertaking.<br/>Customersatisfactionandmaintaininglongtermrelationshipareamongthe
foremostconcernoftheterritorymanager.<br/>Anotherimportantingredientinimplementationis
reporting.<br/>Maintainingasteadyflowofreportstothehomeofficeaboutsalesresults,
problemsorcorrectiveactions.<br/>10/08/11<br/>17<br/>
18.3.Control<br/>Afeedbackprocess<br/>Acomparisontakeplacebetweenintendedandactual

results,withaviewoftakingcorrectiveactionwhererequired.<br/>10/08/11<br/>18<br/>
19.PrioritizeYourActivitiestoProduceMaximumResults<br/>Howyouprioritizeyoursales
territorymanagementactivitiesdependsuponwhetheryouaremanagingaterritorythathas
existingcustomers,orwhetheryouarebuildingyourcustomerbasefromscratch.<br/>Ifyou
manageaterritorythathasexistingcustomers,yourfirstpriorityshouldbetointroduceyourselfto
everysingleoneofyourcustomers.Thisshouldbeapleasant,lowkeyintroductionalongthelines
of,"IjustwantedtointroducemyselfandseeifthereisanythingIcandotohelpyou."Then,asyou
arechattingwithyourcustomers,youcanask,"Wouldyoumindsharingwithmehowyouthinkmy
company'srelationshipwithyouhasbeengoingsofar?Whathavewebeendoingwell?Where
couldweimprove?"<br/>Collectingthiskindoffeedbackisagreatwaytostartrelationshipswith
customers.<br/>Italsohelpsyoudrawanyfesteringproblemsoutintotheopen.Ifyoucanaddress
theproblemsquickly,itcanreallyjumpstartyourrelationshipswiththeaffectedcustomers.<br
/>Thissameapproachcanalsobeeffectiveforcustomersthathavebeenreducingtheirpurchases
fromyourcompanyovertime,orcustomersthathavestoppedorderingcompletely.Itisnevermuch
funtolistentopeoplecomplain.But,ifyoucanisolateandsolvetheproblemsthatarecausingthe
dissatisfaction,youcanproducearapidandsubstantialboostinsales.<br/>10/08/11<br/>19<br/>
20.PrioritizeYourActivitiestoProduceMaximumResults<br/>Ifyoufindcustomersthatarereally
happywiththeserviceyourcompanyhasprovided,drilldown(withmorequestions)todetermine
justwhathasmadethemsohappy.Theiranswerswillprovideyouwithatemplateforsuccessfully
managingtheir(andother)accounts.Also,askthesehappycustomersforreferrals,regardlessof
whetheryouhavecontributedinanywaytotheirhappiness!Happy,satisfiedcustomersareusually
delightedtosharetheirpositiveexperiencewithothers.<br/>Onceyouhavemetallofyourexisting
customers,thenextstepistoidentifytargetprospectsinyourterritory<br/>Startbycheckingwith
yourmanager.Iftheyhavebeenmanagingyoursalesteamforanyperiodoftime,theyshouldbe
abletosuggestsomegoodtargetprospects.<br/>Onceyouhavecompiledalistoftarget
prospects,determinewhichonesyouwillpursuefirst.Whichtargetprospectshavethegreatest
potentialtopurchasethelargestamountsofproductsandservices?Whichonesarelikelytobe
"quickcloses"?Ifyouhavebothtypesoftargetprospectsonyourlist,pursueseveralofeachtype
atthesametime.InthewordsofawellrespectedexecutivethatIusedtoworkwith,"Elephant
huntingisgreat.Butthoserabbitssuretastegoodinbetweentheelephants!"<br/>Whenyouare
readytobeginpursuingyourtargetprospects,startbyaskingyourexistingcustomerswhetherthey
knowanyonethatworksinthetargetorganizations.Iftheydo,askforreferrals.Onceyouhave
exhaustedavailablereferrals,proceedwiththeotheractivitiesinyourprospectingplanbuttailor
theseactivitiestoattracttheattentionofyourtargetprospects.<br/>10/08/11<br/>20<br/>
21.PrioritizeYourActivitiestoProduceMaximumResults<br/>Conclusion<br/>Effectivesales
territorymanagementbeginswithtouchingbasewitheverysingleoneofyourexistingcustomers.
Askquestionstogaugetheirsatisfactionwiththeirrelationshipwithyourcompany.Iftheyidentify
anyproblems,workaggressivelytosolvetheseproblemsasyourfirstpriority.<br/>Ifacustomer
expresseshappinessandsatisfaction,askquestionstodeterminewhatyourcompanyhasbeen
doingright.Usethisinformationtocreateatemplateformanagingallofyouraccounts.Alsobesure
toaskforreferrals,bothingeneralandtospecifictargetaccounts.Exhaustthesereferralsbefore
youbegintheother(lessproductive)activitiesinyourprospectingplan.<br/>Prioritizeyouractivities
asdescribedinthisarticle,andyouwillmaximizesalesgrowthinyourterritory!