How to Create a Sales Plan for a Territory

Maintaining a sales territory is a huge undertaking. Creating a sales plan for the territory you’re going to manage will you keep you on top of your goals and ahead of the game.

So how do you start your plan that will put you on your path to success?

Step 1: Review

Before you set off on your sales journey, it’s important to understand your past. Pay attention to:

            
  1. Key trends in your area
  2.         
  3. How business was the previous year
  4.        
  5. Who the strongest and weakest customers are
  6.        
  7. Successful sales techniques previously used

Once you understand these points, it’ll be easier to identify a game plan that’ll take you above and beyond your quota.

Step 2: Segment

Now that you know which customers are important to target, it’s time to segment them. There’s a number of ways to do this. Some efficient ways are by industry, revenue, product, prospects, current customers, and area code.

Step 3: Establish Objectives

Goal setting is crucial to achieving your goals. Do you want to work on customer retention techniques? Gaining more leads? Networking? All of the above? No matter what the objective is, goal setting helps you easily measure your progress. Tracking your progress will motivate you and keep you on track while you’re out in the field.

Step 4: Analyze Available Resources

Now it’s time to think about what resources you have at your fingertips. Consider the external resources that are out there for you. Can you use them to further penetrate current accounts? Are there any trade shows that would be beneficial for you to join?

You can use these resources to learn more about your current customers, find new customers, create case studies, learn about certain industries, and so much more.

Step 5: Create Strategies

After your goals are set and you’re aware of your available resources, it’s time to create an action plan.

First, stay organized:

  • Review meeting notes immediately after each meeting
  • Keep updated contact information
  • Have a detailed list of meeting dates with each customer, so you know when to check in
  • Continually segment new leads
  • Record action items

  • Next, design specific sales strategies plans that are targeted to each customer. Since you’ve been keeping notes and check-ins of all your customers, this step should come easily.

    It’s also important to have a big picture idea of what your overall selling process will look like. If you need to focus on lead generation instead of improving conversion rates, then make sure lead generation is emphasized in your daily tasks.

    Step 6: Plan Your Routes

    Make sure your routes are scheduled ahead of time. This way you won’t waste time in the morning doing last minute route planning.

    Step 7: Assess Your Progress and Review

    As the year goes on, make sure to check up on yourself. Have there been any roadblocks on the way to meeting your goals? If so, what have you been doing to overcome them and how can you improve? When conventional ideas don’t work, don’t be shy to think outside the box.

    Lastly, review your sales territory plan on a regular basis. Your needs and your customer’s needs are always evolving, so it’s important to stay dynamic.