One of the most difficult tasks of sales managers is finding an equitable and effective way to divvy up sales territories. Even those who specialize in sales territory management training admit this. Where do you draw the line?
The easiest is to segment sales territories according to geographical boundaries. But there are several reasons why this may not be in your company’s best interests:
- You prevent your eager sales talent from getting new accounts in new regions. Yes, you protect other salespeople from incursions but what if they had not seen or taken advantage of the opportunities themselves?
- You don’t encourage your salespeople to develop special knowledge…instead they develop breadth rather than depth and may lose to competitors who can focus on certain products and certain industries.
- Location is less a factor than it used to be in today’s global marketplace. Technology has allowed us to reach effectively across borders and time zones.
Don’t settle for the easiest solution. Look instead for one that will allow your team to be as productive and collaborative as possible.
