Sales areas can increase sales with proper planning, without any changes to overall resources or sales strategy. Yet surprisingly, only around one in four sales outlets regularly questions their sales territory structures.
A well-thought-out division of your sales territory is crucial for long-term business success. Companies that use effective area allocation achieve on average 14% higher sales targets. Careful planning of sales areas forms the basis for successful market penetration. Without them, you risk an unfair distribution of sales potential and workload, which jeopardizes the achievement of individual employees.
In this article, you'll learn how to strategically plan and optimize your sales areas. We'll show you proven methods for dividing territories, present helpful technologies and share best practices from practice. With the right strategies, you can use your sales resources more efficiently, expand your customer base, and ultimately increase your revenue.
What is a sales area and why is it important?
A Sales area represents the specific geographical or market segmented area in which your company focuses its sales activities. It forms the basis for your entire sales processes and includes all relevant aspects such as sales organization, sales channels and specific departments.
Definition and delimitation of sales areas
Sales areas - also known as sales territories or sales territories - refer to the geographical areas in which a company offers and sells its products or services. They are an essential part of sales strategy and combine customer segmentation, product lines and market potential in a dynamic concept. A sales area can be understood as the geographical area in which a company sells its goods (local, regional, national, international) or the region specifically assigned to a sales representative.
Typical divisions: geography, customers, industries
Sales areas can be divided according to various criteria:
- Geographical division: By postal code, state, city or region
- Customer-specific classification: By customer type, customer size or specific target groups
- Sector-specific classification: By industrial sector or market segment
- Product-specific classification: By product or service offering
In addition, these criteria can be combined, which is particularly useful in dense markets with many potential customers. The distribution according to regional aspects offers the main advantage that employees do not have to travel too long distances to the customer, which means that journeys can be kept short and optimized.
Why a clear structure is crucial
A well-defined sales territory structure is essential for a number of reasons:
First, sales territories ensure that the workload is distributed fairly among sales representatives. This avoids overlaps in which several sales representatives feel responsible for a customer, which would otherwise lead to conflicts.
Second, clearly defined areas increase efficiency. Salespeople can focus on a specific geographical area or industry segment and thus become experts in their assigned area.
Sales areas also enable personalized customer interactions. Your sales reps can better understand local characteristics and unique challenges faced by customers in their region.
With tools like Bliro, you can optimally plan and visualize your sales territories to exploit the full potential of each area.
Strategies for effective sales territory planning
The strategic planning of sales areas is the basis for the long-term success of your sales force. A clever layout ensures that your employees can concentrate on the areas with the highest sales opportunities.
Territorial zoning criteria
When dividing sales areas, you should consider various factors:
- Demographic characteristics of the target region
- Customer density and customer behavior
- Market and revenue potential
- Accessibility and natural barriers
- Local competitive situation
It is particularly important to consider product and industry-specific Sales potential per area. In addition, existing customer relationships also play a central role, as they directly influence realizable sales.
Avoiding overload and underload
Balancing the workload between your sales reps is crucial. According to a study, companies that use effective area allocation can on average 14% achieve higher sales targets. At the same time, employees in the field compare with each other how great the market potential is in their area of responsibility. An unfair distribution of sales potential and workload can lead to conflicts and jeopardize the achievement of goals.
Consideration of customer potential and travel times
The size of the areas has a significant impact on the quality of customer support. In particular, long travel times (usually from 80 to 100 km) can lead to dissatisfaction and inefficient customer service.
Sales areas in the B2B sector
In a B2B context, it is particularly important to identify key strategic customers and assign them to specific sales managers. Each sales development representative should be assigned a manageable number of customers that harmonize with their experience and skills. With the help of geomarketing software, you can also visualize and analyze all relevant data to calculate the optimal distribution of your sales areas.
Territory optimization technologies and tools
Modern technologies have fundamentally changed the way companies plan their sales territories. With the right Tools you get real-time data and analyses that are crucial for making well-founded decisions.
Benefits of geomarketing software
Geomarketing tools such as RegioGraph or easymap Professional offer you numerous advantages with Sales area optimization. This software makes it possible to visualize and analyze your collected data. This allows you to achieve a fair distribution of areas according to market potential and workload. Professional, software-supported sales territory planning demonstrably increases sales. You'll also help your employees spend more time with customers instead of being on the go.
Visualize sales areas with digital maps
Digital maps from easymap Visualize your sales areas clearly. You can analyze the distribution at any time and optimize it taking into account various parameters, such as potential, number of customers and routes. Flexible access to the central map, data and analysis base is particularly important, as a result of which all users have the same information base. In addition, transparent and objective planning ensures a high level of acceptance and motivation within the team.
How Bliro supports area planning
Bliro automates numerous tasks and gives you 8 hours more time per week for the essentials: achieve deals and increase sales. The tool analyses conversations, identifies trends and provides valuable insights for your decisions. This is particularly relevant for your sales representatives who have many on-site conversations with customers. The results speak for themselves: +22% conversion rate, +10% larger deals and +50% higher order volume. At the same time, your CRM always stays up to date, while your team is always one step ahead through data analysis and best practices.
Use CRM integration and real-time data
Integrating your CRM systems with area planning tools offers decisive advantages. In sales, understanding the landscape of your areas can make or break your strategy. With the right tools, you'll gain insights into customer demographics, competitor presence, and market trends, allowing you to optimize your sales distribution and target areas with the highest growth potential.
Best practices and practical tips
Sales area planning is not a one-time process, but requires continuous customization and optimization. Successful companies know that their regional structures must be just as dynamic as the markets themselves.
Regular review of the territorial structure
Nothing changes faster than your own market. For this reason, every regional structure requires regular performance monitoring. Check your sales areas specifically if you are dissatisfied with the results of your sales force or if you are restructuring your company structure. Cognism, for example, analyzed your sales territory strategy in detail to develop appropriate approaches for different segments and countries - resulting in increased sales and increased segment specialization of teams.
Involve your team and use feedback
A sales manager should never plan alone, but should involve all affected employees. This gives you valuable feedback and avoids resistance. Regular team meetings are crucial to:
- Ensuring the vote
- Identify problems at an early stage
- Identify opportunities that would otherwise be overlooked
With Bliro, you can record these insights from the conversations and incorporate them into your area optimization.
Maintain customer satisfaction when making changes
Special care should be taken when changing the sales structure. Sudden changes of contact person can customer satisfaction endanger. However, satisfied customers are more willing to pay higher prices and have a greater tolerance for error. That's why you should communicate transparently and prepare your team to be particularly attentive to customers during this transition phase.
Sales areas in Germany: examples from SMEs
The “German Mittelstand” has an excellent reputation worldwide. More than 600 of these companies are “hidden champions” - world market leaders in their niche. Renafan, a care provider, successfully expanded into China through strategic market analysis. Terhalle Holzbau optimised its sales areas taking sustainability and international presence into account. Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau relies on flexible project teams that develop individual solutions with customers right from the start - a principle that also applies to sales area planning.
Conclusion
The strategic planning of sales areas is undoubtedly a decisive success factor for companies. Properly implemented territorial structures can increase sales without having to change other parameters. Yet surprisingly, only one in four companies regularly reviews their sales areas.
Effective sales territories are based on a balanced mix of geographical, customer-related and industry-specific factors. The fair distribution of sales potential and workload between your sales staff appears particularly important. At the same time, factors such as travel times and customer density must be considered to maximize efficiency.
Modern technologies have fundamentally changed sales territory planning. Today, geomarketing software and digital maps offer you the opportunity to optimize your area structures based on data. Bliro helps you save valuable time and make well-founded decisions. By recording and analyzing conversations, the tool creates up to 8 hours more time per week for the essentials - active sales.
However, your sales areas should never be viewed statically. Regular reviews, involving your team and paying particular attention to customer satisfaction when making changes are essential for sustainable success. Numerous successful medium-sized companies show that well-thought-out sales territory structures can make a significant contribution to corporate success.
While you are your sales areas optimize, remember: Smart area planning allows your employees to focus on what really counts building valuable customer relationships and increasing sales. With the right strategies, tools like Bliro, and continuous customization, you can utilize the full potential of your sales territories.
