Deploying new territories is where the rubber meets the road. That’s why fast-growing companies must apply growth objectives to their operational day-to-day processes. As Watershed expanded, the company needed to double its sales team and expand into new geographies, all while maintaining precise territory definitions and tight rules of engagement that minimize conflicts and maximize sales rep efficiency.
“You have to maximize the rep utilization and chances for reps to hit quota within each territories, which is really the ultimate RevOps problem to solve.” Trevor Hussey
Using spreadsheets for territory planning is inefficient, frustrating, and time-consuming. Manual data transformations, and trying to balance more than just a few account attributes, take forever in Google Sheets, which can really kill your workflow. Ultimately, manual planning leads to frequent context switching and delays, impacting the accuracy of your territory plans.
Poor territory planning has serious consequences. You risk eroding stakeholder trust and breeding dissatisfaction amongst your sales teams, especially when reps feel like territories are inequitable. RevOps teams work in spreadsheets late into the night and feel like unfair king- or queen-makers.
“Data transformations just take forever in Google Sheets! It was just killing my workflow context, switching from back and forth.” Trevor Hussey
Preparation and clear communication with stakeholders is critical for successful territory planning. Decide what’s essential, assign clear roles and responsibilities, and meticulously document your territory logic. Having a project hub can help align stakeholders and ensures everyone is on the same page, leading to a smoother planning process.
A crucial step in territory planning is establishing goals for how you balance your territories. Start with your Ideal Customer Profile. For example, you’ll want to balance the number of accounts, account scores, timezones, technographics, and even intent signals. When you have a clear measuring stick of what a good territory is, it makes that equity conversation with sales reps a lot simpler and maintains motivation and effectiveness.
Creating a comprehensive State of the Union report helps visualize the current state of your territories. It’s a summary view of the equity across territories. Write down the structure you have today, like the names of reps and their territories, and how hierarchies, regions, and verticals are set up. It’s an essential tool for identifying imbalances and making informed adjustments.
Use a scenario framework to gather and implement stakeholder feedback. This method allows for structured inputs and avoids the chaos of one-off changes to keep you focused on your goals. By socializing these scenarios with stakeholders, RevOps teams can ensure that all voices are heard and considered in the final territory design.
Once the design phase is complete, it’s crucial to operationalize the territory plans. This includes integrating the new territories into CRM systems and lead routing tools. Proper documentation and alignment with rules of engagement ensure that the territories are implemented smoothly and effectively.
Territory plans are essentially hypotheses about market potential. This means continuous measurement and adjustment are necessary. Regularly assessing performance against your goals for balancing territories allows RevOps teams to make data-driven decisions and refine strategies over time.
“Territory equity is the biggest shining light. Revenue operators feel really good about knowing that each rep has an equitable shot at hitting quota and making an impact at the company.” Trevor Hussey
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