Reduce Reactivity in Territory Management with Time-Blocking per Rick Denley, Ep #296
Too many sales reps treat territory sales planning reactively. Many sales reps get a call from clients, jump in the car, and drive off. They aren\u2019t managing their territory. How can they reduce reactivity? By\xa0time blocking. Block in different areas of your territory to visit on different days to help yourself stay organized. You can also time-block different segments to look at different verticals or disciplines. Rick Denley believes the key to success is\xa0proactive\xa0planning. Because if you don\u2019t have a good plan, success will become further out of reach. Hear more of his thoughts on territory sales management in this episode of Sales Reinvented!
Outline of This Episode- [0:48] Why is territory sales planning underrated?\xa0
- [1:31] Reduce reactivity in territory management by time-blocking
- [2:40] Rick\u2019s ideal territory sales territory plan
- [3:35] The attributes of a great territory sales manager\xa0
- [5:17] Tools, tactics, and strategies, to improve sales planning skills
- [6:30] Top territory sales planning dos and don\u2019ts
- [9:00] Align knowledge and expertise in your territory
Rick notes that you need to start by analyzing the market and your segment of customers. Then you need to identify the business environment that you\u2019re working with. You likely have different verticals and different types of customers.\xa0
Rick also suggests performing a SWOT analysis of the market. What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? What is your position in the marketplace? Where do you want to spend more time? Where should you spend\xa0less\xa0time? How you use your time is vital.\xa0
How are you organizing your time and efforts throughout your territory to make sure that you\u2019re focusing where you need to? If you\u2019re looking to grow and find new business, that dictates a different territory management approach than if you\u2019re maintaining existing accounts.\xa0
With very few exceptions, the 80/20 rule applies\u2014you get 80% of your business from 20% of your clients. So you have to cover that 20% so you don\u2019t lose business. It takes far more effort to get new customers.\xa0
Rick\u2019s favorite territory management tool: SmartDrawRick suggests utilizing SmartDraw to map out your territory. It\u2019s software that helps you build a visual representation of your territory. This allows you to focus on where you\u2019re spending time and where your business is coming from\xa0geographically. You can also color-code it to see what verticals the business is coming from. When account reps move things around or the organization changes, it\u2019s easy to make any edits in this software tool.\xa0
Top territory sales planning dos and don\u2019tsRick shares his favorite territory management tips:
- Time block: Time block a month ahead so you know where your focus will be each day. You will look professional and organized.
- Set growth goals and establish targets within your territory. You want to drive more sales but need to do that by setting realistic goals. Maybe a portion of your territory isn\u2019t well covered. Plan to go there one day a week for the next three months.
- Develop a strategy map with your sales territory, targets, and goals. Create a strategy and use software to visually map it out.\xa0
- Review and track your results so you can measure success in your territory and categories.\xa0Create a visual map to show where business is coming from and growing.
When Rick was in sales leadership, he was working closely with 12 sales reps. They were in the process of shifting them to different territories. Rick acknowledges that it was painful. People don\u2019t like change.\xa0
They had to map out each of their accounts. Back in the day, that meant physically mapping them out on a map of Canada. They had different stick pins for different organizations and industry verticals.\xa0
They understood that aligning sales reps with knowledge and expertise in a specific industry with the clients who were the best match was key. Too many sales reps are given territories that they can\u2019t handle. So they assigned food and beverage to one rep, pharmaceutical to another, and so forth. They saw tremendous results from aligning specialties with client needs.
You have to be open and flexible to change within territories\u2014don\u2019t act like you own it. Things will change on an ongoing basis. The customer needs to be first. Secondly, it can be good to get others involved in your territory to maximize the amount of revenue you can generate from it.\xa0
Resources & People Mentioned\xa0 Connect with Rick Denley Connect With Paul Watts\xa0Audio Production and Show notes by
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