Effective Sales Territory Management

How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch.

If you manage a territory that has existing customers, your first priority should be to introduce yourself to every single one of your customers. This should be a pleasant, low-key introduction along the lines of, "I just wanted to introduce myself and see if there is anything I can do to help you." Then, as you are chatting with your customers, you can ask, "Would you mind sharing with me how you think my company's relationship with you has been going so far? What have we been doing well? Where could we improve?"

Collecting this kind of feedback is a great way to start relationships with customers. It also helps you draw any festering problems out into the open. If you can address the problems quickly, it can really jump-start your relationships with the affected customers.

This same approach can also be effective for customers that have been reducing their purchases from your company over time, or customers that have stopped ordering completely. It is never much fun to listen to people complain. But, if you can isolate and solve the problems that are causing the dissatisfaction, you can produce a rapid and substantial boost in sales.

If you find customers that are really happy with the service your company has provided, drill down (with more questions) to determine just what has made them so happy. Their answers will provide you with a template for successfully managing their (and other) accounts. Also, ask these happy customers for referrals?regardless of whether you have contributed in any way to their happiness! Happy, satisfied customers are usually delighted to share their positive experience with others.

Once you have met all of your existing customers, the next step is to identify target prospects in your territory. Start by checking with your manager. If they have been managing your sales team for any period of time, they should be able to suggest some good target prospects.

Once you have compiled a list of target prospects, determine which ones you will pursue first. Which target prospects have the greatest potential to purchase the largest amounts of products and services? Which ones are likely to be "quick closes"? If you have both types of target prospects on your list, pursue several of each type at the same time. In the words of a well-respected executive that I used to work with, "Elephant hunting is great?but those rabbits sure taste good in between the elephants!"

When you are ready to begin pursuing your target prospects, start by asking your existing customers whether they know anyone that works in the target organizations. If they do, ask for referrals. Once you have exhausted available referrals, proceed with the other activities in your prospecting plan - but tailor these activities to attract the attention of your target prospects.

Conclusion

Effective sales territory management begins with touching base with every single one of your existing customers. Ask questions to gauge their satisfaction with their relationship with your company. If they identify any problems, work aggressively to solve these problems as your first priority.

If a customer expresses happiness and satisfaction, ask questions to determine what your company has been doing right. Use this information to create a template for managing all of your accounts. Also be sure to ask for referrals, both in general and to specific target accounts. Exhaust these referrals before you begin the other (less productive) activities in your prospecting plan.

Prioritize your activities as described in this article, and you will maximize sales growth in your territory!

Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform and What to Do About It. To learn more about his book and sign up for more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020performance.com.

---

Sales Competence Isn?t About Quota Performance!

Compounding the problem are two myths regarding measures of competency... Read More

Sales Plan? Whats a Sales Plan?

In the past, if you said the word "plan" to... Read More

A Real CRM Strategy or Just Tracking Customers?

Exactly what is CRMThe idea itself is nothing new; its... Read More

Investing in Your Sales Team

While there's no easy answer to this question, there are... Read More

10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays

Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come... Read More

Hiring--A Vital Key In Sales Management Success

Recently, I was asked to spend some time on the... Read More

Speed-up Your Sales Cycle

This week's article is my response to a question by... Read More

4 Tips for the Summer Slowdown - How To Pick Up Sales

You may have heard about the "summer slowdown". You may... Read More

Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments

Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and... Read More

The Effective Executive

What does it mean to be an "effective executive"? Well... Read More

The ACCOUNTABILITY Challenge for Today?s Business Management

In today's 24/7 driven business word, accountability is becoming a... Read More

Overcoming Sales Objections for Small Business Networks

Do you need help overcoming sales objections? Do you sell... Read More

Franchise Sales; Recruiting of Laid Off Employees

Because of corporate downsizing, many people have been laid-off or... Read More

Want to Increase the Amount of Business that Your Firm is Getting?

Business development is important for every business and refers to... Read More

Sales Forecasting For New Businesses

Sales forecasting is the process of organizing and analysing information... Read More

3 Steps To Getting A Sales Meeting

The best way to get a new customer is to... Read More

Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence

"(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to... Read More

Leadership Lessons for Sales Managers

Leadership, like class, is hard to define, but easy to... Read More

Poor Performance - Fix it by Coaching

Coaching is about finding out the cause of poor performance... Read More

100% Commission Equals Zero Percent Control

The temptation to use straight (100%) commission plans never goes... Read More

Promoting Your Private Label at Industry Trade Shows

So everyone thought you were crazy when you announced 6... Read More

Sales Pipeline Forecasting Is There A Better Way?

To put it mildly most companies sales forecasting just isn't... Read More

Sales Marketing: 12 Sneaky Tricks To Help You Outsell Your Competition

Business can be like war sometimes.You may have to fight... Read More

How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2

Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is... Read More

Sacking Clients: Brand Power Wheel

Remember in the last message we talked about your directional... Read More

Determining Sales Fit; the Key Growth Process for Your Business

Help your organization grow by assessing the right indicators in... Read More

The Differences Between A Commercial Collections Agency & Lawyer

If your letter writing and phone calls have all failed... Read More

Getting Off The Advertising And Sales Rollercoaster

Seeing the results of advertising your business can be like... Read More

Baditude!

As a group of sales trainees took a break from... Read More

The Get Dangerous Quickly Approach to Product/Service Training

In 2000 a computer distributor hired me to help them... Read More

All Small Businesses Need to Gather Community Intel

How well do you know your community? As business owners... Read More

Energize Your Organization

No matter what you do, it seems, your employees do... Read More

Increasing Sales by Using Coupons - Will it Help Your Business?

Increasing Sales by using Coupons. Will it help your business?... Read More