One of the most important components to a sales operation is the way in which territories are handled.
Planning and managing sales territories is not always an easy task. Because of this, many are turning to sales territory planning and management software to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.
Before making the jump, you should be on the lookout for a few green flags that will end up making the most sense for your sales team.
1. The Territory Planning Software Works with Your Data
Yes, it seems like a no-brainer to choose a tool that works with your data. But we want you to really think about this.
A territory planning software will be using your sales data to better build out territories. You need to have confidence that your data can be injected into the software easily and will be safe to work with while you plan.
You might ask yourself a few questions to figure out what this really means for your sales team:
Where does the bulk of my data come from?
What does updating my data look like?
What is my process for adding new data?
If you’re using a CRM platform like Salesforce, you’ll want to work with software that integrates properly. If you also have data used outside of Salesforce, it would be wise to consider a territory planning software with the ability to take data off-platform while you work.
Having your own sandbox to play in, so to speak, allows you to be in total control of the data without the risk of accidentally changing important account information.
2. User-Friendly with Excellent Customer Support
A large reason to invest in territory planning software is to save time on administrative tasks. With that in mind, shouldn’t the software itself be easy to use? Shouldn’t interacting with the software take you less time than the process you previously had in place?
In order to justify spending money on a territory planning software, you need to know that you don’t have to be a data scientist in order to use it.
Be on the lookout for reviews about user experience, first and foremost. You can, and should, take it one step further by researching the level of customer support that accompanies the product.
If the territory planning software is easy to figure out and easy to use, chances are you won’t need to interact with a support team very often. But it is important to know that a good one exists in the event of any issue, big or small.
3. Optimization Is at the Forefront
You’re looking for a territory planning software to make your sales territories sparkle. You need to know that the software has the ability to optimize not only for you, but with you.
What we mean by “optimize with you” is that you won’t outgrow the software, and that it has the ability to grow as your business grows.
Let’s say you’re just starting your territory planning process and you really don’t know what your territories look like. You’ll require a software that can help you build that out just by knowing who your reps are and how many accounts you have from a geographic perspective. Your data tells you that.
But what happens when you want to do just a little bit more? Or what happens if your business needs evolve? That’s where being able to lean on a software for different ways of optimization comes into play. Keep an eye out for software that allows you to build out and optimize your sales territories in a variety of ways, whether it be from a hierarchy perspective, data perspective, etc.
Be sure to choose a territory planning software that meets you where you’re at, and also meets you where you want to be going.
