The annual impact of salespeople waiting for new territories can vary depending on factors such as the size of the sales team, the industry, and the company’s specific circumstances. However, this can be significant in terms of lost sales opportunities, decreased revenue, and reduced productivity.
“Establishing and managing sales territories requires constant evaluation of three main areas: current open accounts, the territories themselves, and your sales reps,” says Mary Clare Novak at G2. “When you have a good grasp on those three factors, you can define the territories, set goals, and execute the plan. It’s important that the territories be set in a balanced manner that opens opportunities for sales reps and gives customers a positive experience.”
If delays or any of these factors go unchecked, the loss will present itself in at least four ways.
1. Lost Sales Opportunities
When salespeople wait for new territories, they do not actively engage with potential customers or pursue sales opportunities. This can result in missed deals and lost revenue that would have otherwise been generated if the sales team was fully deployed and actively selling.
Automation is key. Gartner research found that 90 percent of companies need to use two or more lead enrichment tools to gather information about new leads.
An automated Go-to-Market platform with a territory management system can analyze various factors such as geographical location, customer density, purchasing behavior, and sales potential to effectively assign territories to sales representatives. Businesses can avoid missed opportunities due to underserved or neglected areas by ensuring that the right salesperson adequately covers each territory.
2. Decreased Revenue
At the risk of seeming too obvious, idle salespeople mean fewer sales transactions, which directly translates to decreased revenue for the company. Naturally, this impacts the company’s financial performance, primarily if the sales team represents a significant portion of the revenue-generating activities. A lack of organization is a common culprit. Without an organized plan that tracks leads and opportunities, your sales team won’t be able to sell effectively.
Fullcast can integrate with CRM platforms and lead management systems to automatically route leads and opportunities to the most appropriate sales representative based on predefined criteria such as territory ownership, specialization, or availability. Businesses can minimize delays and increase the likelihood of conversion by ensuring that leads are promptly assigned to the right person.
3. Reduced Productivity
Territory planning is an essential part of your Go-to-Market strategies. Teams may waste valuable time, effort, and sales opportunities without a well-defined sales plan. That’s especially concerning given that one in five sales reps believes they don’t have the right resources to keep their sales processes on track.
No team pep talk or SKO can compensate for delays in territory plans. It practically guarantees that your sales team will become disengaged, leading to decreased productivity levels.
An automated GTM platform offers better coordination and collaboration among sales teams by providing visibility into territory assignments, activities, and objectives. By fostering communication and sharing best practices across territories, businesses can consistently execute sales strategies and ensure timely opportunities resulting from siloed efforts.
4. Delayed Sales Ramp-Up
When new sales hires wait for territories to be assigned, it prolongs the time it takes them to become fully productive and generate revenue.
Keep in mind that, on average, reps at winning organizations take four weeks to complete an onboarding program and are fully ramped up in four to five months. Any delay in sales ramp-up can extend the payback period for hiring and training expenses, impacting the company’s profitability and return on investment in sales talent.
While enablement plays a vital role in reducing ramp time, preparing effectively within your Go-to-Market (GTM) operations is equally essential. RevOps offers numerous strategies to expedite this process.
Overall, the annual impact of salespeople waiting for new territories can be substantial in terms of lost revenue, decreased productivity, and delayed sales performance. It underscores the importance of effective territory management and timely deployment of sales resources to maximize sales effectiveness and revenue generation.
Fullcast allows users to quickly perform internal forecasting and plan balanced GTM strategies by creating capacity models to define roles and manage assignments wherever you need them most. Want to learn more? Book a demo here.
