How can you plan and execute territory expansion and penetration strategies?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you decide to expand or penetrate a new territory, you need to have a clear understanding of your current situation. This includes analyzing your existing territories, customers, competitors, and performance metrics. You should identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in each territory, as well as your market share, customer satisfaction, and sales potential. You should also evaluate your sales team's capacity, skills, and motivation to take on new challenges.

2 Define your goals and criteria

Once you have a clear picture of your current situation, you need to define your goals and criteria for territory expansion and penetration. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and aligned with your overall sales strategy and objectives. Your criteria should be based on data-driven factors, such as market size, growth rate, customer profile, competitive landscape, and profitability. You should also consider the legal, regulatory, cultural, and logistical aspects of entering a new territory.

3 Select and prioritize your target territories

Based on your goals and criteria, you need to select and prioritize your target territories for expansion and penetration. You can use various tools and methods to do this, such as market segmentation, scoring models, mapping software, and sales forecasting. You should aim to create a balanced portfolio of territories that offer different levels of risk and reward, as well as a clear roadmap of how and when you will pursue them. You should also consult with your sales team and other stakeholders to get their input and buy-in.

4 Assign and optimize your sales resources

After you have selected and prioritized your target territories, you need to assign and optimize your sales resources accordingly. This involves deciding how you will divide and allocate your sales team, budget, and assets among the new and existing territories. You should consider factors such as territory size, complexity, potential, and competition, as well as your sales team's availability, expertise, and preferences. You should also use sales enablement tools and techniques to equip your sales team with the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to succeed in the new territories.

5 Monitor and evaluate your results

Finally, you need to monitor and evaluate your results from your territory expansion and penetration strategies. This means tracking and measuring your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as revenue, market share, customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction, as well as your costs, risks, and challenges. You should use data visualization and reporting tools to communicate your progress and outcomes to your sales team and other stakeholders. You should also use feedback and analysis to identify and address any issues or gaps, and to adjust your strategies as needed.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?