Ramping Up a New Territory
Starting a new territory can be exciting but it also has its pitfalls.
If you hang around in the sales profession long enough you are going to end up with a new territory –either because your company assigned it to you or because you changed jobs. Starting a new territory can be exciting but it also has its pitfalls.
Megan, a Sales Pro from Savannah, Georgia sent us this question:
My company just changed my territory. What is the best way to get established in my new territory quickly?
Ramping up a new territory can be both exciting and overwhelming. Exciting because everything is new and you get a fresh start; overwhelming because there is so much to accomplish. And when the honeymoon is short and the boss puts pressure on you to deliver results immediately – the stress piles on.
In my experience most salespeople who enter a new territory, fall victim to a vicious cycle.
When they start in their new territory- in an effort to ramp an empty pipeline quickly – they prospect like crazy. They call, they knock on doors, and they talk to everyone they know about opportunities. Then, just as the prospecting starts paying off, they get so focused on closing and implementing new business, that prospecting takes a back seat. Prospecting goes from 90% of their time to 10% of their time. Soon, and predictably their funnel is once again bone dry. Then the prospecting is back at 90% . . . and thus the cycle continues.
These peaks and valleys very quickly leave you stressed, running in circles and doubting you own ability. Worst of all in the midst of these ups and down, in which you are focused on short-term results, you forget to invest in and manage your prospect database in your CRM for your long-term success.
So how do you effectively ramp-up a new territory with the least amount of stress, deliver results, build for the future and have fun in the process? The answer, Megan, is to develop a plan, keep it simple and stick to it. Of course, as always, that’s easier said than done. However, taking time up front to plan is absolutely critical for success.
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First, set aside time every day to prospect. Today, tomorrow and throughout your career in sales, 80% of your time should always be spent looking for and seeking out new opportunities. You must keep your funnel full. When I say set aside time I mean blocking a consistent amount of time on your calendar that will be used exclusively for prospecting to new customers – every day. Nothing should ever be allowed to interfere with your daily prospecting.
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Next set up a time and territory management plan. Starting out, your territory is going seem huge and overwhelming. There will be new opportunities everywhere and naturally you will want to tackle them all at once. Without a plan though, you will waste countless hours behind a windshield or on the phone haphazardly calling all over your territory.
Failing to set up a time and territory plan in advance is the single biggest mistake salespeople make when starting a new territory. There is no right or wrong way to do this and I advise you to get someone to help you so you get a different perspective. What works best for me is to divide my territory into 4 quadrants – 1 for each day of the week. (I save the 5th day for office work and unexpected opportunities.) Then set your prospecting and appointment schedule up to coincide with these days and develop the self-discipline to stick with the plan. Avoid the temptation to run from one side of your territory to the other chasing “hot” prospects. Instead, calmly set appointments for the days you are in those quadrants.
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It is also vital that you meticulously manage your prospect database. When you start a new territory your database may be in bad shape or worse empty. A core part of ramping up a new territory is changing that. There is nothing more valuable in your sales tool box than your prospect database. Take time every afternoon to update your CRM with new prospects, call notes, and next steps. Be religious about this and do not end the day until this task is done. Keeping your prospect database up to date is about seeing the big picture and setting yourself up for success in the future. It is about making sure the investment you make today pays off tomorrow.
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Finally, do a little bit every day. There is a children’s riddle that asks, “What is the best way to eat and elephant?” The answer of course is one bite at a time. You can’t do everything at once. It will take months to fully ramp up. But when you consistently and systematically do a little bit of the right things every day you will be amazed at how these activities build on themselves. Soon you will see your pipeline fill, your sales increase, and your name move steadily up the sales ranking chart.
This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy. If you have a sales question please send it to salesguy@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email. I also hope you will take a moment to add me to your network on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Sales Gravy.
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