4. Assign territories to salesmen
Territory allocation is one of the most important aspects of a beat plan. When done right, it ensures maximum market coverage, optimized travel time, and balanced workloads. But poor territory assignment can lead to inefficiencies, missed sales opportunities, and frustrated salesmen. We suggest focusing on three key factors:
- Proximity to the base location
The closer a salesman’s assigned stores are to their starting point, the more time they can spend visiting stores instead of commuting. Make sure to factor in real-world travel conditions, not just the distance on a map — some locations may be geographically close but harder to reach due to traffic or road conditions.
- Equitable distribution of effort
When developing beat plans, you need to ensure a fair distribution of workload across the sales team. It’s not as simple as assigning an equal number of outlets to each salesman. You need to consider the practicalities on the ground.
Your planning needs to account for both the travel time between stores and the anticipated time spent at each location. For example, a visit to a large hypermarket will require more time for relationship management and order taking when compared to a quick stock check at a smaller, local store.
- Avoid overlapping territories
Clearly defining territory boundaries prevents two salesmen from visiting the same area unnecessarily, leading to duplicate efforts and potential conflicts. We suggest mapping out all the stores in a region and assigning them to specific salesmen.
You can also use salesforce automation tools like Botree SFA to track your team’s locations and prevent overlaps.
5. Plan your routes and schedules
First, map out your route in such a way that loops back to a salesman’s base location — this minimizes travel time and fuel costs. Then, plan for real-world challenges like traffic and road closures so your schedule is manageable even if there’s an unexpected delay.
We recommend adding a buffer time to your schedules to account for such disruptions. This gives your field force a bit of breathing room and helps prevent them from constantly feeling like they’re falling behind on their daily targets.
