---
name: territory-planning
description: Plan, assign, and optimize sales territories for balanced coverage and maximum revenue potential. Use when designing territory boundaries, assigning accounts to reps, setting quotas, rebalancing territories, planning strategic account coverage, or managing territory transfers. Triggers on phrases like "assign territory", "rebalance territory", "territory plan", "quota setting", "account assignment", "territory handoff", "coverage map".
---

# Territory Planning & Management

Design and manage geographic and account-based sales territories for optimal coverage and revenue performance.

## Workflow

### 1. Territory Design & Segmentation

1. **Define territory segmentation criteria**:
   - Geographic boundaries (region, state, metro area, ZIP code)
   - Industry vertical alignment
   - Account size/tier (Enterprise, Mid-Market, SMB)
   - Revenue potential and strategic value
   - Product/solution focus areas

2. **Data-driven boundary setting**:
   - Pull account data from CRM (location, ARR, industry, stage)
   - Map current coverage using heatmaps
   - Identify white spaces and overlap areas
   - Calculate travel time and cost per territory
   - Model revenue potential per territory

3. **Balancing territories**:
   - Equalize revenue potential across territories (±15% variance max)
   - Account for travel density and time costs
   - Weight by historical win rates and sales cycle length
   - Ensure manageable account counts per rep (Enterprise: 30-50, Mid-Market: 60-100, SMB: 150-300)
   - Validate against rep capacity and experience level

### 2. Account Assignment & Ownership

1. **Map accounts to territories**:
   - Assign each account to a single territory owner (no shared accounts unless strategic)
   - Define clear rules for multi-location accounts (assign to HQ or primary revenue source)
   - Handle prospect accounts: assign by territory, not by rep preference
   - Maintain account-to-territory mapping document updated quarterly

2. **Strategic account designation**:
   - Flag top 20% accounts as strategic (>$500K ARR or key vertical players)
   - Assign strategic account coverage model:
     - Dedicated AE for accounts >$1M ARR
     - Shared coverage with SDR for accounts $250-500K
     - Team-selling model for logos requiring multiple stakeholders
   - Create account plan template for all strategic accounts

3. **Non-compete and conflict resolution**:
   - Define rules when multiple reps target same account
   - Establish "first touch" vs "last touch" attribution
   - Set internal SLA for account conflict resolution (48 hours)
   - Manager arbitrates disputes using revenue impact criteria

### 3. Quota Setting Methodology

1. **Top-down quota allocation**:
   - Start with company revenue target
   - Subtract known pipeline (renewals, existing deals in late stages)
   - Divide remaining gap among territories
   - Adjust for territory-specific factors (new market, growth stage, competitive density)

2. **Bottom-up validation**:
   - Validate each territory quota against:
     - Addressable market size in territory
     - Historical attainment rates
     - Average deal size × realistic deal count
     - Pipeline coverage requirements (3-4x quota)
   - Flag territories where quota exceeds 120% of realistic capacity

3. **Quota structure**:
   - Break annual quota into quarterly and monthly targets
   - Include product mix requirements if applicable
   - Set stretch goals (120% of base quota) with accelerated commission
   - Document quota assumptions and rationale for each territory

### 4. Territory Transfer & Transition

1. **Initiate transfer process**:
   - Document reason for transfer (rep departure, territory redesign, performance)
   - Identify receiving rep or team
   - Set transfer effective date (align with quarter end when possible)
   - Notify affected accounts with positive messaging

2. **Knowledge transfer checklist**:
   - All open opportunities with stage, value, next steps, key contacts
   - Account relationships and stakeholder maps
   - Competitive landscape notes
   - Historical deal data and win/loss patterns
   - Outstanding commitments or promises to customers
   - Contract renewal dates and expansion opportunities

3. **Customer communication plan**:
   - Joint introductory meeting with outgoing and incoming rep (where possible)
   - Email notification to key contacts (CC manager)
   - Personalized outreach within 5 business days by new owner
   - 30-day check-in call with top 20% accounts

### 5. Territory Performance Tracking

1. **Weekly territory scorecard**:
   - Revenue vs quota progress (%)
   - Pipeline coverage ratio
   - Activities: calls, meetings, proposals
   - Win rate and average deal size
   - New logos vs expansion revenue

2. **Quarterly territory review**:
   - Attainment analysis (over/under performers)
   - Market share and competitive dynamics
   - Territory health indicators (activity levels, engagement scores)
   - Identify rebalancing needs
   - Update territory plans for next quarter

## Templates & Frameworks

### Territory Assignment Matrix

```
TERRITORY MAP — Q2 2025
=====================================

Territory | Rep        | Accounts | Pipeline | Quota    | Coverage
----------|------------|----------|----------|----------|---------
Northeast | J. Smith   | 85       | $2.4M    | $600K    | 4.0x
Southeast | A. Johnson | 92       | $2.1M    | $600K    | 3.5x
Midwest   | R. Patel   | 78       | $1.8M    | $550K    | 3.3x
West      | L. Garcia  | 105      | $2.8M    | $700K    | 4.0x
Southwest | T. Kim     | 88       | $1.9M    | $600K    | 3.2x
```

### Territory Handoff Template

```
TERRITORY HANDOFF — [Outgoing Rep] → [Incoming Rep]
Effective: [Date]

STRATEGIC ACCOUNTS (Top 10):
  1. [Account] — $[ARR] — Key contact: [Name/Title] — Relationship: [warm/cold]
     Open deals: [deal name, stage, value, close date]
     Risks: [any competitive threats or relationship issues]
  
  2. [Account] — ...

OPEN PIPELINE SUMMARY:
  Total opportunities: [count]
  Total pipeline value: $[amount]
  Weighted pipeline: $[amount]
  Deals closing this quarter: [count, $amount]

RELATIONSHIP NOTES:
  [Key contacts, preferences, communication styles, decision-makers]

OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS:
  [Promises, demos scheduled, proposals in flight, SLA commitments]

RECOMMENDED FIRST ACTIONS:
  1. [Priority 1]
  2. [Priority 2]
  3. [Priority 3]
```

## Integration Points

- CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot): Territory assignment, account mapping, pipeline data
- CPQ/Revenue systems: Quota tracking, commission calculations
- Revenue intelligence (Gong, Chorus): Activity tracking, engagement data
- Business intelligence (Tableau, Looker): Territory dashboards, heatmap visualization
- MAP/territory planning tools (Xactly, Clari, Dynamic Force): Automated territory optimization
- HRIS: Rep hiring, transfers, termination data for territory planning

## Edge Cases

- **New market entry**: No historical data; use industry benchmarks, competitor presence, and economic indicators to estimate territory potential
- **Key account rep departure**: Fast-track knowledge transfer; manager covers accounts for max 5 business days before handoff
- **Territory consolidation** (due to hiring freeze): Temporarily expand territory boundaries; reduce activity expectations by 20% during transition
- **Cross-sell territory overlap**: Define clear rules when same account has multiple product relationships with different reps
- **International territory management**: Account for time zones, language requirements, cultural selling approaches, and local compliance

## Output

### Territory Performance Dashboard

```
TERRITORY SCORECARD — Week 12, Q2 2025
======================================

  Territory    | Quota YTD | YTD Revenue | Attainment | Pipeline Cov | Win Rate
  -------------|-----------|-------------|------------|-------------|---------
  Northeast    | $1.4M     | $1.56M      | 111% ✓     | 4.2x ✓     | 24% ✓
  Southeast    | $1.4M     | $1.19M      | 85% ⚠     | 2.8x ⚠    | 18% ⚠
  Midwest      | $1.3M     | $1.30M      | 100% ✓     | 3.5x ✓     | 21% ✓
  West         | $1.6M     | $1.76M      | 110% ✓     | 4.5x ✓     | 26% ✓
  Southwest    | $1.4M     | $1.05M      | 75% 🔴     | 2.4x 🔴   | 15% 🔴

Flags:
  🔴 Southwest territory behind by 25% — review pipeline quality and activity levels
  ⚠  Southeast needs pipeline injection — 3 strategic accounts unengaged
```

## Trigger Phrases

"assign a territory", "rebalance territories", "territory plan", "set quota", "account assignment", "territory handoff", "territory transfer", "coverage map", "quota allocation", "territory review", "white space analysis", "territory redesign", "account ownership", "strategic account assignment"