Research Finds 20 Percent Higher Sales Achievement with Territory Planning Technology
San Jose, Calif. —May 22, 2018— New research conducted by Xactly and the Sales Management Association (SMA) shows that enterprise companies can increase sales objective achievement as much as 20 percent by using automated technology for territory design. Further, while just 36 percent of companies ranked effective at territory design, those organizations that did had nearly 30 percent higher performance than the laggards. The survey also uncovered that the most effective companies at territory design apply advanced tools and have the ability to measure sales potential for prospective and existing customers across territories.
For a summary of the survey findings, please see the infographic here.
“The survey clearly shows that enterprises are missing a critical opportunity when it comes to sales territory design and planning,” said Marc Gemassmer, chief sales officer of Xactly. “By applying modern technologies and data-based insights, organizations can ensure the right coverage and create more balanced territories. Moreover, the research underscores the fact that this approach delivers better achievement of sales goals.”
“This research shows just how much sound sales territories matter,” said Bob Kelly, Chairman of the Sales Management Association. “Firms that master territory design gain benefits that cascade throughout the sales organization, delivering advantages in sales coverage, productivity and performance.”
Enterprises Missing Opportunity to Achieve Sales Potential and Increase Revenue
Among the respondents polled, a startling 83 percent still use manual processes, either moderately or frequently, to design sales territories and 61 percent rarely or have never used a purpose-built application for territory design. However, the survey found that sales objective achievement was:
- 10 percent higher than average for organizations using technology – and 20 percent higher than laggards
- 8 percent higher than average for companies able to measure sales potential
Moreover, while the majority of companies recognize the need to measure sales potential, only a fraction of them have the ability to do so. Specifically, while 76 percent of respondents said that measuring sales potential in prospective customers was the most important data point, only 30 percent of respondents are effective in doing so. Likewise, just 38 percent noted they are effective at measuring the potential in existing customers.
The findings show that organizations are missing an opportunity to drive growth by properly identifying, measuring the value of and adequately supporting prospects and customers in the selling process. Additionally, the survey reveals a need for increased data insights and logic in the territory planning process.
Download the executive report “Optimizing Sales Territory Design: SMA 2018 Research Update” here.
Survey Methodology
The Sales Management Association (SMA) led survey, sponsored by Xactly, polled 100 respondents in sales operations and management on their territory design practices. Companies surveyed had between $10 million and $10 billion in revenue.
To learn more about how you can design and manage well-balanced, travel-efficient sales and service territories to drive growth, visit: https://bit.ly/2K8PLEW
About Xactly
Xactly delivers a scalable, cloud based enterprise platform for planning and incenting sales organizations, including sales quota and territory planning, incentive compensation management, and predictive analytics. Using this powerful sales performance management (SPM) portfolio, customers mitigate risk, accelerate sales performance, and increase business agility. Combined with Xactly Insights, the industry’s only empirical big data platform, Xactly empowers companies with real-time compensation insights and benchmarking data that maximize the bottom line. With an open, standards-based architecture, Xactly seamlessly integrates within an enterprise’s existing infrastructure, with the ability to work with any ERP, CRM, or HCM application, while meeting the highest enterprise standards in security, reliability, and privacy.
To learn more about Xactly and the latest issues and trends in SPM software, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and the Xactly Blog.
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