Territory mapping 101: a field rep's guide
Territory mapping isn't drawing lines on a map. It's answering three questions honestly.
Most territory mapping exercises produce a color-coded map and zero new revenue. That's because they start with the map instead of the strategy.
The three questions
Before you open any tool, answer three things on a napkin.
First: who are my top-20 accounts by expected 12-month revenue? Rank them. If you can't rank them, you don't know them well enough.
Second: where does the density cluster? Cities, industrial zones, medical complexes — buyers you sell to tend to cluster. Where are the clusters in your territory?
Third: what's my weekly driving budget in hours? Everything else flows from this. If you have 20 hours a week of drive time, you can't cover a region that takes 30.
Now open the map
With those three answers, open whatever map tool your CRM provides. Pin your top-20 accounts. Draw rough circles around the clusters. You now have your "home bases."
For the next month, rotate through home bases. Don't plan routes that cross cluster boundaries unless something important is calling you across.
Revisit quarterly
Territories shift. Buyers move, clusters grow, new accounts appear. Re-run the three questions every quarter. The map should change, because the reality did.
Territory mapping is not a one-time onboarding exercise. It's a weekly habit that takes the shape of a map.