What is Territory Management?
Territory Management in Zoho CRM allows you to organize and share customer accounts among your sales team based on predefined criteria. This feature is especially useful for organizations with regional sales teams or complex sales structures. With Territory Management, you can efficiently handle complex hierarchies, improve forecasting accuracy, plan resources better, and ensure stronger market coverage across all regions.
Benefits of Territory Management include:
Managing complex sales hierarchies.
Advanced forecasting capabilities.
Better resource planning.
Enhanced market coverage.
For example, if your company has different forecasting goals for each region, territory management ensures that you’re always on top of performance and market trends.
Planning Your Territories
Before setting up territories in Zoho CRM, it’s crucial to:
- Define clear criteria for segmenting your territories.
- Set measurable goals for each region.
- Decide which teams will manage which territories.
Once you’ve done your planning, Zoho CRM makes it easy to create and manage these territories.
Setting Up Territories in Zoho CRM
Step 1: Navigate to Territory Management
From your Zoho CRM dashboard, go to Setup and click on Territory Management.
Step 2: Create New Territories
You can replicate your existing role hierarchy as territories or start from scratch. For example, a company might have territories for America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe & Middle East, with sub-territories managed by specific territory managers.
To create a new territory:
- Click + New Territory.
- Name your territory.
- Assign a manager (the manager has permissions to add, edit, or delete within the territory).
- Select which users will have access—grant them either read-only or read-and-write privileges.
If it’s a sub-territory, select the parent territory.
Step 3: Add Criteria for the Territory
Specify filters that define the accounts for this territory.
Example: Creating a territory named Australia with the criteria Shipping Country = Australia.
You can also add a description for clarity.
Repeat the process until all your territories are set up.
Assigning Accounts to Territories
Once your territories are created:
- Go to Assign Territories.
- Search for accounts using a custom view.
Assign them to the appropriate territory.
Zoho CRM will run the rule and send you an email notification once complete.
If you need to reassign accounts to another territory, simply search by the original territory, run the rule again, and you’ll receive another email notification.
From the Accounts tab, you can now view your accounts by territory using the drop-down menu next to the view selector.
Forecasting by Territory
Zoho CRM also allows you to set and monitor forecasts for each territory:
Navigate to the Forecast tab and click Create Forecast.
Select the parent territory, fiscal month or quarter, and year.
Set the target goal for each territory and sub-territory.
After saving, you’ll see a chart displaying:
- Pipeline amounts.
- Percentage of target achieved.
- Any pipeline shortages.
This makes it easy to track progress and adjust your strategy as needed.
Reporting and Dashboards by Territory
Zoho CRM offers predefined territory reports in the Reports tab, or you can create custom reports from scratch.
In the Dashboards module, you’ll also find a territory dashboard that you can further customize to monitor performance at a glance.
Conclusion
Territory management in Zoho CRM is a powerful feature that helps you organize accounts, set clear targets, and track performance with ease. By segmenting your accounts, assigning teams strategically, and using the built-in forecasting and reporting tools, you can ensure better market coverage and improved sales efficiency.
Start using territory management today to give your sales teams the structure and data they need to succeed.
