Contents:
- Overview
- Definitions
- Setting Up Territory Management
- Creating Your Territory Segment
- Creating Your CSV File
- Bulk Actions
- Exporting Territories
- Incorporating Your Territories in FlowBuilder
- Using the Territory Action Node
- Additional Options in the Territory Node
- Maintaining Your Territories
- FAQs
- Best Practices
Overview
Companies organize their sales teams into territories, each assigned to a specific salesperson or team. These territories are defined by geographic parameters like country, state, city, postal code, or combinations thereof. LeanData offers a streamlined way to automatically route your Leads, Contacts, Accounts, and Opportunities based on these territory definitions.
While you can set up territory-based routing in the LeanData FlowBuilder using branch decision nodes, LeanData Territory Management offers an even simpler approach. It lets you import your existing territory spreadsheets to define assignments and reference them in your routing graph, significantly simplifying your routing structure with fewer nodes.
Note: LeanData's Territory Management feature is NOT related to Salesforce Enterprise Territory Management. You can use either feature or both at your own discretion.
Definitions
- Territory - A set of geographic criteria assigned to a single Rep or Round Robin Pool.
- Territory Segment - A grouping of Territories that you can define (i.e. Mid Market).
- Territory Manager - A user who has permission to edit specific Territory segments without requiring access to other LeanData features.
Setting Up Territory Management
Creating Your Territory Segment
You will first need to create a Territory Segment by going to Routing > Territory Management > Create Segment.
In the Create Territory Segment modal, enter a unique Segment Name, Business Unit (if you're using Multi-Graph Routing), and optionally add one or more Territory Segment Manager(s) to grant specific users permission to manage this Territory Segment.
Territory Segment Manager(s)
Territory Segment Managers are users with permissions to configure Territory Segments where they are listed as a manager. They cannot modify other LeanData features like FlowBuilder without additional permissions. These users can edit any Territory Segments where they are designated as managers and can view all Users and Round Robin Pools. This visibility allows them to assign owners and Round Robin pools to the territories they manage.
When a User is designated as a Territory Segment Manager, that user will also be given the LeanData Dashboard Access Permission Set, in addition to their designated Territory Segments.
If a user is removed as a Territory Segment Manager, they will no longer be able to modify the pools they previously had access to.
When finished, click Create to create your Territory Segment. You can create as many segments as you wish if you have different Territory breakdowns depending on some Segment criteria (i.e. Annual Revenue, Number of Employees, Industry, etc).
Creating Your CSV File
You will need to upload a CSV file defining your Territories in that segment. You can download a template to use under Routing > Territory Management > CSV Upload Instructions. Each Territory Segment should be a separate CSV.
On the popup page, you can click Download sample CSV for a template using the expected format.
Each row in your CSV should contain Country, State, City, and Postal Code values that define a Territory. For each row, you must also specify either a User ID or Round Robin Pool name to determine who receives records matching those criteria.
A Territory can include multiple rows with different criteria, but it must be assigned to only one Owner or Round Robin Pool. If multiple Users need to handle a single Territory, either split it into separate Territories (using distinct criteria) or create a Round Robin Pool containing all those users.
You only need to fill out either the Country or Custom Field column - other columns are optional. If you use custom fields for Country, State, City, or Postal Code, you can map them later in the FlowBuilder configuration.
Please Note: When naming your territories, follow these guidelines:
- Use hyphens instead of spaces in Territory Names
- Do not use ampersands (&)
- Avoid special characters (!, @, #, $, %)
LeanData automatically handles common variations in Country or State names. For example, you don't need separate rows for "California, United States" and "CA, USA" - these are treated as duplicates.
Please Note: LeanData currently supports state/province variations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
In addition to Country, State, City, and Postal Code fields, LeanData provides a Custom Field column. You can use this column to specify criteria like Industry, Lead Source, Lead Tier, Title, or any other field you need. You'll map this column to your desired field later in Route to Territory Node.
After completing your CSV, select Upload from the Actions dropdown for your new Segment. LeanData will validate the CSV and notify you of any errors or missing information.
Territory segment uploads may take several minutes to complete. Please wait for each upload to finish to avoid accidentally uploading the same file multiple times.
Please Note: LeanData recommends uploading no more than 60,000 territories at a time to avoid timeouts or complications with the upload. However, if you’d like to upload more than 60,000 total, it is recommended to split the upload out into several smaller uploads.
Bulk Actions
Exporting Territories
You can export your territories from the Territory page into CSV files. Most LeanData customers develop and test their territories in a sandbox environment before deploying them to production. You can export one or more territories at a time.
Select the desired territories by clicking the box to the left of the Territory Name. You can select all the Territories on the page by clicking the box to the left of Segment Name. Once you have selected the Territories to export, Click the Bulk Actions box, then Export CSV.
After exporting your Territory Segments, you can upload them in the same manner as you would upload a new Territory Segment CSV.
Adding Manager(s)
You can add Territory Managers in bulk by selecting the Territory Segments you wish to add specific managers to, then clicking Bulk Actions > Add Managers. Then select the users you would like to designate as managers for the selected territories and click Add Manager(s).
Incorporating Your Territories in FlowBuilder
Once you have created your Territory Segment, you will need to reference it in a Territory Action Node in your LeanData FlowBuilder configuration.
Using the Territory Action Node
Open the LeanData Flow Builder configuration where you intend to utilize your Territory Assignments. We recommend creating a copy of the intended configuration and working in the copy.
In the Node Bar in the upper right hand corner of your graph, hover over Action, then Route, then drag in a Territory Segment node.
Open the Route to Territory node, and select the Territory Segment you’d like to utilize in the dropdown. Once you select the Territory Segment, you will see options to map the columns from your CSV to the corresponding fields you would like LeanData to look at. By default, we will pre-select the standard address fields.
Please Note: You will not be able to use Territory Segments that reference Round Robin Pools for a different object.
Connect your Territory node at the point in your configuration where you would like the assignment to happen. Any time a record enters this node, LeanData will reference your Territory Segment and assign the record to the Owner or via the Round Robin Pool specified in your CSV for that Segment.
Additional Options in the Territory Node
There are some additional actions you can take within the Territory Node.
- Routing Schedule - Enables LeanData to check an owner's schedule before assigning a record. If the owner is unavailable, LeanData follows the Out of User Schedule edge specified in Advanced Settings.
- Alternate Field Assignment - Allows you to update a different User field on your record rather than the Owner field.
- Territory Field Tagging - This option stamps the territory name onto a record. Choose a field to store this value (you may need to create a new field). You can either stamp the territory name while assigning the record, or only stamp the name without changing the record's ownership.
- Email Notifications - Lets you send automated email alerts alongside other node actions. You can create a custom message or use an existing Salesforce email template. Choose to send success or failure notifications to the record owner or other specified recipients.
Advanced Settings / Fallback Edges
Click Advanced Settings near the bottom to configure any next actions you may wish to take, and also to account for any fallback scenarios.
- Record Already Assigned to Active Pool Member: By default, LeanData reassigns the records entering the Round Robin to available Pool Members. To retain ownership of an incoming record already owned by a Pool Member, change the edge target from <Disabled> to a destination.
- Capping Conditions Unmet: Use this edge to configure the next action when capping conditions have not been met for members in the Round Robin pool.
- Territory Not Assigned: Use this edge to dictate the next node you would want LeanData to reference if a record does not meet the criteria for any of the Territories in your CSV. If you don’t want LeanData to take any further action, select “End of Flow”
- Invalid/Inactive User: Use this edge to let us know the next node to look at if the User we attempt to assign to is inactive or invalid.
- Out of User Schedule: This edge will only appear if you enabled the Respect User Schedule Option in the node. This will determine the next steps if the intended user is not available due to their schedule at the time of assignment.
- Invalid Group: Use this edge to let us know the next node in case the Round Robin Pool we attempt to assign to is no longer available.
- No Round Robin Members Available: Use this edge to configure the next node in case none of the members of the Round Robin Pool are available (inactive, on vacation, reached their cap, etc).
- Record Already Assigned to Owner: Use this edge if you would like LeanData to do something different if the Record is already owned by the intended user. This option is disabled by default.
- Variable not Found: This edge will determine what LeanData should do if the assignment references a variable that does not exist, whether it be from the routed record or matched or related record.
- Next Node: If you want to take any additional actions after the Territory assignment, you can connect it to the next node. Otherwise leave the Target as End of Flow.
Maintaining Your Territories
LeanData gives you tools to be able to maintain your Territories moving forward. For example, if you need to search for reps across all Territory Segments or within a Territory Segment. You can search for users from the Territory Management page. Enter the User name in the Search user box and the territory segments displayed will automatically filter for segments that include the desired user.
After organizational shifts, search for Reps and re-assign their Territories to other Reps efficiently.
If you are simply switching an existing Territory to another User, you easily do so by clicking into your Segment, then clicking on the Territory Assignments Tab, then selecting a new User for that Territory.
If switching all of one User’s Territories to a replacement User, you can quickly do so by clicking into your Segment, then clicking on the Owner Assignments Tab, and selecting a new User to take over all of that existing User’s Territories.
If you need to make a minor modification to a Territory, you can make one-off edits in the interface. Within a Territory Segment, click the Edit Segment button.
On the next page you can edit any of your Territories or add Territories. This interface is useful for making small quick edits.
However, if you are redefining more than one Territory, it may be better to Export the Territory Segment to a CSV, make your changes on your CSV file, and re-upload to Replace your Segment. On the main Territory Management page, hover your mouse over the Segment you wish to modify, click the Actions dropdown, and click “Export” to download a CSV file with the Territories in that Segment. After making your edits, you can select the “Replace” option to upload your modified CSV.
FAQs
Do I have to list out different variations of Country or State Names?
- No. LeanData will automatically account for different variations in Country or State/Province names.
Can one Territory have more than one Owner?
- No, each Territory can only have one listed owner. Depending on how you plan to distribute leads between these owners, you may want to set up a Round Robin Pool, and assign leads to the Pool, where they will be distributed according to your Round Robin settings. Otherwise, you should create separate territories for each user.
How do I handle ranges of Zip/Postal Codes?
- You can either include a separate row for each Postal Code, or you can use an asterisk as a wildcard. For example if you want to include all postal codes from 94000 to 94999, you can either list out 1000 different rows or use one row with a value of 94*
Is there a limit to how many territories I can create at once in Territory Management?
- Yes, we recommend not uploading more than 60,000 territories at a time to avoid timeouts or complications with the upload. However, if you’d like to upload more than 60,000 total, it is recommended to split the upload out into several smaller uploads.
Can I Use Round Robin features like Capping and Respecting Schedules in Territory Management.
- Yes, Round Robin features like Capping and Respecting Schedules, as well as all Round Robin fallback edges are available when using Territory management.
Best Practices
- You can always set up routing to your territories through the standard node-and-branch system in your LeanData Flow Builder interface without using Territory Management. Territory Management becomes useful if you need to consolidate your Territory branches and assignments into a smaller number of nodes, or manage your Territories in a spreadsheet format.
- You can use the Custom Field feature to incorporate another field into your territory criteria. (i.e. Lead Industry, Lead Tier, Lead Title, etc). This can help you to consolidate even more territories into one Territory Segment. Please note that if you use the Custom Field column, you will have to ensure that a value Custom Field is populated on all Territories in that segment.
- Don’t forget to set fallback conditions in your Territory Node. There may always be a situation where a record does not fit any of the Territory criteria in your Territory Segment, and you should account for those.
- If you are using Territory Management to Route for different Objects and referencing Round Robin Pools, please ensure you use a separate CSV for each object so that you can reference the correct Round Robin Pools for that object. (e.g. referencing Contact Round Robin Pools if using Territory Management in Contact Router)
- If you’d like to evaluate a potential territory change, you can use a Scheduled Routing Job to tag the new territories onto a secondary custom territory field on all your records, without actually assigning the record. Once the secondary territory values are set, you can evaluate the difference between the values in this field and your primary territory field. This allows you to quickly test the validity of your new territory mappings, without having to wait until new records come in to evaluate the distribution.