Sales territory planning
Compare the markets within your sales territories
MarketGround shows households, jobs and listed businesses within the territories you define. Use these measures to compare existing areas and evaluate possible changes to their boundaries.
The problem
Similar county sizes with different business counts
Five Dallas Fort Worth counties are within 7 percent of one another in land area. Their listed business counts vary much more, with about 17 times as many in Dallas County as in Ellis County. That difference provides a useful starting point for reviewing territory design.
Listed businesses within five counties of similar land area.
The same counties, four ways
Every measure ranks them differently.
| County | Land area km² | Households | Listed businesses | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County | 2,353.5 | 982,737 | 141,600 | 1,902,143 |
| Tarrant County | 2,340.8 | 782,419 | 101,565 | 1,076,119 |
| Collin County | 2,294.4 | 416,646 | 57,242 | 582,818 |
| Denton County | 2,464.8 | 360,392 | 36,323 | 326,533 |
| Ellis County | 2,465.4 | 71,759 | 8,362 | 60,900 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Each county is analyzed using its geographic boundary. Sources and data periods are described on the methodology page.
Dallas County holds fourteen households for every one in Ellis County and seventeen listed businesses for every one. Denton and Collin are neighbors of similar size whose business counts differ by more than half. A field team selling to businesses and a team selling to households would need different lines drawn on the same map, and neither set of lines looks anything like the counties.
How to work
Evaluate boundaries using the measures that matter
Choose the population or business categories relevant to your sales process. Compare them within your current territories, then redraw areas to explore alternatives. Review travel access and overlapping coverage alongside the totals to assess how a change could affect the team.
Questions
Questions people ask
What should a sales territory be balanced on?
Use measures related to your team's work. For business sales, compare the relevant types of business locations. For household sales, review households and the demographic characteristics that matter to your offer. Combine those measures with account activity and travel requirements.
Can I use my existing ZIP or county boundaries?
Yes. A ZIP area, city, county, metro area or census tract is analyzed as itself, so you can total up the units you already use. You can also draw territories by hand or upload them as a file, and the same figures come back for whatever shape you send.
How do I count the businesses in a territory?
MarketGround groups listed businesses within your selected area by category and brand. Compare the categories relevant to your sales process across territories.
Does it handle overlapping territories?
It does. When two shapes overlap, the combined figures count each household and each business once and the page reports how much was shared, which matters when two representatives are working the same ground.
Can I export the result?
Paid plans export territory data as CSV for spreadsheets and GeoJSON for mapping tools. You can also create a PDF report with your branding.
Other trades
Explore other industries
Explore other industry examples or visit the research section for studies and practical guides.
Add local population, employment and travel access information to commercial property analysis.
Compare candidate stores with existing locations using consistent demographic and business measures.
Evaluate proposed territories and examine their overlap with existing franchise locations.
Review your current territories
Compare the households and listed businesses within each territory. Use the results alongside account performance and team activity when considering changes.