If your sales team is scattered across cities, countries, or time zones, assigning territories isn’t just busywork—it’s how you keep people focused and avoid accidental chaos. This guide is for managers, ops folks, and team leads who want to use Ocean to actually make distributed sales teams run smoother, not just tick boxes. No fluffy theory, just clear steps, honest warnings, and what to skip.
1. Define What a “Territory” Really Means for Your Team
Before you start clicking around in Ocean, get clear on what a “territory” is for your business. Skip this and you’ll end up with vague regions, overlap, or frustrated reps. Here’s what actually matters:
- By geography: Obvious, but only makes sense if your customers are tied to locations (like field sales or local markets).
- By industry or segment: Good for SaaS or niche products where expertise matters more than ZIP codes.
- By account size or type: Sometimes splitting by revenue band or customer type keeps things fair.
- By language or time zone: For global teams, this is often more practical than a map.
Pro Tip: Don’t overcomplicate it. If you’re not sure, start simple—maybe just split by region or customer type—and refine later.
2. Set Up Territory Structures in Ocean
Once you know what you’re dividing, it’s time to build the bones in Ocean. Here’s what to do:
- Create territory records: In Ocean, you can make each territory its own object—call them “Northwest,” “Enterprise Accounts,” or whatever actually makes sense.
- Define rules or criteria: Attach filters or tags to territories. For example, “all leads from Canada,” or “accounts with >$50k ARR.”
- Assign owners: Each territory needs a human in charge. Don’t leave territories orphaned—it’s a recipe for leads slipping through the cracks.
Watch out for:
- Overlapping rules: If two territories claim the same accounts, reps will step on each other’s toes. Ocean’s rule logic can help, but double-check for conflicts.
- Too many micro-territories: If you have more territories than reps, you’re just making busywork.
3. Assign Territories to Your Sales Reps
Now the meat of it—who gets what?
A. Manual Assignment
- For small teams or nuanced splits, just drag and drop accounts or set assignments in Ocean’s UI.
- Handy when you need discretion, like giving top reps the tough markets.
B. Rule-Based Assignment
- Ocean can auto-assign based on your rules (“All EU leads to Maria,” “SMBs to Team B”).
- Saves time, but only works if your data is clean. Garbage in, garbage out.
What works:
- Transparency: Make assignments visible to the whole team. Surprises lead to drama.
- Document exceptions: If you break the rules for a big account, log it somewhere everyone can see.
What to skip:
- Assigning by gut feeling or “first come, first served.” It leads to turf wars.
4. Keep Territories Updated as Things Change
Sales orgs move fast. New hires, lost deals, shifting markets—territories can’t be static.
- Schedule reviews: Once a quarter is enough for most. Use Ocean’s reporting to spot lopsided workloads or neglected regions.
- Automate triggers: If a rep leaves, have Ocean reassign their accounts automatically.
- Allow for exceptions: Sometimes you need to move an account outside the rules. Ocean lets you override, but don’t make a habit of it.
Pitfalls to avoid:
- Letting territories go stale. Outdated assignments kill motivation.
- Making changes without telling the team. Always communicate reassignments up front.
5. Use Ocean’s Tools to Track and Report on Territories
It’s not just about who owns what—it’s about how the territories are performing.
- Dashboards: Set up territory-based dashboards. See pipeline, win rates, and activity by territory, not just by individual.
- Alerts: Use Ocean’s alerting features for things like “No activity in X territory this week.”
- Export data: Sometimes you need to crunch numbers yourself. Don’t be afraid to export and use a spreadsheet for deeper dives.
Honest take:
- Ocean’s built-in reports are good for most use cases, but if you need super-granular territory analytics, you might hit some limits. Don’t force it—supplement with your BI tool if needed.
6. Keep the Team in the Loop
Distributed teams need clarity, not more confusion. Here’s what helps:
- Share the territory map: Use Ocean’s visualization tools or just drop a PDF in Slack.
- Document the rules: Write down how assignments work, who owns what, and how disputes are resolved.
- Create a feedback loop: Encourage reps to flag territory issues. Ocean’s commenting or note features work, or use your team’s chat.
Skip:
- Endless debates over minor boundaries—settle them and move on.
- Keeping rules in your head. If it’s not written, it doesn’t exist.
7. Adjust and Optimize as You Grow
Territories aren’t set-and-forget. As your team or customer base changes, tweak assignments:
- Re-balance regularly: If one rep’s territory is a gold mine and another’s is a desert, fix it. Use Ocean’s workload metrics.
- Test new models: Try splitting by industry instead of region. Ocean makes it easy to clone and test new territory setups without blowing up the old one.
- Stay flexible: What works for five reps won’t work for fifty.
What to ignore:
- Overly complex schemes. If you need a PhD to explain your territory plan, it’s too much.
Keep it Simple, Iterate Often
Assigning and managing sales territories in Ocean isn’t rocket science, but it does take discipline. Start with clear definitions, use Ocean’s tools to automate what you can, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you learn. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s clarity, focus, and keeping your distributed team moving in the same direction. Don’t let the process become the job. Set it up, keep it tidy, and get back to selling.