| Postcode Overview | | | | Postcode wall maps. |
| There are approximately 1.7 million Postcodes | | | | Sales Territories |
| covering the United Kingdom - a mix of large user | | | | The most common way of defining field sales |
| Postcodes for businesses who receive large | | | | areas is also through the use of the Postcode |
| quantities of mail, non-residential Postcodes for | | | | system. Postcode Sector or District maps are |
| small businesses and residential Postcodes which | | | | generally the most popular maps for this purpose |
| are shared, on average, by around 15 residential | | | | as they offer a a contiguous and complete |
| properties - usually a street. | | | | coverage of the United Kingdom and can be |
| | | | allocated to names sales people based on the |
| To find out more about the Postcode read are | | | | persons home location - a sales person living in |
| related articles on the History of the Postcode | | | | Harrogate may cover the postcodes in North |
| and the Postcode Structure. | | | | Yorkshire and someone living in Manchester may |
| Locating Customers | | | | cover Lancashire. |
| One of the simplest uses of the Postcode is to | | | | But using the Postcode can also make it easier to |
| find out where a customer (business or | | | | ensure that your sales people have the same |
| residential) is! Punch a Postcode into Google maps | | | | workload or sales opportunities. Using your |
| or multimap and you will see - reasonably | | | | customers Postcodes, you can run some analysis |
| accurately - where your customer is. In general | | | | to determine the number of customers in each |
| the Postcode will take you to the correct street | | | | Postcode District and then allocate Districts to |
| and from there you should be able to find the | | | | your sales people, adding up the customers as |
| house number. | | | | you go, until your sales people have an equal |
| This ability to locate customers, prospects or | | | | number of customers to visit. This approach can |
| suppliers has been extended using software | | | | help reduce one of the biggest causes of friction |
| systems that can then take a number of | | | | in a field sales force - who has the most sales |
| locations and plan the most efficient (quickest and | | | | (and therefore commission) potential. |
| most cost-effective) route to create a sales | | | | Franchise Areas |
| persons call plan or a logistics delivery route. Such | | | | Franchise businesses have boomed over the past |
| systems can save a business hundreds of | | | | 20 years allowing people to have the opportunity |
| thousands through such efficient planning. | | | | of being their own boss with the security of the |
| Locating customers in this way is also used to | | | | backing of a large successful business. Most |
| allocate customers and prospects to field sales | | | | franchises plan their network using the Postcode |
| teams where sales territories and areas are | | | | to ensure that franchisees do not encroach on |
| defined by Postcode (see below). For example, if | | | | other franchise areas. We have worked with |
| you receive an enquiry from a customer whose | | | | franchise companies where a Postcode District |
| location is in LS26 3PX then you can easily allocate | | | | based franchise map (which illustrates for each |
| that prospect to your sales person who is | | | | franchisee the area they are allowed to trade in |
| responsible for the LS26 Postcode District. This is | | | | and market to) is provided as an appendix to the |
| one of the most common applications for | | | | franchise contract. |