Table of Contents
By default AlignMix will have sales territories assigned to districts and districts assigned to regions. These settings can be changed at any time by clicking on the AlignMix Options. You can change the terms for any level of assignment. If you are assigning zip codes to Areas, then you will need to change the term for “territory” to Area and also the plural form for Areas. In these options you can also change the term for imported accounts, and for sales reps. If you do change the terms for the three levels of hierarchy make sure to also change the terms of the managers assigned to each level. You wouldn’t want to have a district being called on by an Area manager. The terms should match. If you change the second level of assignment to Region then make sure to also have those managers be called region mangers. If your company only uses two levels of assignment then make sure to name the third level something different in order to avoid confusion. You can even write “not used” for the singular and plural form. This will help avoid any confusion when importing your hierarchy.
One of the easiest ways to create a hierarchy in AlignMix is to import your zip to territory file with the districts and region assignments. This import will assign zip codes to territories, territories to districts, and districts to regions. These are the default terms used for the three levels of assignment. You can customize these terms to fit your organization in the AlignMix Options.
In AlignMix you can create a three-level hierarchy. You can assign sales territories to districts and districts to regions. By default, the three levels are called territories, districts, and regions but you can change this in the AlignMix options. If your organization only uses two levels, then you can ignore the third level. Just make sure to name that third level something different than the two you are using for your files in order to avoid any confusion.
You can automatically assign sales territories to districts during the import process when you import your zip to territory assignments along with the territory to district assignments. The software will locate the zip code and assign that zip code to the sales territory that is in the excel file, the software will also assign that sales territory to the district. This process will only work if you have all the assignments in excel format and you are able to import the file correctly into AlignMix. Once imported you can use the territory properties to re-assign territories to different districts from the drop-down menu that says “district”.
If you do not have district assignments in excel format, then you can create these assignments manually in AlignMix. There are several ways to create this manual assignment. Territory Properties, Territory lasso, territory table view, and District map view.
To assign a territory using the territory properties you first need to have created a territory. Then right click on the territory to pull up the radial tool. Now select territory properties. A new window will appear showing all the data pertaining to the territory you have clicked on. You will see the territory ID, name, assigned sales rep, and assigned district. If you click the district drop-down you will the names of any district that already exists in your file. If you see no districts that means you have not created any yet. To create a new district assignment for this territory, click on the plus button to the right of the district drop-down. Now enter the name and ID of the district. Then click OK, and then click OK again at the bottom of the territory properties window. Using the territory lasso tool, you can lasso multiple sales territories at the same time. When you release the territory lasso tool a summary will appear showing you what you have lassoed. Click next. You will now have the option to assign all of these lassoed sales territories to an existing district or assign them to a new district. Make your selection and click on Finish. You can verify that this assignment has been completed by view the territory properties for one of the territories you lassoed, and you should see that the territory is now assigned to a district.
The district map view is the final option for creating new districts. You will need to open a new tab and then select district map. From here you can use the touch align tool to create new districts. Just click and drag the touch align tool around to capture the sales territories. By default, you will see a red number appear showing the total number of territories assigned to this district. You can change this label in configure layers. Open configure layers then select district from the left side and then change the label to show district name. The software will also default to naming each district to district 1,2,3 and so on. You can then right click on a sales district and then choose the district properties. Here you will be able to rename the district that you have just right clicked on. In district map view you can also use the territory lasso tool to lasso multiple sales territories at once. When you release the lasso tool you will see the territory summary appear showing you details for all the territories you have lassoed. Click next. You can now assign these lassoed sales territories to a new district or select the second option that allows you to assign these sales territories to an existing sales district.
The territory table view is another option for assigning territories to districts. This option will not let you create a new a district, but you can use this option to assign territories to other districts that have been created using the other processes. To open up the territory table view click the plus button at the top to open a new tab. Then select tables from the left and now choose territory table. The territory table will show you a table summing up all the data to the territory level. You can assign territories to districts by double clicking the district cell. If no districts appear in this drop-down that means you have not created any districts yet. You will then need to use the previous methods for creating new districts.
The District Map View allows you to see all of your districts that you have created in your AlignMix file. Using the touch align tool you can easily assign territories to other districts and see these changes instantly. You can also turn on territory boundaries so that you can see where all of your territories are when looking at the district map view. This is the perfect view for district managers to see where their district borders lie and which territories belong to them in an easy to view layout.
All of the data that you have imported into the AlignMix software and assigned to a district will be displayed in this District Table. You can also toggle the visibility of each district allowing you to view one district at a time on the map. In addition to toggling the visibility of these districts you can also lock entire districts from this table view so that no changes can be made to the territories and districts.
You can use the touch align tool to create sales districts in the district map view. You simply click on an area on you map, and while still holding the button on your mouse down select the areas you want added to the new sales district. Then let go, and you’ve created a new sales district.
It’s that easy. If you’ve used this touch align tool to create sales territories then creating sales districts will be a breeze. For a detailed explanation of how to use this tool please watch the video above.
If you create new districts in AlignMix each district will be named District 1, District 2, District 3 and so on. To change the names of your districts you have several options. You can open up the district properties by using the radial tool on the district map and edit the ID and name of each district. Or you can open up a district table and change the IDs and names of the districts in this view. The same process for renaming districts will work at the territory and region level.
Many clients have requested that we integrate a district layer into the territory map view. So we did! In order to use this feature you first need to create districts (click here to learn how to create sales districts). Once you have districts created you can easily toggle on/off the district borders with one simple click.
This district border layer allows you to see every sales territory that you designed in addition to the borders of your sales districts on your sales territory map. You can also view district boundaries while in a region map view. To learn how to toggle this district border on and off just watch the video above.
The district properties can be accessed two ways. You can right click on a district to open up the radial tool and then you click on properties. Or you can hold CTRL on the keyboard and then right click on a district, this will bypass the radial tool and take you directly to the district properties. In the district properties you can edit the District ID and the District name. If you have created district managers then you will see the assigned district manager in the first drop-down menu. This drop-down menu will also include a full list of every person that has the role of district manager assigned. Clicking on the plus sign to the right of the first drop-down will allow you to create a brand new district manager and assign them to this district. The second drop-down menu will show you the name of the region that this district is assigned to. If this space is blank that means you have not assigned this district to a region. Clicking on the plus button to the right of this drop-down menu allows you to create a new region and assign this district to that region. The bottom portion of the district properties will show you a summary of all the data that is assigned to this district.
When deleting districts you are only deleting the territory to district assignment. Any data, sales reps, accounts that were assigned to the district will remain in your map. There are two ways to delete districts. The first way is to open up the radial tool and then click on delete. The second way to delete a district is to open up a district table and then check the box of the district you plan to delete. The box is found to the left of the district ID. Then you can click the delete button on the top left of the screen.
By default, you have territories assigned to districts, and districts assigned to regions. These terms are set by default and can be changed by modifying the terms in the AlignMix options. If you only have two levels, then you need to make sure that second level term matches what your organization uses. If the second level is called Region, then you should go into the options and rename the second and third levels in order to avoid any confusion in the future.
There are several ways to create regions in AlignMix:
Each of these methods of assignment will assign sales districts to regions. In district map view you you have two options for assigning districts to regions. You can create this assignment by accessing the district properties and assign the districts to a region by using the drop-down menu or assign the districts to a new region by clicking the plus button to the right of the second drop-down menu. The second way to assign districts to regions while in district map view is to select the lasso district tool to lasso one or more districts and then assign those lassoed districts to an existing region or create a new region.
You can also use the district table view to assign districts to regions. The one limitation with this method is that you cannot create a new district in this view. You would have to first create the regions in the other views and then you can reassign districts to regions while in district table view.
If you have a zip to territory file that has the district and region assignments then you can import all of that all at once into AlignMix. This import process will assign zip codes to territories, territories to districts and districts to regions all at the same time.
The final way to create regions is to open up a region map and then select the touch align tool. The touch align tool operates the same no matter what level of hierarchy you are in. You simply click and hold and then drag the cursor to capture districts. When you let go of the left mouse button you will have created a new district. Using this method the regions will be called region 1, region 2, region 3. So you will need to rename the regions as you create them.
The region map view will allow you to view all of the regions that are currently found in your AlignMix file. To view the region map you can either click the plus button to open a new tab, and then click the region map option, or you can click on the “Add View’ button from the home menu and then select region map. Both options will bring you to the same region map view.
The region table view will show you all of your imported data summed up to the region level. All of the tables that are found in AlignMix operate the same way. The one difference in region table view is that you will see the two levels of span of control. This means you will see how many territories and districts are assigned to each region. You can also export the region table directly to excel by clicking on the “export to excel” button. If you want to delete a region then you can do that from this view too. Deleting a region will not delete any data, territories, or districts. It will only delete the district to region assignments.
The touch align tool can be used in region map view to create new regions and also to expand already created regions. If you have used the touch align tool at the territory or district level then you will have no issues using the touch align tool at the region level. If you have no regions created then simply click and hold the touch align tool over any area on the map. You will see a region be created right away. If you continue to hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor to other areas you will the region will expand to capture other districts and assign those districts to this new region.
There are two ways to rename a region.
The region properties can be access by right clicking on a region and then click on properties. You can now rename the region ID and the region name from this view. The second way to rename a region is to open up a region table. Then you simply click the cell for the ID or Name and type in the names and IDs.
Region borders can be displayed while in any map view. If you are moving sales boundaries in the first tab you can turn on the region or district boundaries so that you can see where they are in relation to the sales territories. Each boundary can be displayed as a different color and width. This can be customized in Configure Layers. You are not limited to only showing these region boundaries on a territory map. You can also show these region boundaries in a district map, or even the thematic maps.
There are two ways to access the region properties. You can right click on a region to open the radial tool, and then click on the properties button. You can bypass the radial tool by holding CTRL on your keyboard and then right click on the region. Both methods will get you to the same region properties window. In region properties you can edit the ID and the name of the region. You can also assign region mangers from this view. If no names appear in the drop-down menu that means you have not assigned the role of region manager to any of the sales personnel that were imported or created in your file. You can assign this region manager role by clicking on the edit personnel tool found on the home menu. In region properties you can also create a new region manager by clicking the plus button to the right of the drop-down menu. The lower portion of the properties will show you the sums of all the data sets that are assigned to this region.
There are two ways to delete a region:
To access the radial tool you simply right click on a sales region and the radial tool will appear. Then simply click the delete button to delete the region. To open a region table you can click the plus button to open a new tab and then select region table or you can click the “Add View” button that is found on the home menu, and then click on region table. In the region table you will see check boxes to the left of every region ID. Check the box for the region you want to delete, and then click the delete button that is found on the top left of the screen.
Deleting regions will not delete any data, territories or districts. This process will only delete the district to region assignment.
Territory boundaries can be displayed in the district map and also the region map. This allows you to see your hierarchy of assignments and where your territories are when looking at a district or region map. To turn on the territory boundaries you have to either be in a district or region map and then click on configure layers. Select territories from the left and then click on the second tab and check the box that says “territory boundaries visible”. You can also customize how this boundary will look by adjusting the color and the width of the line. If you want the territory boundary to be visible on district and region maps then you will have to repeat this process for both views.
The radial tool can be used at the territory, district, or region level. You simply right click on the territory, district, or region and the radial tool will appear. The radial tool has several options that you can select. You can delete the shape you just right clicked on. You can also zoom and center that territory, district or region onto your screen. You can also hide the shape from view. This will not delete anything, it will simply hide the shape you right clicked on from view. You can also lock the territory, district, or region from the radial tool. The lock tool will prevent any changes from happening to the locked areas. The radial tool is also used to access the properties.
There are several ways to create district and region managers:
If you have a full list of your sales reps, district and region managers then you can import them all at the same time into your AlignMix file. During this import AlignMix will also assign the role/job title for each person and assign the correct territory/district/region to each person.
You can also use the properties at the district and region level to assign managers. Right click on a district/region to pull up the radial tool, then click on the properties button. In this view you can edit the name and ID, and also assign district/region managers. The first drop-down menu will show the name of the person that is currently assigned to this area. If no names appear in this drop-down that means you have not assigned the role of district or region manager to any of the sales personnel that are in your file. To create this assignment you will need to click on the Edit Personnel Tool. While in the properties view you can also create a new manager by clicking on the plus sign to the right of the first drop-down menu. Click the plus sign and then you can type in the name and home zip code of the new manager. Make sure to select the correct role. IF you are creating a district manager make sure to select the check box for district manager, if you are creating a region manager then make sure to check the region manager box. Then click OK, and OK again to finalize the creating of this new manager.
The Edit Personnel Tool is found on the home menu. This is where you can create new sales reps or managers, and also re-assign reps and managers to different areas. Locate the name of the rep you want to promote to manager and then de-select the sales rep box and check the box for their new position. A new drop-box will appear where you can assign this person to a new area.
You can also use the table views to assign managers to districts and regions. The one limitation with this method is that you cannot create a new manager or change the role of the rep from table view. You will still need to use the “Edit Personnel Tool” to change the roles of the reps. If you already assigned the district and manager roles then you can use the table view to assign managers to districts and regions.
When creating sales territories in AlignMix you need to easily change the colors of territories so that you do not have two territories side by side that are the same color. When this happens its hard to tell where one territory/district/region ends and the other starts. When importing data, you may see this happen if you have a lot of sales territories grouped into a small area on the map. When this does happen, you can easily change the colors of the one territory or all of the territories at the same time. All the methods below can be used for changing territory, district and region colors.
The most common way to change the color of an individual sales territory/district/region is to click on the re-color tool on the home menu. After you select the re-color tool, left click on any sales territory. This will immediately change the colors of that territory. You can keep clicking and the colors will cycle through the color palette. To change the color palette, click on the Map option at the top of the screen. The first option is selected by default. You can choose any other palette and all the territory colors will change colors at the same time. If you open the drop-down menu you will see a dozen choices to choose from. There is also a color palette that works well for users that are partially color impaired.
If you are using any other alignment tool you can press and hold the R button on your keyboard and that will turn on the re-color tool. As soon as you let go of the R button the tool will revert to the tool you were originally using. The same keyboard shortcut can be used when you are viewing a district map and the region map.
Another way to change the color of a territory/district/region is to open the radial tool and select the color button. This method allows you to choose a custom color that is not part of the color palette. You can even use this view to add additional colors to the color palette that is currently selected. The right side of the color selection window allows you to type in the hex numbers for creating custom colors. The radial tool method can be used for the district and region map views.
From the radial tool you can also access the properties. In the properties you can edit the name, ID, assigned Sales rep/manager, and assigned district/region. Below the second drop-down you will see a color box. Clicking this color box allows you to change the color of the territory. You can also change the color of the lock that appears when you lock a territory. If you are working on a district map you can open the district properties and change the district colors this same way. The same method can be used when you are working on the third level of assignment. By default, the third level is Regions. Opening the region properties will allow you to change the region name, ID, assigned region manager and change the regions color.
The final way to change territory colors is to open a territory table. The far-left side of the table will be a color block. Clicking this color block will open the color selection view where you can change the color of the sales territory. The limitation with this method is that you cannot see the territory you are customizing. You will have to go back to the territory alignment tab to view the color changes. You can change the colors of districts and regions the exact same way. The district table view will also show a color box on the far left. Clicking that box will allow you to change the color of the district. The same limitations apply at the district and region level. You will need to revert back to the map views in order to see what the districts and regions look like after the color changes.
The default label for districts is the span of control (number of territories assigned to each district). This is also the same for region maps (number of districts assigned to each region). You can change this label or add additional labels by using the configure layers. Open up configure layers and then select the second tab (if you are in district or region map view) then click the green plus button to add a new label. Then double click the new cell to choose the kind of label you would like to add to the district or region. You can also customize the color of each label while in this view.