── SKILL
territory-design✓ APPROVED

Cut fair territories, settled before the disputes start.

The segmentation, the account distribution, a balance check across every rep, and the rules for disputes and inbound.

Inside: The segmentation, the balance check, and dispute rules.

01 / HOW TO USE

Install it in one line, or paste it in.

1
In Claude Code (one command)
Copy the install line, paste it into your terminal, and restart Claude Code. The skill installs itself to ~/.claude/skills/ and runs automatically when it is relevant.
2
In Claude, ChatGPT, or a Project (no terminal)
Open the file, then upload it to your chat or paste its contents in. A skill is just a markdown file of instructions, so any capable AI can follow it.
New to skills? A skill is a plain-text file that teaches your AI a workflow. Point any capable assistant at it and it follows the steps, on your data.
02 / MAKE IT YOURS

Connect your context. Set it to your motion.

CONNECT YOUR CONTEXT · AND WHY IT HELPS
a CRM

it reads owners, open pipeline, and won history so balance accounts for work already in flight.

an enrichment or firmographic source

it fills missing size and industry so the segmentation is not guesswork.

a data warehouse

it weights territories by modeled potential, not a single raw field.

SET IT TO YOUR MOTION

This was built for a B2B SaaS org assigning named accounts to a field team. Set these to your stack:

Run any segmentation you like. The skill balances and writes the rules, so point it at your axis, not anyone else's.

Set thisWhat it isDefault / Example
AXIShow you split territoriesgeographysegmentindustrynamed
POTENTIALthe balance metricemployeesrevenue bandfit score
BALANCE_ONwhat you equalizetotal potentialnot account count
TOLERANCEallowed spread across repswithin 10 to 15 percent of the mean
MAX_ACCOUNTSbook size ceiling per rep40 to 80 by segment
INBOUND_RULEhow a new lead gets an ownermatch on domainthen territory
DISPUTE_RULEwho wins a contested accountfirst meaningful activity wins
HOUSEunassigned or held accountsno-owner pool for round-robin
03 / THE FULL SKILL

Everything the skill does, in full.

── WHAT THIS DOES

Takes your account universe and cuts it into territories that are balanced on the thing that matters, usually potential, not just account count. It picks the segmentation axis, distributes accounts across reps, runs a fairness check so no rep is handed a dead patch, and writes the dispute and inbound rules up front so ownership is decided before the deal, not during it.

── THE METHOD
  1. 1
    The segmentation

    Pick the axis that matches how you actually sell. Geography suits high-volume field motions. Named accounts suit enterprise. Industry suits a vertical play. State the axis, then hold it consistent, because a book that is half geo and half named is a book nobody can be measured on.

  2. 2
    The account distribution

    Assign accounts to reps against the axis, then sort by POTENTIAL so the strong and weak accounts are spread, not clumped. A territory that is all logos and no potential is a punishment. Keep each book under MAX_ACCOUNTS so coverage is real, not a name on a list.

  3. 3
    The balance check across reps

    Sum POTENTIAL per rep and compare to the mean. Flag any book outside TOLERANCE. Balance on potential, not on account count, because 60 strong accounts and 60 dead ones are not the same job. Show the spread so the split survives the room.

  4. 4
    The rules for disputes and inbound

    Write these before go-live. Inbound: a new lead routes by INBOUND_RULE, usually domain match to an owned account first, then territory. Disputes: name the tie-breaker, usually first meaningful activity, and the escalation path. Held and no-owner accounts go to a house pool with a claim rule. The point is that ownership is decided by policy, not by whoever shouts first.

── QUALITY GATES
  • Balance is checked on potential, never on raw account count alone.
  • Every rep book is shown against the mean with the spread named, not asserted "fair."
  • Inbound and dispute rules are written and dated before assignments go live.
  • No account is left with two owners or none, the overlap and orphan lists are shown.
── OUTPUT (EXAMPLE)
EXAMPLE OUTPUT
TERRITORY DESIGN · 6 reps · illustrative
Rep        Accounts   Potential idx   vs mean   Flag
North      52         104             +4%       ok
South      48         98              -2%       ok
East       61         131             +31%      over, rebalance
West       39         71              -29%      thin, add accounts
Central    50         100             0%        ok
House      44         -               -         round-robin pool

Rules set:
  1. Inbound routes on domain match, then territory. No manual grabs.
  2. Contested account goes to first meaningful activity, RevOps breaks ties.
  3. East is 31% over the mean. Move ~8 accounts to West before launch.
── WHERE THE NUMBERS COME FROM

TOLERANCE (10 to 15 percent), MAX_ACCOUNTS (40 to 80), and the balance metric are defaults, not laws. They suited a mid-market field team. If your reps carry fewer, larger accounts, tighten the ceiling and widen the tolerance. The fairness logic does not change. The thresholds are yours.

── EXAMPLE CHAT
EXAMPLE CHAT
You
We're carving territories for next quarter. Here's the account list with employee counts and regions.
CLAUDE
Carved it and ran the balance check. Rep Accounts Potential idx vs mean Flag North 52 104 +4% ok East 61 131 +31% over, rebalance West 39 71 -29% thin, add accounts East is 31% over the mean, that's not a headcount problem, it's a potential problem, moving accounts by count alone would have left East still overloaded. Key insight: balance has to run on potential, not account count, or a rep with 60 dead accounts looks equal to a rep with 60 strong ones. One sharpener: connect the CRM for open pipeline so the rebalance does not accidentally move a deal mid-cycle.
04 / GO FURTHER

Where an operator takes this next.

The carve is set. Here is where an operator takes it once the manual version proves out.

The carve is fair on day one; the automation is what keeps it fair in month six.

01
Rebalance live instead of once a year

A scheduled Claude task recomputes potential-per-rep monthly against Salesforce and flags any book that has drifted outside tolerance.

02
Route inbound without a human deciding

Wire the inbound rule (domain match, then territory) directly into your lead-routing tool so a new lead never sits waiting for someone to claim it.

03
Settle disputes with a paper trail

Log first-meaningful-activity timestamps automatically in Salesforce, so the tie-breaker rule has real evidence behind it instead of two reps' word against each other.

05 / PART OF A BIGGER PLAY

One skill is the on-ramp.

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