Troubleshoot common issues and optimize your territory balancing with this comprehensive guide to Fullcast Smart Plan troubleshooting. Learn how to identify and resolve problems related to criteria, parent-child relationships, account limits, and more.
Intended Audience:
Admin, Salesforce Admin, CISO
Sales Manager, Overlay Manager, Customer Success Manager
General Smart Plan Troubleshooting
Isolate the criteria: Begin by simplifying the smart plan. Remove all criteria except the most basic (e.g., minimized disruption) and run the rules. This will establish a baseline.
Test Criteria Individually: Systematically add back each criterion one at a time, running the rules after each addition. Observe the changes in account distribution to understand the impact of each criterion.
Analysis: Remember the “layered cake” analogy: higher criteria override lower ones. If a criterion isn’t having the expected effect, it might be because accounts are already being assigned by a higher-priority rule.
Check for Overlap: If criteria target the same accounts, the higher-priority criterion will take precedence. Non-overlapping criteria are more effective.
Simplify Complex Plans: Avoid overly complex plans with many criteria. Excessive complexity can make it difficult to understand the plan's behavior and achieve the desired balance. Consider using deterministic methods (buckets, custom nodes) for very specific assignment needs.
Start with Reporting: Define the reports you want to show sales leaders first. Then, build the smart plan criteria to match those reports. This ensures you're measuring what you're adjusting.
Verify Metrics: Ensure your reporting metrics accurately reflect the smart plan criteria and parent-child settings. Compare "apples to apples" – metrics should be filtered consistently with the smart plan configuration.
Parent-Child Relationship Troubleshooting
Check for Parent-Child Relationships: When investigating why an account is in a particular territory, always check if it's a subsidiary. Parent-child relationships are a frequent source of unexpected behavior.
Trace the Hierarchy: If an account is a subsidiary, identify its parent account. Determine the parent's territory and ownership.
Parent-Child Settings: Review the parent-child settings in the smart plan (e.g., "factor child accounts," "children follow parent"). These settings significantly influence how subsidiary accounts are handled.
Parent Ownership: Subsidiaries are often assigned based on their parent's ownership. A subsidiary might be in an unexpected territory because its parent is owned by a rep in that territory, even if the subsidiary itself would otherwise qualify for a different territory.
Ultimate Parent: Consider the "ultimate parent" account in the hierarchy. This can influence how entire corporate families are grouped and assigned.
Account Hierarchy Tab: Navigate to the account details and use the Account Hierarchy tab to visualize the relationships between parent and subsidiary accounts. This can help identify where accounts are being split or grouped unexpectedly.
Data Accuracy: Ensure the accuracy and completeness of parent-child data. Inaccurate or missing data can lead to incorrect assignments.
Account Limit and Distribution Troubleshooting
Account Limits: Be aware of account limits set in the smart plan. These limits can prevent territories from reaching their full capacity, even if there are eligible accounts.
Distribution Logic: Understand how the platform distributes accounts when limits are in place. Exceeding the limit in one territory can affect the distribution in other territories.
Troubleshooting Tips
Named Accounts and Pins: Check for named accounts or pins that might be overriding the smart plan logic.
Minimize Disruption: Analyze the impact of “minimize disruption.” This setting can prioritize keeping existing account assignments intact, even if it means a less-than-perfect balance.
Data Quality (Ultimate Parent: If using an “ultimate parent” field, verify its accuracy. Loops or inconsistencies in the data can cause problems.
Simplify and Iterate: When troubleshooting, make one change at a time and observe the impact. This helps isolate the source of the issue.