# Drive the open doors, not the done ones

Sales route planning is the practice of lining up the next doors a rep will knock, in a driving order, so done stops stay done. Knockdesk is field sales software for that order on turf a rep already holds. This page sits on the field sales guides hub, next to the field sales pillar.

## Route planning for sales reps starts before the lot empties

Route planning for sales reps fails the morning a done door gets mixed back into the drive. The crew leaves the lot with a list. If that list reopens stops they already knocked, the miles do not match the visits. The order has to start on turf a person already holds.

**Held turf.** The route is cut from work the rep already owns. A pin they do not hold is not a stop.

**Open doors.** Only unfinished stops move. Done stops stay done and stay at the front.

**Driving order.** The list is duration on the road, not the next row on a sheet.

## How to plan sales routes without reopening done doors

How to plan sales routes is a sequence, not a screenshot. Start from the turf. Take the stops still open. Put them in driving order. Start the route. Mark a stop done and leave it done. If the evening becomes a second typing shift, the plan never left the lot.

1. Start on turf the rep already holds. Do not build a list from a shared pin pile.
2. Take the unfinished stops. Done doors stay out of the driving order.
3. Put the open stops in driving order. Reorder by hand only after that order is set.
4. Start the route so the shift matches the list the crew is driving.
5. Mark a stop done. It stays done. When every stop is done, the pack is finished.

## Sales route optimization leaves the done doors done

Sales route optimization is the reorder of unfinished stops by driving duration. It is not a reshuffle of the whole week. Completed stops stay at the front. The picker can optimize 3 to 25 routable stops. A saved pack with more unfinished stops is ordered in chunks of 24. Fewer than 2 unfinished stops with coordinates keeps the stored order. Round trip is off. The drive ends at one stop.

| Rule | Number | What it protects |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unfinished stops to reorder | 18 | Only open doors move |
| Stops already done | 6 | Stay done, at the front |
| Picker optimize | 3 to 25 | A 30-stop picker is blocked |
| Saved pack chunks | 24 | A longer unfinished list is ordered in those chunks |

## A sales journey planner is the list they actually drive

A sales journey planner is the Monday stop list a rep drives, not a map they screenshot in the lot. If the list and the shift disagree, Friday will too. The sample line on this page is 418 Oak Ave, 22 Harbor Rd, and 90 Pine Ct, with a 4.2 mile, 28 minute read. That line is a fixture, not a customer morning.

## The lesson stalls when the list and the knock live apart

You can write a clean driving order on a sheet and still lose the morning if a done door is typed back in, or if the visit is logged in a chat. The route, the knock, and the coaching have to sit on one desk. The feature page is the product for that order. This page is the practice.

**Sheet.** Address order, and a done door that gets mixed back into the drive.

**Chat.** The visit never hits the stop, so Friday cannot see the route.

**One desk.** Unfinished stops in driving order, done stops done, shift set to the route.

## Keep going from this route pillar

- [Open the guides hub](/guides): The hub that lists this pillar with the other practice pages.

- [Field sales, defined](/guides/field-sales): The definition pillar for the outside work this route is cut from.

- [Manage the field crew](/guides/field-sales-management): The management pillar for the shift after the route starts.

- [Own the doors first](/guides/sales-territory-management): The territory practice. A route is cut from turf that already has an owner.

- [Score the knocks on that drive](/guides/field-sales-kpis): The metrics a manager reads after the stops are logged.

- [Pay the sale from the stop](/guides/sales-commission): The commission structure that pays after the door is done.

- [Order the stops on the desk](/features/sales-route-planning): The product page for driving order on held turf.

- [See Full desk](/pricing): One Knockdesk plan: Full desk.

## FAQ

### What is sales route planning?

Sales route planning is lining up the next doors a rep will knock, in a driving order, on turf they already hold. Done stops stay done. Knockdesk is field sales software for that order.

### What is route planning for sales reps?

Route planning for sales reps is the morning list they drive. It starts on held turf, takes unfinished stops, and leaves completed stops completed.

### How to plan sales routes?

Start on turf the rep holds. Take the open stops. Put them in driving order. Start the route. Mark a stop done and leave it done. Do not mix a finished door back into the drive.

### What is sales route optimization?

Sales route optimization reorders unfinished stops by driving duration. Completed stops stay at the front. The picker can optimize 3 to 25 routable stops. A longer saved pack is ordered in chunks of 24.

### What is a sales journey planner?

A sales journey planner is the stop list a rep actually drives on Monday, not a screenshot of a map. If the list and the shift disagree, Friday will too.

### How much does Knockdesk cost?

Full desk is on the pricing page. There is no second Knockdesk tier. A free trial is not open.