Rank sales reps within their region

Intermediate

A global rank tells you who is the top performer overall, but it does not tell you who leads each region. A regional rank shows each rep's position among colleagues in the same territory, which is more useful for territory-specific incentives and team comparisons.

To rank within a group, you can use COUNTIFS to count how many same-region reps have higher sales, then add 1 to get the rank.

The pattern looks like:

=COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, criteria_range2, criteria2) + 1

COUNTIFS counts rows that meet all conditions. To make it rank descending, set one condition to compare against the current row's sales using a greater-than check. Each condition uses a full-range reference for the criteria range and a relative reference (or concatenated comparison) for the criteria.

Your task

  1. The table in A1:D13 lists sales reps with their region and total sales.
  2. In cell D2, write a formula that returns the regional rank for the first rep (Aisha Patel).
  3. The rank should show 1 for the rep with the highest sales in their region, 2 for the second highest, and so on.
  4. Make sure your formula can be filled down to D13 so every rep gets the correct rank within their own region.

Key points

  • You need two criteria pairs: one to match the region, and one to check for higher sales.
  • The sales comparison uses a greater-than condition: join ">" to the current row's sales cell.
  • Use absolute references for the criteria ranges so they stay fixed when you copy the formula down.

When you are done, each rep should show a number from 1 to 4, with 1 being the best in their region.

Need some help?

Hint 1

Think of regional rank as the number of reps in the same region who have higher sales, plus 1 for the rep themselves.

Hint 2

The sales criterion needs to compare each row against the current row's sales value. Build a greater-than criterion by joining '>' to the current sales cell using ">"&C2.

Related function(s)