Make More Money with Sales Process Mapping

Creating a Sales Process Map to document your sales process is the single best way to optimize your funnel. If you can't see it, you can't fix it. But through Sales Process Mapping you'll be forced to reckon with every wrinkle and every crack.

Here's what we'll cover:

• What is a sales process?
• Creating a plan: make your map
• Benefits of sales process mapping
• What does the map look like?
• Tips for mapping your sales process
• Incorporating your sales process map into your CRM

What is a sales process?

A sales process is the series of interactions between a company and a lead that takes the prospect from New Lead to Customer to Raving Fan. Typically, these steps can be defined clearly enough that even the newest member of a sales team can execute them with ease.

Think of your documented sales process as a roadmap. It guides your sales team on what to do during each phase of the customer journey, from someone first becoming aware of your products or services all the way to a sale, or a repeat sale.

Creating a plan: make your map

A sales process map is a visual way of outlining all the steps you use to sell your products or services. For each step, you identify the touchpoint, who's executing it (bonus points if it's automated), and the deadline for completing it. The next step then depends on the outcome of that touchpoint. For example, one step might be an automated email inviting prospects to set up a demo call. Do they schedule? If yes, the next interaction will be different than if no.

Creating this visual map gives business owners and sales managers alike the chance to evaluate each step of their sales process and identify leaks, loose ends, and gaps in messaging.

Every sales process should be a series of steps that are:

• Systematic
• Clear
• Actionable

Benefits of sales process mapping

Investing the time to create a well-thought-out sales process map will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales team. It will help you:

• Develop and deliver a consistent experience for your prospects
• Make sure prospects don't fall through the cracks
• Onboard new sales reps more quickly
• Clearly define steps that anyone on the team can follow (especially helpful if anyone wants to take a vacation!)

It will also lead to:

• Higher conversion rates
• Less time spent closing each deal
• Less busy work, by automating wherever possible
• Better, more accurate forecasting

As your team creates and develops the process, you also get to experience your customers' journey firsthand. Instead of thinking about how your prospect should act or react, you can think empathetically about your touchpoints.

In short, you'll turn your sales process from reactive to proactive.

What does the map look like?

A sales process map clearly defines each and every interaction that could take place in your sales process. It's rarely linear. Instead, it's a series of interactions broken up by step changes in your sales process (stages!).

Flowcharts capture the multiple decision points of a real customer journey. They lay out scenarios where different conversations and outcomes can lead to the same place.

For example, when you discuss pricing, a lead may A) agree to the price, B) need time to think it over and negotiate, or C) say “no way” emphatically. A good map captures what to do in all three cases.

Tips for mapping your sales process

Are you excited to start mapping? Here are some tips to help the process go smoothly.

Start with the end goal in mind

Most road trips begin with a destination already picked out. You don't want to drive around aimlessly, wasting time, money, and fuel, hoping you'll stumble on a route or city you enjoy.

The same is true for your sales cycle. What's your end goal? Be specific, and have a concrete reason for mapping your sales process now. Some examples:

• Identify where leads are getting dropped because of an unclear follow-up process
• Streamline the handoff of leads from one team to another
• Determine which steps can be systematized or automated so the current team can handle more leads

Get input from the team

If your team has been working without a sales process for a while, they probably each have their own way of closing a sale. Those different approaches can give you great insight into what works best.

Find out what's working. Meet with individuals or small groups to discuss how each salesperson wins a deal. Compare notes. Nail down the best practices and the triggers that move the sales process along.

Keep it “customer first”

For a sales process to be effective, you have to see everything through the customer's eyes. One problem some teams run into is outlining the process the way they believe it should happen, as if they had control over a prospect's behavior.

Sure, there are things you can do to steer a prospect in a particular direction, but the most effective sales processes put empathy first. An effective process addresses customers' needs, desires, objections, and emotions.

Seeing the sales process as a human process helps you understand the different directions a customer's journey may take, and how to keep your products and services on their radar.

Be simple, but comprehensive

Sounds like some kind of Zen mantra, right? Simple and comprehensive: is that even possible?

Think of it this way. Once you have the first draft of your map, give it a few days, then come back to it and ask yourself a few questions:

• If someone saw this for the first time, would it make sense?
• What can be cut without risking the sale?
• Did you define the who, what, where, and when for each step? Can you also answer why? If not, you may have found an opportunity to simplify.

Mold it into something clear, concise, and efficient. Then show it to someone outside the sales team and have them explain it back to you. If they can summarize your sales process without missing any important steps, you've hit the nail on the head.

Incorporating your sales process map into your CRM

After you've put the time and energy into creating a sales process map, make sure it gets used. One way to do that is to build it into your company's software.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software like Pipedrive has features that let you build your sales process right into the tool. For instance, Pipedrive's philosophy is that the right series of actions, done at the right time, will close more deals. So if you program your sales steps into Pipedrive as activities, you'll be off to the races (and the bank!).

Carefully setting up your CRM to match your sales process map ensures your software gets used to its fullest. You get the most out of your investment while making your sales team more efficient and successful.

CRMs also empower you with data. When designed thoughtfully, your CRM can give you rich information about which steps of the process are working and which aren't. You can also see how your sales reps perform individually and as a team, and which lead sources are worth your investment.