When creating a sales process flowchart, it’s crucial to align it with your standardized business processes. At Nuage, we prioritize starting with a detailed understanding and mapping of our existing workflows before implementing NetSuite. This ensures the flowchart truly reflects the operatiinal steps and identifies any bottlenecks. For example, companies should visualize their "order-to-cash" process, highlighting steps that can be automated to increase efficiency. Adaptability is another vital element. I recommend incorporating a scenario planning framework. Rather than outlining a singular path, a flowchart should account for variations such as a 15% increase or decrease in sales, similar to how finance teams prepare for market fluctuations. This flexibility enables a nimble response to changing circumstances, ensuring teams can respond proactively. Finally, ensure the flowchart captures the team's real-world practices, like incorporating official and shadow processes that employees may rely on. This experiential knowledge is critical when reviewing workflows, so engaging team members who are familiar with daily operations during the design phase can lead to a more representative and effective flowchart.
One thing that helped us a lot while building our sales flowchart--map what actually happens, not what's supposed to happen. When we first made our sales process flow at my last agency, we used the "ideal" process. Super clean: lead comes in - discovery - demo - proposal - close. Looked great on paper. But reps weren't using it because it didn't reflect real-life steps like follow-up loops, decision-maker delays, budget approvals, back-and-forth on scope, etc. So we sat with a few reps, walked through recent deals, and rebuilt the flowchart around actual behavior. For example, we added things like "ghosted after demo" with a branch showing reactivation attempts, and "proposal sent but feedback pending for 2+ weeks" as a separate loop. Those small tweaks made the chart real and reps started using it more. So yeah, my one tip: don't build a sales process based on how it should work. Build it based on how it actually plays out in your deals. Then you can improve from there.
My top tip is to keep it simple--focus only on the essential steps in your sales process to ensure the flowchart is clear and digestible. At one of my previous companies, we created a sales process flowchart that highlighted the key stages: lead qualification, initial outreach, demo scheduling, proposal, and closing. We used a clean design with distinct colors and symbols for decision points, which allowed both new hires and seasoned reps to quickly understand their next steps without getting bogged down by extraneous details. This simplicity not only minimized confusion but also made it easier to update the chart as our process evolved. By concentrating on the most critical actions, you provide a clear roadmap that improves team alignment and streamlines sales operations.
A crucial tip I recommend is to clearly define each stage of the sales process while proactively identifying potential roadblocks or bottlenecks that could arise. This will help you pinpoint areas where your team may need additional support or training, as well as identify opportunities for streamlining and improving efficiency. For example, at my previous company, we implemented a five-stage sales process flowchart that included prospecting, initial contact, property viewing, negotiation and closing. By clearly outlining each step and identifying any potential issues or challenges, we were able to streamline our process and ultimately increase our sales conversion rate. In addition, it is important to regularly review and update your sales process flowchart in order to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs. This will ensure that your team is always working towards the most effective and efficient sales strategy.