Sales Process Flowchart: A Definitive Guide

Due to a lack of knowledge of what a normal sales process should entail, many businesses find it difficult to create an effective sales process. This is where a flowchart of the sales process is useful.

Sales managers may track their team’s progress and pinpoint areas for improvement by using a flowchart to illustrate the process and make sure no steps are missed.

One type of flowchart that is frequently used to show the steps in a sales cycle is the sales process flowchart. It can assist people in visualizing how they should approach their daily tasks and progress from one sales process phase to the next. These charts serve as a visual representation of the sales process within your company and are a great training tool.

This article will explain a sales process and demonstrate how to create a flowchart of a sales process to support your sales strategy. We’ll also provide some advice for sales teams creating their first flowcharts.

What is a sales process?

A sales process is a set of phases or actions that a sales team does to discover and qualify new clients, build relationships with them, and conclude deals.

The specific steps in the sales process will vary depending on the type of business, the goods or services being offered, and the target market.

However, the majority of sales procedures will combine prospecting, qualifying, pitching, overcoming objections, and closing techniques.

Sales process steps

When creating a sales process, you main goal is to increase your profits. Your sales staff will easily close deals if you provide them a uniform foundation. Check out this video for a closer look at the “what,” “how,” and “why” of sales processes:

Now that you are aware of what a sales process is and why you should develop one, let’s analyze the seven stages or steps.

1. Prospecting

Finding fresh, early-stage leads to start the sales process is the process of prospecting. It’s an essential step in the sales process and a regular task for the majority of sales representatives.

Prospecting may entail conducting online research on platforms like Quora or LinkedIn. Additionally, it could occur at conventions or business gatherings. You can also prospect by requesting recommendations from current customers or coworkers for people who might be interested in your good or service.

Engaging with the information on the websites we highlighted above is a terrific approach to prospect. Respectfully express your opinion whether a post resonates with you or if you disagree.

The prospect will get to know you better as a result, and they’ll be more likely to interact with you in the future.

2. Lead generation/qualification

Reps contact such early-stage leads at the connect stage of the sales process to obtain information.

The second phase in this process is to qualify new leads, which involves determining whether or not they are a suitable fit for your company and whether or not they are likely to continue their buyer’s journey.

When doing a “connect” or “discovery” call, a representative can often identify qualified leads by posing qualifying questions like:

• “What position do you hold at your company?”
• “What do you do on a daily basis?”
• “What issue are you attempting to resolve?”
• “Why is this important to your company?”
• “What alternative options are you considering?”

Lead qualification doesn’t have to be difficult. You can get a fair indication of whether a prospect will be suitable for the goods or services you sell using a straightforward qualification procedure like BANT.

At this point, you approach your first and potential customers because it’s your only chance to get in touch with them and qualify them. Personal, in-person contact, emails, or phone calls are all possible forms of contact. There are typically three methods for approaching your clients;

• Premium. Even if no sales have yet taken place, you are still giving your consumer a present at this point.
• Inquiries. In order to get their attention at this point, you ask your consumers specific questions.
• Free trials or product samples. You provide your clients with a free sample of your goods. To get opinions from the public is the goal.

3. Learn about the prospect and the company

Sales reps conduct research to find out more about each prospect and business.

The likelihood of closing a deal increases when research enables your agents to put themselves in the customer’s shoes and provide a more customized and personalized experience.

Understanding each prospect’s wants and concerns, and positioning your product or service as the answer, are essential parts of this step.

To acquire a comprehensive understanding of the organization and its goals, you might need your new sales reps to interact with other employees across several departments. A successful salesperson should be more familiar with the business than the specific prospect who works there.

4. Present your offer with a sales pitch

The formal product or service demonstration that your salesperson conducts for your prospect occurs at the presentation stage here.

Because it takes time, this stage usually occurs later in the sales process and is reserved for qualified leads, which is why the steps involving generating leads or finding qualified leads are so important to the sales process. If it can be avoided, you don’t want a sales representative wasting any of your prospects’ important time.

Each presentation should be customized to the prospect’s use case and pain points. A sales rep may also bring a software engineer or graphics designer to showcase a visual representation to the meeting to show the customer the quality of service they can expect from your organization.

Components of a strong sales pitch

A strong sales presentation should take into account the wider picture and be written with the buyer’s journey through the sales funnel in mind rather than just assisting your sales cycles by boosting your inbound marketing approach.

What, in essence, ought to be in a solid sales proposal;

• Keep it succinct, meaningful, and relevant
• Hit the prospect with important value-driven points that they already care about
• Instead of listing all your features, concentrate on how your product will help the prospect achieve their goals
• Use it to generate interest
• Leave some information out to entice the potential customer to inquire

5. Objection handling

Prospects are frequently opposed to the presentation and suggestions made by your salesperson. This is a specific step in the sales process since it is expected, in fact. Your sales organization should handle any and all objections.

Your representatives can more effectively modify your product to match your prospects’ demands by paying attention to their concerns and inquiries. Reps should identify and foresee any objections, whether they are related to cost, onboarding, or other aspects of the proposed contract, through their research and presentation preparation.

Objections aren’t always negative or pointless. When the prospect is outlining their concerns, show empathy and pay close attention.

Some people disregard minor prospect objections because they believe that if the product is suitable for one person but not for another, it will be a good choice for everyone else. Sales teams frequently make mistakes like this. You should carefully assess which unfavorable client comments can be used to raise the caliber of your offerings.

Discover as much as you can about their reluctance so you may put your solution in the proper perspective rather than leaping in and answering their issue.

6. Closing deals

This stage of the sales process refers to any late-stage activity that occurs as a contract approaches completion. It differs greatly from business to business and could involve presenting a quote or proposal, negotiating, or winning the decision-makers’ support.

Each and every salesperson aims to close a transaction. It ought to lead to a binding contract that benefits both the buyer and the seller. After a transaction is completed, the salesperson is paid a commission based on the agreed-upon price, and typically an account manager or customer success representative takes over the account.

Sales representatives close deals using seven different strategies. See which one best suits your selling or style by checking them out.

7. Nurture and boost loyalty

Although closing agreements is the ultimate objective in sales, this is not the point at which sales representatives quit interacting with consumers. Reps should assist in transferring consumers to the team in charge of onboarding and customer success in addition to ensuring that customers receive the products they ordered.

Continually conveying and reinforcing value to customers is another phase in the sales process. This may present chances for cross-selling and upselling, as well as chances for securing consumer recommendations.

Mention the service and customer success representatives who will assist your client in boarding after the deal closes early on in the sales process.

Let’s now discuss how you can make this procedure better.

What is a sales process flowchart?

What is sales process flowchart?

Sales process flowcharts are a flowchart commonly used to depict the steps in a sales cycle. It can assist people in visualizing how they should approach their daily tasks and progress from one sales process phase to the next. These charts serve as a visual representation of the sales process within your company and are a great training tool.

Prospecting, qualifying, presenting, resolving objections, closing, following up, and feedback are the eight basic categories into which the steps in a sales process are typically divided.

A sales process flow chart displays the major processes in the business process, from lead generation through lead qualification.

As you can see in this sales process flowchart example, it can help you with problem identification and isolation as well as efficiency improvement and waste reduction.

Advantages of a well-defined sales process flowchart to your sales processes

Without the aid of a quick and efficient process, sales teams would struggle to target potential customers. It’s like getting lost in a misty forest without a map.

Therefore, one of the most outstanding instruments for providing your products to your customers more readily would be simplifying the sale process procedures.

A typical sales process for their teams or businesses should also be developed by managers for newcomers to follow. New hires won’t have to waste time getting accustomed to their work by doing this. They won’t have any difficulties finding answers to diverse problems while searching for and closing agreements.

You can control conversations and procedures after you have clear presentations using flowcharts.

As a result, you can better comprehend your coworkers or clients so that you can reach an understanding.

Additionally, visualizing the process as a chart will help you immediately identify any problems in your company’s operations. You can rapidly correct the issue with prompt solutions while you wait for subsequent changes in sales operations.

How to plan a typical sales process flowchart

1. Look at the sales process flowchart templates

You might want to peek at the sales flow charts other teams produce before starting to design a brand-new one for yourself.

You could be unsure about how to use the pre-made sales process flowchart template for your company while looking at it. The items that are now in the pipeline and the transactions that have already been closed should both be closely examined in this situation. You will then ascertain what is preventing you from achieving your sales goals.

Prior to choosing the appropriate elements influencing the purchasing choice, you should pay more attention to the stage at which your potential clients are developing their perspectives.

2. Welcome brainstorming ideas from the entire sales team

The cooperation of the leader and other members is always necessary for qualified leads to seal agreements. In actuality, representatives speak with potential customers directly to make product sales. As a result, the trading process must incorporate all of the managers’ and representatives’ consistent experience.

To contribute to the group’s overall outcome, each member of the sales department should discuss the essential factors that contributed to their own achievement. Otherwise, you can substitute a step from the other flowchart for a flaw in the first. You can get a versatile process chart to handle various situations in your firm.

The sales process flowchart becomes easier when the sales team takes brainstorming sessions seriously.

3. Analyze the result of your new sales process

The main goal of any sales strategy is to hit as many sales targets as you can. Therefore, after completing the flowchart, you need to take more time to evaluate the outcome of your sales activities. Your sales methodology will particularly benefit from a sales process flowchart when you monitor your progress.

4. Make the right adjustment

Considering that the market and your potential consumers are constantly changing, you shouldn’t consistently choose a fixed sales process. The only approach to deal with this reality is to develop the flowchart using your team members’ or clients’ ideas and practical knowledge.

Common errors in preparing your sales process flowchart

• Since the process flowchart is not specific, the sales team will have varying interpretations of each stage. As a result, if a problem arises, they won’t manage it correctly.
• As was already said, a flowchart should incorporate numerous priceless insights from sales managers and representatives. It is not advisable to use a fixed flowchart.
• The sales process flowchart is not accessible to the marketing teams. The relationship between the marketing and sales departments must always be kept in mind.
• You might forget to update your sales process flowchart as events unfold if you focus too much on the problem at hand. You shouldn’t allow this to occur once more.
• A sales process flowchart’s main objective is to direct you in the deal-closing process. However, you should consider your clients’ genuine value before assuming that they will buy your goods or services.
• Ignoring a sales flowchart software during the process of creating your sales process flowchart.