6 Steps to Improve Sales & Operations

When was the final time your group evaluated your gross sales and operational processes? When you aren’t certain or really feel like your processes want a tune-up, your crew may gain advantage from worth stream mapping.

First, let’s get crystal clear on what worth stream mapping is.

→ Entry Now: 16 Timeline & Flowchart Templates [Free Tool]

On this article, you’ll discover:

It is very important be aware that efficient worth stream mapping is a crew effort. Purpose to have three to 10 folks working in your worth stream map to make sure your course of enchancment is thorough.

Worth stream mapping is likely one of the rules of a administration follow referred to as Lean. Lean originated with the creation of the Toyota Manufacturing System within the Fifties. At this time, gross sales and operations groups profit by making use of lean rules to enhance their processes.

The 5 key rules of Lean observe.

  1. Establish worth. Perceive what your buyer wants and the way your product serves them.
  2. Map the worth stream. This train helps you guarantee worth flows all through your group and processes.
  3. Create move. Maximize efficiencies and cut back waste in your organizational processes.
  4. Set up pull. Contemplating buyer consumption and the way it pertains to enterprise operations.
  5. Search perfection. Give attention to steady enchancment.

At this time, we’re going to concentrate on the second precept — mapping the worth stream — and the way it can profit your gross sales crew.

It’s vital to notice that worth stream mapping is commonly in comparison with course of mapping. Let’s check out the variations beneath.

Sometimes, worth stream mapping comes earlier than course of mapping. Now, let’s stroll by way of worth stream mapping step-by-step.

The Worth Stream Mapping Course of

1. Establish the method you wish to enhance.

Start by figuring out the method you wish to enhance. You must also be aware key stakeholders, roles, and duties that preserve the exercise on monitor.

2. Outline the target and scope.

As soon as the method has been chosen, define the target of enhancing that course of. For instance, in case your crew chooses to optimize your gross sales course of, be sure that everybody understands why optimizing the gross sales course of is vital.

Let’s say the gross sales groups finishing this train desires to extend pipeline velocity.

Moreover, you wish to outline the scope by understanding the particular begin and endpoint of the method you wish to optimize.

3. Map out the present state of the method.

Subsequent, your crew ought to doc the method as-is.

Utilizing the gross sales course of instance, doc how a lead enters your funnel, the touchpoints they’ve along with your model (together with handoffs), and all actions that lead as much as making the sale.

As you doc every step, be sure to point out who’s accountable and the way lengthy every activity takes.

4. Establish inefficiencies and areas of enchancment.

With a view to enhance your course of, you’ll want to make use of a vital eye to determine areas of inefficiency or non-value-added actions. On the planet of Lean, these are often called “waste.”

Widespread sources of waste in gross sales embrace:

  • Defects. This includes offering incorrect, unclear, or outdated info to a prospect.
  • Overproduction, or over-communicating with a prospect to repeatedly collect info or make clear requests.
  • Ready. That is the time spent ready on solutions or info from different areas of your organization. This impacts your skill to share info with prospects promptly.
  • Beneath-utilized expertise, or the period of time gross sales reps spend on duties that aren’t associated to promoting and fascinating with prospects. This will embrace manually working processes, creating proposals, and on the lookout for info.
  • Transportation. Whereas gross sales doesn’t sometimes contain the transportation of elements, gross sales groups expertise an equal within the type of time wasted within the move of knowledge. Groups that don’t use a CRM to automate and prioritize communication usually take care of quite a lot of transportation waste.
  • Stock. As a gross sales rep, your deliverables to your prospects are thought of your “stock.” This will embrace offering quotes, pricing info, and negotiation deliverables on time.
  • Movement. In Lean, movement waste happens when extra steps than obligatory are taken to satisfy a activity or assertion of labor. To your gross sales course of, search for methods to expedite or automate duties to enhance movement, resembling establishing CRM integrations.
  • Processing. Any such waste happens when the identical set of information or info is processed a number of instances.

5. Map out the longer term state of the method.

Upon getting recognized the areas of enchancment, doc the best future state, enhancing the inefficiencies you outlined above.

As you probably did if you outlined your present state, point out how lengthy every motion will take utilizing the improved course of. This can assist your crew quantify the period of time you’ve saved.

6. Create an motion plan for implementation.

Now that you’ve your new course of mapped out, it’s time to implement it. Create a sensible motion plan your crew can deal with to make the brand new course of a actuality. It helps to have a mission supervisor available to make sure implementation goes easily, and to maintain stakeholders accountable.

In all, right here’s what your ultimate worth stream map may seem like.

value stream mapping example; value stream mapping templatePicture Supply

Unsure the way to get began? Check out the next flowchart template that you should utilize to create a price stream map.

Worth Stream Mapping Template

value stream mapping template, flowchart

Obtain your free flowchart templates to create a price stream map.

At its core, worth stream mapping is identical as creating flowcharts — solely with distinctive VSM symbols, which we go over beneath.

HubSpot’s flowchart templates will enable you get began creating a price stream map. One of the best half is you can begin with an easier, linear chart, then add extra complexity as you go alongside.

Worth stream maps have distinctive symbols. Chart maker instruments sometimes embrace these symbols, however for those who’re simply now studying to create a VSM, we suggest downloading image packs first and enjoying round.

Listed here are two icon packs:

Now, it’s vital to familiarize your self with the symbols earlier than beginning to create a map. Let’s go over them beneath.

Worth Stream Mapping Symbols

value stream mapping symbols

1. Buyer/Provider Icon

value stream mapping symbols, consumer/supplier icon

When positioned on the higher left-hand nook of the worth stream, this image represents the provider. When positioned within the higher right-hand nook, it represents the client.

2. Devoted Course of Circulate Icon

value stream mapping symbols, dedicated process flow icon

This represents a single division, course of, or operational machine a cloth flows by way of.

3. Shared Course of Icon

value stream mapping symbols, shared process icon

This represents a division, course of, or operational machine that’s shared by a number of worth streams.

4. Knowledge Field Icon

value stream mapping symbols, data box icon

On a price stream, this image is positioned beneath different icons within the system that require extra knowledge for evaluation. For instance, an information field may go beneath an in depth course of move icon to point out CRM knowledge reporting.

5. Work Cell Icon

value stream mapping symbols, work cell icon

This icon signifies a number of processes built-in collectively to enhance the standard, velocity, and price of product creation.

6. Stock Icon

value stream mapping symbols, inventory icon

This image can symbolize stock counts that have to happen inside the worth stream.

7. Handbook Info Icon

 value stream mapping symbols, manual information icon

This means the move of knowledge by way of written content material that’s not shared electronically.

8. Digital Info Icon

value stream mapping symbols, electronic information icon

This icon signifies when info is shared electronically by way of mediums resembling electronic mail.

9. Push Arrow Icon

value stream mapping symbols, push arrow icon

This icon represents materials or product pushed from one course of to the following.

10. Verbal Info Icon

verbal information icon

The verbal info icon signifies the move of knowledge that’s shared verbally.

11. Kaizen Burst Icon

value stream mapping symbols, Kaizen burst icon

A Kaizen burst highlights downside areas on a price stream. It’s designed to point areas of waste that may be improved to optimize all the course of.

12. Different Info Icon

value stream mapping symbols, other information icon

Any extra info that doesn’t match into the classes above may be communicated by way of the opposite info icon.

At this level, we’ve lined the important thing steps and symbols it’s essential to facilitate a price stream mapping train. Let’s put all of it along with an instance.

Worth Stream Mapping Examples

Now that we’ve seemed on the course of, let’s see what it seems like in follow.

Healthcare

value stream mapping example, healthcare

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That is an easy-to-read worth stream map with clear symbols for wait time, info move, and communication switch. By accumulating knowledge, a clinic can simply see the place its bottlenecks are and enhance the move of service.

Professional tip: Use a legend like this diagram does to make symbols straightforward to grasp.

Manufacturing

value stream mapping, manufacturingPicture Supply

This manufacturing worth stream map has arrows that clearly point out the cadence of each step of the worth chain. Metrics on every step of the worth stream are displayed in easy-to-read packing containers.

What we love: Including a timeline on the backside of the worth stream map, like on this diagram, lets you see your complete lead time and value-added time at a look.

Logisticsvalue stream mapping, logistics

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This logistics worth stream map simplifies a fancy workflow, with clear labels that specify every sort of communication and easy-to-read metrics at every step of the method.

Professional tip: Utilizing the Kaizen burst diagram lets you rapidly see key inefficiencies within the worth stream.

DevOpsvalue stream mapping example, DevOps

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Once you’re creating a price stream map, fancy diagramming software program is a nice-to-have, however not a need-to-have. Generally it’s higher to make use of the instruments your crew already makes use of, like this user-friendly DevOps worth stream map that was inbuilt Miro.

Professional tip: Think about the way you’ll get your crew to truly use your worth stream map and implement your findings.

Insurance coveragevalue stream mapping example, insurance

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This insurance coverage declare map is laser-focused on their key buyer requirement: delivering declare checks in 5 days. Precise processing time (75 minutes) and typical lead time (26 to 39 days) are set in giant, simply readable packing containers.

Professional tip: To get outcomes, design your worth stream map round your key metrics.

Worth Stream Mapping Case Research

We’ve mentioned completely different industries that use VSM above. To make it concrete to your gross sales crew, let’s dive right into a case research.

Let’s say the enterprise gross sales crew at a SaaS firm lately accomplished a price stream mapping train. They first mapped their present state, then mapped their future state. Right here’s what the crew discovered.

Present State VSM

When mapping out their present state, the enterprise gross sales crew realized, on common, every buyer was being handed off to a few completely different gross sales reps throughout their purchaser journey. Additionally they realized the handoff factors have been the place they noticed the best leaks of their gross sales funnel.

By handing prospects off from gross sales rep to gross sales rep with out sharing context or info every time, prospects have been having to repeat info. Moreover, the crew realized they didn’t have a central system in place for managing buyer knowledge, so every rep was accountable for conserving their very own information of buyer interactions.

This led to inconsistencies of their reporting and the expertise of every prospect.

Future State VSM

Because the crew mapped out their gross sales course of’ future state, they outlined a brand new construction involving the implementation of a CRM. This helped them handle their knowledge and function a single supply of knowledge for reps.

By implementing these enhancements, the enterprise gross sales crew was in a position to minimize their common conversion time in half, whereas growing their gross sales month over month. As a result of the enhancements have been well-documented, the corporate was in a position to share greatest practices that could possibly be simply applied by mid-market gross sales groups.

Worth Stream Mapping Instruments

Whereas some groups favor to make use of pens, paper, and sticky notes to finish their worth stream map, there are useful digital instruments out there as nicely. Listed here are some worth stream mapping instruments to take a look at.

1. Lucidchart value stream mapping tools, LucidChart

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With Lucidchart, you’ll be able to create a digital worth stream map in minutes. Lucidchart integrates with HubSpot by way of Zapier, simplifying your course of and making knowledge assortment simpler.

Plus, you should utilize drag-and-drop options to rearrange and enhance processes in minutes.

Pricing: Whereas free choices can be found, particular person plans value $7.95 a month. Staff entry prices $9 a consumer per 30 days.

2. Microsoft Visio

value stream mapping tools, Microsoft Visio

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Visio is a part of the Microsoft Workplace suite, and it is an excellent selection for creating flowcharts and worth stream maps.

When you use Workplace 365, the Visio internet app is a extremely versatile software that permits anybody in your group to construct worth stream maps.

Pricing: Particular person plans value $5 a month. Staff plans value $5 per consumer a month.

3. SmartDraw

value stream mapping tools, SmartDraw

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SmartDraw is an easy-to-use drawing program that lets you create worth stream maps with minimal effort. With templates and pre-made diagrams, it is an excellent selection to assist your crew work by way of the worth stream mapping course of with ease.

Pricing: Single consumer plans value $9.95 per 30 days. A number of consumer plans value $5.95 per consumer a month.

4. Creately

value stream mapping tools, Creately

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Creately offers a big library of VSM templates, in addition to all the usual VSM icons. When you’re seeking to construct worth stream maps rapidly, these options make the method a breeze.

Creately additionally helps you to collaborate with others in your worth stream map. You may make modifications in real-time and even video convention with others to debate your diagram.

Pricing: Costs vary from $5 to $89 per 30 days. Free and enterprise plans are additionally out there.

5. VisualParadigm On-line

value stream mapping tools, Visual Paradigm

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Visible Paradigm On-line is one other knowledge visualization software with a variety of VSM options, together with a number of VSM templates to select from.

For instance, this template is beneficial for present state mapping, whereas this one is right for future state mapping.

Pricing:Value vary from $4 per consumer a month to $15 per consumer a month. Free plans are additionally out there.

Create a Worth Stream Map to Enhance Your Processes

Once you’re seeking to improve effectivity and gross sales in your division, worth stream mapping is a perfect method to make use of. It lets you pinpoint areas for enchancment, cut back inefficiencies, and be certain that your division is working at peak profitability.

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