Practical guides
How to map a sales process before buying software
The map does not need to be perfect. It needs to show what happens today and where an opportunity can lose its next step.
Reviewed by David Salazar · Editorial policy
Draw the current journey
Start at first contact and end at a win, loss, or pause. Describe real actions rather than the ideal version in a handbook. Choose a recent opportunity and follow what happened across every channel, document, and approval.
Define entries and exits
Every stage needs an entry condition and evidence of completion. ‘Proposal’ is not merely a label: it might begin when need and budget are confirmed and end when the customer receives an offer with a next step. Clear definitions reduce inconsistent interpretation across the team.
- Information required to enter.
- Action performed during the stage.
- Evidence required to advance.
- Exceptions that return or stop the journey.
Add owners and evidence
For every stage, identify who decides, what information they need, and how the team knows the step is complete. Separate the person doing the work from the person approving it; this exposes ownerless tasks and hidden bottlenecks.
Record real exceptions
A useful map includes what happens when inventory is missing, the customer changes scope, a payment does not match, or the owner is unavailable. Do not attempt to design every possibility. Start with frequent or costly exceptions and document who decides and how the case returns to the normal flow.
Design the next action
A useful stage ends with a concrete action, a responsible person, and a date. Then you can decide whether a spreadsheet is enough, a platform should be configured, or there is a real reason to build.
Test the map before buying
Walk five to ten recent opportunities through the map and mark where it fails to explain what happened. Adjust definitions and ownership before configuring software. Then test one new cycle from beginning to end. The tool should support a validated process rather than freeze a diagram nobody has used.
- Include one won, one lost, and one stalled opportunity.
- Measure waiting, rework, and repeated data entry.
- Confirm the flow with the people who execute it.
- Set a date to review the map again.
Turn the idea into a process your team can execute.
See the Merluca method