B2B sales & marketing is complex. When you're dealing with a lot of moving parts, it's important to create a simple overview so you can manage your time and stay on top of key deadlines. The post describes an approach for mapping out the B2B sales & marketing workflow . Using a workflow map we can better organize our sales & marketing teams and optimize the sales process from start to finish. You'll also be able to see whether or not you have enough resources and what tasks need more attention.
For this post, we explain a simple framework most effective for companies selling software, hardware, or other services that have a relatively large number of customers.
A workflow map helps you to see how each stakeholder is involved in your business model and which activities are most important for them.
Why map your B2B Marketing Workflow?
Creating a workflow map can help you think about all of the stakeholders that are involved in your B2B marketing & sales process by creating an overview where they can see how their work fits into the bigger picture. This framework will allow you to effectively manage your time and stay on top of key deadlines.
Using a workflow map you can better organize our sales & marketing team and optimize the sales process from start to finish. You'll also be able to see whether or not your business has enough resources and what tasks need more attention.
Creating a complete picture of your B2B marketing & sales process will also help you create a concrete list of tasks that are needed for each key activities, which in turn facilitates the planning process.
What is a Workflow?
An organizational workflow is the process of managing tasks in relation to each other within an organization or project plan. A workflow helps to maintain transparency, efficiency and economy of resources. The concept of workflow implies different processes and procedures among teams, departments or divisions that help in managing the performance. It is a function that involves the passing of documents or information from one department/division to another for further action. Workflows streamline operations, reduce delays, increase accountability and improve communication between business groups throughout an organization.
Every organization has different needs, but every organization must have a method of managing the work that arises. If a company is not being managed properly and efficiently, it will not be able to meet its targets and goals. A workflow process is necessary for efficient management of tasks and time allocation.
Types of Workflow Frameworks
1. Solo Workflow
Solo Workflow is when one person works on a topic by themselves. Typically this would be for one person startups, such as building a game, a program or an application.
The main benefit of working with a solo workflow is that it is the fastest way to get something done. If you are working on the initial design, writing code or documentation you don't have to worry about waiting for someone else. If you choose to create a documentation plan before starting your solo development, it will save you a lot of time and effort in the end. When I was working on my first book, I didn't have any experience with this particular workflow, so I had to make everything up as I went along. I ended up spending around 40 hours documenting the first part of the project, which doesn't seem like too much, but I could have been doing other important things with my time.
The biggest problem with this workflow is that it doesn't offer much in terms of team collaboration or product management. If you are working solo on a project, you will need to pay a lot of attention to how things are going and make sure that your deliverables are of the highest quality. Even though you are working by yourself, you should definitely consider creating a documentation plan or at least maintaining documentation as you go through the development process. You can use the information in this article to help you create a documentation plan.
Solo workflows are great for people working on their own projects but if you plan to work with other people, it might be harder to pull off. I would recommend this workflow if you are working on a side-project or if you decide that you don't want to manage a team. If you adhere to this workflow, there is no need for project management or version control software.
2. Partner Workflow
Partner Workflow is when you work on a project with other people, such as your Sales team or an external customer.
The main advantage to partnering on a project is that you can apply for budget approval with your client and also communicate about your progress with them as well as discuss any problems that might arise. This allows you to develop in sync with the client, which is vital to building relationships and getting projects off the ground. If you are working in-house I would recommend this workflow over the solo workflow.
Another benefit to working in-house is that you will not need to document everything, as every developer has their own documentation. This also means that a lot of people are working on the same thing at the same time. You will only need to make sure that everyone is communicating with each other and setting up their projects properly. It is possible to do this workflow with the solo workflow, but using a partner workflow will make it easier for your team members because they will have someone to look up to for collaboration and project management.
Putting it all together
Using a flow chart to map out the key steps in your B2B sales process is one of the best ways to get organized, saving you time and energy. Creating this type of model will help you get an overview of your business model as well as show all of your stakeholders how their work fits into the bigger picture. This framework will allow you to effectively manage your time and stay on top of key deadlines.
Business Process Models, sometimes called workflow diagrams, flowcharts, or swim lanes, are a great way to map out your processes and show all of your stakeholders how their work fits into the bigger picture. They can be used for project management as well as to help you get organized in other areas of your business.
Tools for B2B Marketing Mapping
Miro & Co. - SaaS platforms with a great toolset of features such as digital whiteboards, digital post-its & flowchart templates.
Process Street - Process Street is one of the best tools on this list, it allows you to map out your entire process which will help you see where things might go wrong or not done at all.
Wiki - A wiki is a website that is created to allow anybody and everybody to edit, add, flag or delete anything.
IPAT - Technique to make sure that the business proceses and important information are up-to-date, accurate and captured before they are sent out to be recorded on other systems.
Organizational Charts - One of the best ways to visually see what you will be doing in the future, who you need to contact with questions or to report up to.
Summary on B2B Marketing Workflow Mapping
Workflow mapping is an essential tool for understanding how work gets done in your B2B Sales process. By using the right approach and tools, you can gather the information you need to improve productivity and efficiency.
If you want to learn more about B2B Marketing check out our other blog posts for more tips and tricks.
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