When was the final time your group evaluated your gross sales and operational processes? For those who 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:
What’s worth stream mapping?
Worth stream mapping, or VSM, is a visible depiction of the important thing steps and information associated to optimizing particular processes that require a number of steps. When achieved appropriately, worth stream mapping can assist groups collaborate and talk extra successfully.
It is very important notice that efficient worth stream mapping is a crew effort. Intention 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 among the ideas of a administration apply known as Lean. Lean originated with the creation of the Toyota Manufacturing System within the Nineteen Fifties. At present, gross sales and operations groups profit by making use of lean ideas to enhance their processes.
The 5 key ideas of Lean comply with.
- Establish worth. Perceive what your buyer wants and the way your product serves them.
- Map the worth stream. This train helps you guarantee worth flows all through your group and processes.
- Create move. Maximize efficiencies and cut back waste in your organizational processes.
- Set up pull. Contemplating buyer consumption and the way it pertains to enterprise operations.
- Search perfection. Concentrate on steady enchancment.
At present, we’re going to give attention to the second precept — mapping the worth stream — and the way it can profit your gross sales crew.
It’s essential to notice that worth stream mapping is usually in comparison with course of mapping. Let’s check out the variations under.
Worth Stream Mapping vs. Course of Mapping
VSM presents a hen’s eye view, whereas course of mapping presents a extra detailed view. You’d use a worth stream map to determine main duties to enhance a enterprise operate. You’d use course of mapping to delineate the precise steps to take a single process from starting to completion.
Sometimes, worth stream mapping comes earlier than course of mapping. Now, let’s stroll by means 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 also needs to notice key stakeholders, roles, and tasks that maintain the exercise on observe.
2. Outline the target and scope.
As soon as the method has been chosen, define the target of bettering that course of. For instance, in case your crew chooses to optimize your gross sales course of, be certain everybody understands why optimizing the gross sales course of is essential.
Let’s say the gross sales groups finishing this train needs to extend pipeline velocity.
Moreover, you wish to outline the scope by understanding the precise 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 together 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 process 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 earth of Lean, these are often known as “waste.”
Widespread sources of waste in gross sales embrace:
- Defects. This entails 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 capacity 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 interesting with prospects. This may embrace manually working processes, creating proposals, and in search of info.
- Transportation. Whereas gross sales doesn’t sometimes contain the transportation of components, 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 typically cope with an excessive amount of transportation waste.
- Stock. As a gross sales rep, your deliverables to your prospects are thought of your “stock.” This may embrace offering quotes, pricing info, and negotiation deliverables on time.
- Movement. In Lean, movement waste happens when extra steps than obligatory are taken to meet a process or assertion of labor. To your gross sales course of, search for methods to expedite or automate duties to enhance movement, similar to establishing CRM integrations.
- Processing. The sort of waste happens when the identical set of knowledge or info is processed a number of occasions.
5. Map out the longer term state of the method.
Upon getting recognized the areas of enchancment, doc the best future state, bettering the inefficiencies you outlined above.
As you probably did while you outlined your present state, point out how lengthy every motion will take utilizing the improved course of. This may 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 practical motion plan your crew can deal with to make the brand new course of a actuality. It helps to have a venture supervisor available to make sure implementation goes easily, and to maintain stakeholders accountable.
In all, right here’s what your ultimate worth stream map might appear to be.
Undecided learn how to get began? Check out the next flowchart template that you need to use to create a worth stream map.
Worth Stream Mapping Template
Obtain your free flowchart templates to create a worth stream map.
At its core, worth stream mapping is identical as creating flowcharts — solely with distinctive VSM symbols, which we go over under.
HubSpot’s flowchart templates will provide help to get began creating a worth stream map. The perfect half is which 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 should you’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 essential to familiarize your self with the symbols earlier than beginning to create a map. Let’s go over them under.
Worth Stream Mapping Symbols
1. Buyer/Provider 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 shopper.
2. Devoted Course of Circulation Icon
This represents a single division, course of, or operational machine a fabric flows by means of.
3. Shared Course of Icon
This represents a division, course of, or operational machine that’s shared by a number of worth streams.
4. Knowledge Field Icon
On a worth stream, this image is positioned underneath different icons within the system that require extra information for evaluation. For instance, a knowledge field might go under an in depth course of move icon to point out CRM information reporting.
5. 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
This image can symbolize stock counts that have to happen inside the worth stream.
7. Guide Data Icon
This means the move of knowledge by means of written content material that’s not shared electronically.
8. Digital Data Icon
This icon signifies when info is shared electronically by means of mediums similar to e mail.
9. Push Arrow Icon
This icon represents materials or product pushed from one course of to the following.
10. Verbal Data Icon
The verbal info icon signifies the move of knowledge that’s shared verbally.
11. Kaizen Burst Icon
A Kaizen burst highlights downside areas on a worth stream. It’s designed to point areas of waste that may be improved to optimize your entire course of.
12. Different Data Icon
Any further info that doesn’t match into the classes above might be communicated by means of the opposite info icon.
At this level, we’ve lined the important thing steps and symbols you should facilitate a worth stream mapping train. Let’s put all of it along with an instance.
Worth Stream Mapping Examples
Now that we’ve appeared on the course of, let’s see what it seems to be like in apply.
Healthcare
That is an easy-to-read worth stream map with clear symbols for wait time, info move, and communication switch. By gathering information, 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 simple to grasp.
Manufacturing
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 containers.
What we love: Including a timeline on the backside of the worth stream map, like on this diagram, allows you to see your complete lead time and value-added time at a look.
Logistics
This logistics worth stream map simplifies a fancy workflow, with clear labels that designate every sort of communication and easy-to-read metrics at every step of the method.
Professional tip: Utilizing the Kaizen burst diagram allows you to rapidly see key inefficiencies within the worth stream.
DevOps
If you’re creating a worth 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 in-built Miro.
Professional tip: Think about the way you’ll get your crew to really use your worth stream map and implement your findings.
Insurance coverage
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 massive, simply readable containers.
Professional tip: To get outcomes, design your worth stream map round your key metrics.
Worth Stream Mapping Case Examine
We’ve mentioned completely different industries that use VSM above. To make it concrete on your gross sales crew, let’s dive right into a case examine.
Let’s say the enterprise gross sales crew at a SaaS firm lately accomplished a worth 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 3 completely different gross sales reps throughout their purchaser journey. In addition they realized the handoff factors had 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, clients had been having to repeat info. Moreover, the crew realized they didn’t have a central system in place for managing buyer information, so every rep was chargeable for protecting 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 information and function a single supply of knowledge for reps.
By implementing these enhancements, the enterprise gross sales crew was capable of reduce their common conversion time in half, whereas rising their gross sales month over month. As a result of the enhancements had been well-documented, the corporate was capable of share finest practices that may very well be simply carried out 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 accessible as effectively. Listed here are some worth stream mapping instruments to take a look at.
1. Lucidchart
With Lucidchart, you’ll be able to create a digital worth stream map in minutes. Lucidchart integrates with HubSpot by means of Zapier, simplifying your course of and making information assortment simpler.
Plus, you need to use drag-and-drop options to rearrange and enhance processes in minutes.
Pricing: Whereas free choices can be found, particular person plans price $7.95 a month. Crew entry prices $9 a person per thirty days.
2. Microsoft Visio
Visio is a part of the Microsoft Workplace suite, and it is a terrific selection for creating flowcharts and worth stream maps.
For those who use Workplace 365, the Visio net app is a extremely versatile instrument that allows anybody in your group to construct worth stream maps.
Pricing: Particular person plans price $5 a month. Crew plans price $5 per person a month.
3. SmartDraw
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 a terrific selection to assist your crew work by means of the worth stream mapping course of with ease.
4. Creately
Creately supplies a massive library of VSM templates, in addition to all the usual VSM icons. For those who’re trying to construct worth stream maps rapidly, these options make the method a breeze.
Creately additionally allows you to collaborate with others in your worth stream map. You can also make modifications in real-time and even video convention with others to debate your diagram.
Pricing: Costs vary from $5 to $89 per thirty days. Free and enterprise plans are additionally accessible.
5. VisualParadigm On-line
Visible Paradigm On-line is one other information visualization instrument with a variety of VSM options, together with a number of VSM templates to select from.
For instance, this template is helpful for present state mapping, whereas this one is right for future state mapping.
Create a Worth Stream Map to Enhance Your Processes
If you’re trying to improve effectivity and gross sales in your division, worth stream mapping is a perfect approach to make use of. It allows you to pinpoint areas for enchancment, cut back inefficiencies, and be certain that your division is working at peak profitability.