Mapping the Customer JourneyAn Introduction to Sales Process Design

The business customer journey is very different than it was

even five years ago. It typically begins before you have any

contact with a prospect, as soon as they identify a need

within their business. Someone at the business rarely

the actual decision maker starts researching solutions.

Eventually they sign up for a trial or fill in a form for some

collateral on your website. Now youre on their short list.

The journey continues as you build value through

your sales process and close the initial sale. It

keeps going through their first wow moment

with your services and the expansion of their use

of your products and services. It continues for as

long as they remain a customer.

The key thing to remember is that customers have a lot more control

than they used to. They have a lot more knowledge and a lot more

options. To get and keep customers in this new environment, you have

to proactively shape their journey. That begins with mapping the steps

your prospect will move through, taking into account where theyre

coming from and how you can best guide them into a successful

customer relationship.

This white paper will help you understand your customers journey and

develop a consistent sales process, so you can achieve consistent

results. Heres how well break it down:

1. Understand the full scope of the business customer journey.

2. Zoom in on the core of the journey from first call or meeting

to close of initial sale and explore three sales process models.

3. Choose the right model and customize your own sales process.

Mapping the Customer Journey 2

A Birds Eye View of the Customer JourneyThe diagram below illustrates three high-level phases in the business customer journey.

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Discovery: Prior to First Meeting

The initial phase of your customers journey is how they get to you, how they become a

lead. There are three tracks for bringing leads into your sales process. Lead generation

is outside the scope of this book, but fortunately weve created a separate book for each

of these tracks if youd like to learn more:

Personal Networking. By creating a web of connections and maximizing referrals, you

can get in the game as soon as the need for a product like yours is identified by

someone you know, or one of their connections. If people know you as a thought leader,

theyre likely to think of you first. Learn more in Personal Networking for Sales

Rockstars.

Marketing Led / Inbound Sales. Marketing draws in potential customers who have

identified a need and begun searching for solutions. Alignment between sales and

marketing is critical to the success of inbound sales, and we offer tips in Bridging the

Marketing & Sales Divide.

Sales Led / Outbound Sales. This lead generation track focuses on reaching out to find

people who are ready for your solution, even if they havent started looking yet. Learn

about building great targeted lists and working them efficiently in Getting Smart About

Outbound Sales.

Mapping the Customer Journey

Core Pipeline: From First Meeting to First Sale

This is the phase where most salespeople invest most of their time. Youve

got a great sales qualified lead (SQL), and youve scheduled an initial

meeting or call or demo. Now, how do you make the most of the

opportunity and move the prospect through your sales process to close?

Well spend the rest of this book looking at this core piece of the customer

journey.

Customer Success: After the Initial Sale

Theres a lot to consider beyond the initial sale. Developing a strategic,

proactive Customer Success program can make a huge difference for your

business.

Customer Success is a cross-functional, data-driven effort to help

customers get value from your solution or service and to engage at-risk

customers before they churn. The goal is to actively optimize customer

satisfaction, adoption, and health. Customer Success goes hand in hand

with increasing the value of your customer relationships over time

through up-selling and cross-selling.

But youve got to land that initial sale first.

4Mapping the Customer Journey

Three Sales Process ModelsBelow are three examples of the core business customer journey for different types of

sales. Were setting aside lead generation and long-term customer success here to focus

on the Core Pipeline segment of the customer journey, from the first call or meeting to

closing the initial sale.

Simple Sale

At PipelineDeals, the customer journey from being identified as a sales qualified lead to

becoming a customer is relatively simple.

The order of these stages may vary slightly, depending on the situation. For example,

prospects may already have begun their trial through our website when we contact them

and offer a training session on how to get the most out of PipelineDeals.

At the first call or meeting, we ask some advanced qualifying questions to understand

the customers requirements and the decision-makers involved. Then, we demo our

solution with an emphasis on making sure they see and try the stickiest, most

powerful features of our product.

By the end of the trial, the prospect either wants PipelineDeals or not. Any negotiation is

usually focused on what kind of onboarding services they want.

5Mapping the Customer Journey

Complex Sale

Some sales processes are far more complex. For example, consider a business analytics

solution that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. To sell something like

that, you typically need multiple up-front meetings with the CFO and various teams

across the organization. You cant even get started without understanding the

companys business, identifying value drivers, and gathering enough information to

demonstrate how your solution can drive insight. There has to be a clearly defined,

multi-step process of building value, establishing buy-in, and creating a customized

proposal before you can negotiate a deal.

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Complex Sale Example

Mapping the Customer Journey

Land and Expand Sale

Another excellent way to frame the customer journey is by looking beyond the initial

close to long-term customer value from the very beginning. This type of sale starts out

simple, but has a long game.

The idea is to set a low bar for the initial sale, such as a 3-month basic contract, and

then guide the customer to a more lucrative relationship over time. The land and

expand model expands the sales footprint and requires extensive collaboration between

marketing, sales and support.

Land and expand is what were moving toward at PipelineDeals. It makes a lot of

sense to gradually and strategically increase value and customer commitment over time.

But it does require a true, cross-functional Customer Success program. By proactively

optimizing the value customers receive from your solution, you can keep them fresh in

your recurring sales pipeline long after the initial sale.

In addition to being a viable path to success over time, land and expand is a critical

component of any ongoing customer relationship. Once a prospect has made the lead to

becoming a paying customer, one of the most effective ways to continue showing value

is to persist in exploring their needs. Maintaining this habit helps to grow the

relationship and offers additional opportunities for up-sell and cross-sell long after the

close of the original sale.

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The Potential of Land & Expand(example from Totango.com)

Mapping the Customer Journey

Defining Your Sales ProcessFor most businesses, one of the models above can serve as a solid starting point from which

they can further customize. The table below summarizes how the three types of customer

journey match up to specific customer targets, product types, and sales cycles.

Simple Sale

Complex Sale

Land-and-Expand

Small to medium

businesses

Mid-to-large sized

businesses

Organizations that are

growing fast and/or

very large and highly

compartmentalized.

Sale might begin with

a single franchise,

department, or

segment of a

department.

Single product or

product line focused

on one department or

functional area.

Typically a

transactional sale or

simple SaaS.

Impacts multiple

departments or

functional areas. May

involve sensitive parts

of the business (ex:

finance) or a large

up-front investment.

Products with a low

barrier to entry but

high potential for

growth. And/or

products with

multiple tiers.

30-45 days (or less)

More than 45 days

First sale in 45 days

or less, but ramping

up over a year or

more

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Which Sales Process Fits Your Business?

Customer Target Type of Product Length of Sales Cycle

Mapping the Customer Journey

If none of the three models can be adapted to your needs, you may have to get creative. But

keep in mind that any process is better than no process. Win