A sales process flowchart needs more than “enquiry, quote, won”. Between those states are missing information, decisions, document versions and a handover to the delivery team.
Use the English sales-process worksheet. It is a drawing specification and test model, not proof that a workflow is implemented.
Set the process boundary and roles
Start with a received enquiry. Finish when delivery accepts a complete, approved dossier. Marketing and delivery can be neighbouring processes with their own boundaries.
Use swimlanes for requester, sales, technical or subject reviewer and delivery. Put a step in the lane of the person who finishes it. An arrow between lanes is a handoff requiring defined information.
Make decisions explicit
Write a question at each decision: is the enquiry complete, does it fit the offer, is customer approval recorded? Label every outgoing path, including rejection and requests for more information.
Manage quotation versions and customer approval
A sent quotation is not customer approval. Record the quotation version, validity and accepted approval evidence. A change after agreement needs a revision or separate change decision; it should not silently continue under an old approval.
Define the delivery package
At minimum, record enquiry ID, contact role, approved scope, exceptions, planning, price basis and approval version. Delivery accepts the package or returns it with a reason. Required fields must be complete and each open point needs an owner and date.
Illustrative eight-step flow
| Step | Owner | Forward result | Exception route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Register enquiry | Sales | Dossier with enquiry ID | Request a readable submission |
| Check completeness | Sales | Complete input | Ask for the missing location |
| Assess offer fit | Reviewer | Defined quote scope | Record a reasoned rejection |
| Release quotation | Sales | Identified document version | Correct internal errors |
| Customer decision | Customer and sales | Recorded approval evidence | Return changed scope for review |
| Build handover | Sales | Seven required fields | Complete missing information |
| Check deliverability | Delivery | Accepted package | Return it with a reason |
| Confirm start | Delivery | Handover complete | Assign the unresolved blocker |
This flow is fictional. Follow its normal path, then separately test missing information, rejection and a scope change after quotation. Retain the same enquiry ID through a request for more information. A rejected scope must not continue to a quotation; a changed scope must not be executed under obsolete approval.
Check the diagram before automating
Walk the normal and exception paths
For each handoff, inspect ID, required inputs, owner, outcome and evidence. Stop if an arrow has no owner, approval cannot be substantiated or delivery has to guess missing sales information.
Use the process description template to specify each step. If the boundary remains uncertain, begin with the SIPOC template. An enquiry is not automatically an instruction to start delivery.
For the quotation chain, see quote process automation. For a broader investigation of the workflow, use embedded process research.