A process audit that finds where leads and orders get stuck
It starts with a deep analysis of your systems, your data and the people who use them, usually 2 to 4 weeks. You get a ranked list of what's slowing the business down and what each problem costs. From there, you can keep going with monitoring, process fixes and team training.
Free, 30 minutes, and you'll leave with at least one clear next step.
Where did the Friction Point Analysis come from?
Our co-founder gave a TEDx talk called The Process of Creating a Process. It's about how the steps inside a company get built. Most of them aren't designed. They pile up one workaround at a time, as the business grows and people find ways to get the job done. A rep starts a spreadsheet because the CRM is missing a field. Someone in accounting re-types orders because two systems don't talk. Years later, that's just how things work.
The same pattern shows up in a lot of growth work. A company asks for more ads or a new CRM, and the bigger problem sits somewhere else. Quotes wait days for one busy expert. Orders get keyed in twice. Leads come in and sit uncalled. More ad spend won't fix any of that.
The Friction Point Analysis finds those spots on purpose, puts a cost on each one and ranks them. We call them friction points. They're the places where work slows down, gets retyped or falls through a gap. It's deep work, and it doesn't stop at a report. It runs in phases, so you can start with the analysis and keep going while it's paying off.
How does it work?
We follow the work instead of the org chart. We pick leads, quotes and orders from the last few months. We trace each one from the first click to the quote, the order, delivery, the invoice and, where it applies, the reorder. Every time the work passes to a new person or a new system, we check how long it waited and what got retyped or lost.
In our experience, most delays happen at those handoffs. Inside one team, people usually know what to do. Things sit between teams and between tools. We do the analysis remotely, with access to your systems, your data and video calls.
What are the steps in a Friction Point Analysis?
Our friction analysis runs in four phases. Steps 1 to 6 are the initial analysis, which usually takes 2 to 4 weeks and is done remotely. Step 7 covers the three ongoing phases, which are monitoring, process improvement and team training. Click a step to see what happens in it.
Stage 1: Talk with leadership
We talk with owners and leaders about goals and where they see problems.
We start with the people who run the business. We ask what you want to grow, what keeps going wrong and where you think time and money leak out. Those talks tell us where to look first.
You get A shared list of goals and the problems leadership sees today.
Stage 2: Collect the data
We gather key information from your systems, reports and documents.
We ask for read-only access to your CRM, ERP, store and other tools, plus the reports and documents your team already uses. We pull a sample of recent leads, quotes and orders to follow from start to finish. All of this happens remotely.
You get A first look at where your data is missing, messy or typed in twice.
Stage 3: Study the data
We dig into the data to see where work waits and what it costs.
We trace each lead, quote and order through every handoff and check how long it waited and what got retyped or lost. Then we put a cost in hours and dollars on each delay. This step takes the most time, because the numbers need to hold up.
You get Findings backed by your own numbers, with a cost on each problem.
Stage 4: Talk with the team
We talk with the people who do the work every day.
Reps, estimators, the order desk and accounting often see problems leaders never hear about. We talk with them over video, about an hour each. For local teams in New Jersey and New York City, these talks can happen in person.
You get Findings that include what the frontline sees, in their own words.
Stage 5: Put it together
We combine what both sides told us with proven best practices.
We compare what leaders said with what the data and the frontline show. Where they don't match, we keep digging until we know why. Then we match each problem with fixes we've seen work and rank them by value and effort.
You get A plan of fixes, ranked with the biggest payoff first.
Stage 6: Review the plan
We go through the findings and the plan with your team.
We walk your leadership team through each finding, what it costs and the fix we suggest. Together we agree on the first moves and who owns each one. The findings and plan are yours whether or not you keep working with us.
You get Findings and a plan your team has agreed to and can act on.
Stage 7: Keep improving
Ongoing monitoring, process changes and team training.
This is where the later phases come in. We keep watching the numbers behind each problem, help change the steps and systems that cause them, and train your people on the new way of working. For local teams in New Jersey and New York City, training can happen in person.
You get Monitoring, process changes and training that help the fixes stick.
What we study
- Systems. HubSpot or your CRM, your accounting system or ERP, your online store, project tools, ad accounts and your email tool. We ask for read-only access.
- Data. How many leads move from each stage to the next, how long they sit in each stage, fields that get typed twice, duplicate records and the reasons deals are lost.
- People. Interviews over video with the people who touch the work, across sales, operations, finance and marketing.
- Done remotely. We don't need to be in your building for the analysis. For local teams in New Jersey and New York City, interviews, training and team sessions can also happen in person.
Examples by industry
Every company is different, but the same kinds of problems show up again and again. The industry pages go deeper.
Manufacturing
Quote requests waiting in one person's inbox, and sales numbers that never match. See manufacturing.
Construction
Missed bid invitations, and a rough handoff from sales to the people doing the work. See construction.
Online brands
Best sellers running out of stock, and ad platforms that disagree with the store. See ecommerce.
What does this kind of digging turn up?
One client came to us with a HubSpot account its team had stopped trusting. Our audit found leads that had never been contacted, and we sent them back to sales. We also rebuilt the sales, design and service pipelines so it wouldn't happen again.
Another client ran sales through spreadsheets, manual steps and Salesforce. We moved it to HubSpot and connected the sales process to its back-office system. Automatic reminders and follow-up replaced the manual steps, and the team got hours back every week.
How is it priced?
Each phase is scoped and quoted after we talk, based on how many systems and teams are involved. Most clients start with the initial analysis. Its fee is credited toward any work you start with us within 60 days of the readout. See how we set scope and price.
After the initial analysis, you can run the plan yourselves or keep going with us into monitoring, process improvement and training. Fixes might include a HubSpot rebuild or better ad tracking. You can also bring in a fractional COO to drive the plan. For more on process audits in general, read what a process audit is.
Friction Point Analysis questions
How long does a Friction Point Analysis take?
The initial analysis usually takes 2 to 4 weeks from kickoff to readout. Bigger scopes, with more systems and teams, sit at the longer end. Monitoring, process improvement and training are planned with you based on what the analysis finds.
How much does a Friction Point Analysis cost?
Each phase is quoted after the first call, based on how many systems and teams are involved. The initial analysis fee is credited toward any work you start with us within 60 days.
What do you need from our team?
We need read-only access to the systems in scope and about an hour on video with each person we interview. We also ask for a few recent leads, quotes or orders to follow from start to finish.
Do you come on site?
Not for the analysis. We do that remotely, with access to your systems, your data and video calls. For local teams in New Jersey and New York City, training, interviews and team sessions can happen in person.
What do we get from the initial analysis?
You get a map of how work moves through your business, a list of fixes ranked by what each problem costs you, a scorecard and a 90-day plan. We walk through it with your team at a readout meeting.
Is it a one-time study?
No. The initial analysis is the first phase. Many clients keep going into monitoring, process improvement and training, because the work of fixing a process takes longer than finding the problems.
Is this the same as a HubSpot audit?
It includes one if you use HubSpot, but it goes wider. It covers every system a lead or order touches on its way to an invoice, like your ERP, store, ad accounts and email.
What happens after the readout?
You can run the plan yourselves, or keep going with us into ongoing monitoring, process improvement and team training. You can also bring in our fractional COO to lead it. If you start work with us within 60 days, the initial analysis fee is credited toward it.
Related
More services
Start with a free 30-minute call
We'll hear where things slow down and tell you whether a Friction Point Analysis makes sense, or whether a smaller fix will do.