In the world of ERP and CRM sales, complexity is the norm. Multi-threaded stakeholders, highly customized solutions, and shifting priorities stretch sales cycles longer than they need to be.
That’s why top-performing sales teams, both technical and non-technical, are moving away from static documents and fragmented conversations. Instead, they’re using visual pre-sales playbooks to align faster, reduce confusion, and shorten the path to closed-won.
These aren’t just pretty diagrams. They’re interactive, collaborative, and repeatable templates built to scale with every deal. And they’re redefining what “sales enablement” looks like for modern pre-sales teams.
What Is a Pre-Sales Playbook?
A pre-sales playbook is a structured guide for navigating the technical and commercial discovery process. In complex systems like NetSuite, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or Oracle, the playbook helps sales teams:
- Uncover business needs
- Validate solution fit
- Map out integrations and workflows
- Align with both business and IT stakeholders
- Create scoped, credible proposals
Traditional playbooks live in static PDFs or scattered Notion pages. They’re hard to update, hard to personalize, and rarely make it into live conversations.
Visual playbooks flip that model. They’re built as live diagrams, evolving in real-time and integrated into the sales motion. This is what Splotch is great for.
Why Visual Templates Are a Game-Changer
They create instant clarity
Buyers often struggle to picture how your product fits their world. Visual templates, especially those grounded in familiar flows like “lead-to-cash” or “procure-to-pay,” help prospects see their processes reflected back. That’s a shortcut to trust.
They accelerate alignment
When sales, pre-sales, and IT can collaborate on a live canvas, not ping-pong PDFs, issues surface earlier. Everyone moves faster toward a shared solution.
They scale knowledge
Top reps use frameworks. But tribal knowledge dies in Slack threads. Visual templates encode best practices, making them repeatable across the team.
They’re adaptable in real-time
Tools like Splotch let teams edit diagrams live on calls, link nodes to documentation or product specs, and sync visuals with proposal content. That means fewer meetings, tighter revisions, and faster decisions.
How Pre-Sales Teams Use Visual Templates
1. Discovery Mapping
Top teams begin with visual discovery maps, standardized diagrams of business processes like “quote-to-cash” or “inventory reconciliation.” These maps guide structured conversations:
- Where are the current pain points?
- Which systems are involved today?
- Who owns each step?
Using a live template, the rep and prospect build the map together, making the discovery session co-creative, not interrogative.
In Splotch:
Reps use a discovery diagram with editable nodes (e.g., “Order Entry,” “Approvals”) that can be color-coded to signal friction points or gaps.
2. Solution Blueprinting
Once the pain is mapped, solution consultants build a high-level architecture diagram:
- ERP/CRM modules (e.g., Salesforce CPQ, NetSuite WMS)
- Custom integrations (e.g., middleware, APIs, ETL pipelines)
- Data flows and handoffs
In Splotch:
Pre-built solution templates make it easy to drag and drop modules, annotate integrations, and tag roles. This blueprint becomes the visual anchor for technical validation.
3. Proposal Anchoring
Instead of attaching a 25-page slide deck, high-performing teams embed a visual overview into their proposal:
- Timeline and phases
- Modules and scope
- Business value mapping
It’s not just “what we’ll deliver.” It’s “how it fits together and why it matters.”
In Splotch:
The final diagram can be exported, shared via a live link, or embedded into a quote, and stays editable if scope changes.
The Splotch Advantage
Plug time: Splotch is purpose-built for sales teams working in complex, multi-system environments. Unlike static whiteboarding tools, Splotch diagrams are:
- Editable: Update live with prospects or post-call
- Syncable: Link to source text, internal docs, or CRM fields
- Linkable: Share a single source of truth with all stakeholders
Top ERP/CRM teams use Splotch to turn best practices into reusable templates and transform slow, inconsistent pre-sales into a repeatable, scalable engine.
How to Get Started
- Pick a core workflow: e.g., “Order to Cash”
- Template the visual process: map pain points, roles, systems
- Co-create with prospects: run discovery and solutioning in the diagram
- Embed in your proposals: tie visuals to scope and pricing
- Iterate and scale: refine templates with every win/loss
Visual Selling Isn’t the Future, It’s the Now
Buyers are overwhelmed with information. What they crave is clarity.
When your team shows up with a dynamic visual playbook, built for their needs, mapped to their problems, and editable on the fly, you stand out immediately.
That’s the power of visual pre-sales. That’s the power of Splotch.