We live in a time of great economic uncertainty. Global conflicts, rising interest rates, and the great resignation has resulted in many companies turning to technologies to conduct operations more efficiently. Configure Price Quote software or CPQ as it’s more commonly known is a great example. Although configure, price, quote (CPQ) software has been available for decades, innovation in CPQ software is seen as the newest wave in sales optimization tools. With increased focus on automation, and the desire to engage with consumers on their terms, CPQ software is fast shaping as a battleground for organizations with complex quoting needs.
CPQ is amongst the top priorities for companies.
In most organizations, sales are the backbone of the business since this activity directly drives revenue. Sales teams spend on average just 34% of their time selling. The biggest part of a team’s non-selling is spent generating quotes, proposals, and gaining approvals, often leading to error laden pricing.
Consider for a moment a scenario where quotes are delivered automatically based on preprogrammed sets of rules that ensures error-free pricing and a quicker turnaround time. The ability for sales teams to focus more on selling rather than administration is an attractive proposition.
When CPQ is deployed and used correctly, users have reported:
10 times faster quote generation
95% reduction in approval time
Two times faster moving from quote to cash
30% quicker ramp for new reps
Integrating CPQ to other systems delivers process efficiency
A major benefit on integrating your CPQ with other systems is the process efficiency it delivers to the enterprise. Combining your ERP and CPQ provides connection between sales and operations. Sales can monitor the status of deliveries, whilst executives are given greater visibility of the sales processes.
Further, exposing your CPQ to your customers via your e-Commerce platform delivers an enhanced buying experience for your customers. When we talk about any e-commerce business, customers don’t have the patience to wait for days or weeks to receive a quote from sellers. Customers demand responses instantly and any delay only encourages them to seek out other options.
What to consider when choosing the right CPQ for your business
When considering the right CPQ for your business, it is important to prioritize which features are most important. No two use cases are the same, so taking time to adequately assess each vendors capabilities is imperative when trying to select the software organization. Below are the top 5 features of any good CPQ.
- Product Configuration
A simple, intuitive way to create fully individualized offers, no matter the complexity of your product. Configure to Order, Engineer to Order, Mass Production or Manufacturing as a Service.
- Guided Selling
The ability to enable salespeople, channel partners, and customers to quickly generate accurate quotes through the addition of guided selling process where users follow the “bouncing ball”
- Automated Approval Workflow and Reporting
Set guardrails to protect margins and automate the approval
process throughout negotiations with clicks, not code.
- Proposal Generation
The ability to produce high-quality proposal documents based on approved templates, content files, and pricing rules with an intelligent and robust document generator.
- Seamless Integration
To successfully enable digital transformation, systems need a proven, reliable way to connect applications and other data sources. A robust set of open APIs where you can easily connect critical systems and applications, including CRM, ERP and Commerce are imperative.
Final Thoughts
As we can see, there are many benefits in implementing CPQ. If you are serious about profit growth and want to get ahead of your competition, then it might be a good idea to invest in it.
Are you ready to jump on the CPQ bandwagon and transform your business into a revenue generator? Get in touch today!
sales@cx100.com
