Configure, Price and Quote (CPQ) systems are designed to help sales teams produce accurate quotes, customise orders, and create sales-winning proposals. Without a CPQ system, sales cycles are longer, win rates drop, and sales channels can be disjointed. Sales opportunities could be leaking from your business. Here’s how CPQ technology can plug the gaps.
1. Inaccurate proposals
After building relationships, talking prospects through a product or service, and communicating all your company values, a proposal with errors and inaccuracies can really damage credibility. The more thorough and detailed a proposal, the better, but all that fact-checking and data gathering can take up a lot of your sales team’s time.
The CPQ solution
Your salespeople can use automation technology to produce accurate, detailed proposals. There are fewer opportunities for error when the CPQ platform prompts and pre-populates the information, leaving more time to build good relationships with sales prospects.
2. Difficulty selling across multiple channels
Do your direct sales people and channel partners operate in exactly the same way? If not, it’s difficult to segment and measure each channels success side-by-side, and it’s even harder to see how your sales teams responses could improve.
The CPQ solution
CPQ brings all your sales channels into one central place, where those important initial customer needs can be fulfilled and the sale is secured. The data produced gives you clear insights into what you should be working on, improving, speeding up, or even slowing down.
3. Configuration and pricing errors
It’s difficult for your sales team to give potential customers exactly what they want when it takes too long to produce custom orders and pricing structures. If your team can’t provide tailored solutions, a competitor might be more equipped to do it instead.
The CPQ solution
A convenient buying process suits the customer, and it suits your business as a whole too. Configuration management gives a sales team the ability to build products and services to the customers specification. This can include adding new functionalities that are more specific to their needs, or sprinkling some extras on top to secure the sale.
4. No discounting controls
Haggling and bargaining have existed throughout human history. Getting the best possible deal is practically hardwired into us, and it’s something your sales team regularly respond to. They’ll be constantly assessing what’s a reasonable reduction, what percentage will hurt profit margins, and how far to go to win the sale.
The CPQ solution
Rather than creating an approval backlog, CPQs bundle and custom pricing options make discounting a simple process. Pricing will be clearly structured but flexible enough to customise and change depending on the sales lead.
5. Low customer satisfaction
Most industries consistently develop the way they speak to their customers, particularly as technology makes it easier to meet their demands. They want quick, clean quotes, customised proposals, and as little waiting around as possible.
The CPQ solution
When designed and implemented well, Configure, Price, Quote systems tackle the causes of poor system performance, remove the problems which slow processes down, and keep improving results. All this makes the buying process far easier for customers, and gives them a reason to keep coming back to you, rather than anyone else.
Walpole Partnership is an IT Consultancy formed of CPQ experts. Our consultants have delivered some of the largest and most successful CPQ systems in Europe and the Middle East.
Get in touch to have a chat about CPQ or to book a free 90-minute consultation now with our CPQ experts for an analysis of your challenges and help with CPQ implementation.
