As any salesperson soon realises, there’s more to producing quotes than filling out a ‘quote generator’ spreadsheet or scribbling an estimate on the back of a business card. Depending on your marketplace, you could be selling a vast range of configurable products and serving a hugely varied customer base. Pricing strategies need to account for competition, future viability, and many other factors, so it’s no surprise that quoting with CPQ (configure-price-quote) software is becoming ever more popular. Here are the key factors that make sales automation with CPQ so beneficial.
Configuration
CPQ stands for Configure-Price-Quote. Trends in sales practices mean that the “configure” part of the process is now more important than ever. B2B customers are no longer satisfied with off-the-peg products and are demanding increasingly personalised services. From a sales perspective though, this entails complications, especially if you have a large catalogue of products with many options and price differentials.
CPQ sales software allows you to manage multi-tiered buyer options, service packages, and discounts through one integrated interface. It helps you to work through the process, ensuring the customer gets what they want, while you track the details correctly.
Pricing
With better product configuration, core price models based on production costs can be generated immediately. However, there are many other aspects to take into consideration when determining your price strategy. Luckily, software like QuoteWerks CPQ can handle these other factors too.
Competition impacts your pricing strategy’s viability in the marketplace. An attractive price draws in customers, but pricing too low also impacts revenue and may undervalue the brand. Customer demand will also play a part, and it may be necessary to adjust prices dynamically in response to stock availability, third party costs and other variable factors. Seasonal deals and individual discounts, including long-term commitments or multi-buy options, can all be influential in determining prices. With a CPQ tool, you can determine pricing strategies and generate the correct price points automatically.
Communication
CPQ software can streamline your customer communications by sending out quotes directly through a range of channels. This means you won’t have to produce and email PDFs manually, saving time and effort. The system can be configured to send copies of quotes to all major stakeholders too – e.g. directors, production managers, key suppliers – for 360° supply chain visibility.
Payment Integration
CPQ systems may integrate with dedicated online payment platforms. This avoids having to transfer sales data to payment software by hand, a process that can be time-consuming and error-prone. Integration also leads to faster processing, which can help to reduce buyer hesitancy by allowing them to buy their chosen product as soon as they’ve made their choices. Overall, it presents a more consistent and professional experience for customers, which bolsters buyer confidence and helps to promote future sales.
Reporting
Integration with payment systems facilitates accurate financial reporting. Robust data analysis and reporting are essential resources for developing and refining sales strategies for the future. What’s more, CPQ may also be integrated with CRM systems to generate even more detailed and cohesive reports. It also allows you to review sales history in full, comparing strategies and team-member performance.
Find Out More
If your business provides non-linear products and services for a B2B market, our customisable CPQ solutions will help you save time and money on your sales process, securing better margins and shortening your sales cycle. To find out more, please call today on 0121 669 1111.
