If your company has a complex sales cycle, you know that manual quote creation can be not only time consuming, but also very prone to errors. When multiple rounds of back-and-forth between the sales team and customers are involved, as well as complicated products and custom pricing, not making any mistakes seems almost impossible. This is where CPQ software can make a huge difference. Here is how to reduce quote errors with CPQ while improving your customers’ experience:
What Does CPQ Stand for and How Does It Reduce Quote Errors?
CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote. CPQ tools are tools that help businesses automate the creation of quotes and proposals, simplifying the sales process and quickly and accurately producing a price for a product or service, regardless of whether it has complex customisation. If you’d like to read more about what CPQ is in general and how it works, take a look at our dedicated blog on the topic here.
The way CPQ helps reduce quote errors is by automating data entry and speeding up calculations, even if a product has many optional extras or customisations. While manual quote creation will almost certainly lead to errors in situations like this, CPQ helps deliver a healthy return by customising pricing for each customer without manual checking needed.
Common Estimating Mistakes That CPQ Can Help You Avoid
Statistics show that businesses that don’t have an integrated CPQ system end up losing valuable time and insights which translates into quoting errors. Here are some of the most common estimating mistakes we’ve seen across multiple industries and how CPQ software can help you reduce those:
- Inaccurate Takeoffs: When you’re manually entering data, it’s common to make errors in quantities, pricing, product specs, etc. CPQ uses predefined product configurations so that only valid combinations are quoted and can often pull real-time data directly from integrated catalogues or suppliers.
- Underestimating Labour Costs / Project Scope: Labour time can often be underestimated with manual quote creation as can be the scope of a project, however with CPQ, you can build labour components into your templates / bundles so that they’re always included.
- Overlooking Indirect Costs and Risks: Maybe your team is failing to include things like delivery, installation, training or risk contingencies into their manually created quotes. With CPQ, they’ll be able to create optional or mandatory add-ons that will be checked by the system before a quote can be finalised.
- Using Outdated Data: Many estimating mistakes are caused by using old data e.g. old pricing or supplier costs. With CPQ, you’ll be able to maintain live links to supplier price lists so prices update automatically. CPQ can also trigger automatic price refreshes when a quote is reopened / revised.
- Rushing the Process: Manual quotes take a lot of time and it makes sense that most teams aim to complete them as quickly as possible, however rushing this process leads to estimating mistakes. With CPQ software, you get quick, reliable quotes, meaning you don’t have to compromise on speed or reliability.
How to Reduce Quote Errors with CPQ Software
Here’s Quintadena’s step-by-step guide on how to reduce quote errors with CPQ software, improving customer experience and satisfaction in the process:
Define Your Existing Quote Building Process
Start by mapping out your current quote building process. How are quotes created currently? Who builds them? Make sure to note down how and where errors most often occur and identify any manual steps or inconsistencies (outdated spreadsheets, multiple price lists, etc)
Implement Your CPQ System
The next step is to implement your CPQ system, configuring it to reflect your products, pricing, discount structures and any other relevant information. Quintadena is a CPQ software supplier who can help you with this. We’ll deliver a customisable quoting solution that supports effective CPQ-CRM integration so your team can provide accurate, consistent quotes.
Provide CPQ Training for Your Team
It’s important to provide hands-on CPQ training for your team to make sure they fully understand how to correctly use the system. Quintadena provides user training as part of all software packages you receive from us.
Monitor and Improve
Regularly review error reports and keep pricing data, product information, etc up to date so that quoting errors can be prevented in the future.
Find the Best CPQ Software Solution for Your Business with Quintadena
Quintadena is a leading provider of customisable CPQ solutions in the UK which we tailor to meet the specific needs of our customers. Looking for advice on how to reduce quote errors with CPQ? We’ll help you find the best CPQ software solution for your business while offering competitive pricing, expert training and real-time support no matter your business size and structure.
To request a free, no-obligation demo or if you have any questions about our CPQ tools, get in touch with our team online or call us at 0121 669 1111.
