A CPQ—that is, Configure, Price, & Quote—application is one principally designed to automate the process of generating a customer-facing proposal (i.e. the Q). To produce that document, the system first aids in selecting and configuring appropriate products (the C) and applying pricing logic (the P). Those are the basics.
So, why bother implementing one? What can these applications do for me that much simpler, less-expensive solutions can't adequately address? Even among those familiar with CPQ applications, it's a common question.
CPQ is multifaceted and can’t be fully understood by its three-letter acronym. As the origin point of your sales data, CPQ will become the foundation of your entire customer lifecycle. It will automate: the management of your opportunities; the separate pricing you offer customers by region, channel, or currency; the discounts you apply for high volume purchases; the creation of order data required by your billing system: and the tracking of products purchased by each customer for use by your service reps.
The answers to the above question are numerous. Many will pertain to your business, while others may not. But there are some common threads among those looking to make the jump to a CPQ tool for the first time, or to a better and more capable CPQ tool from the budget or homegrown variety. In my experience, these are six of the most common benefits companies are seeking:
Quote faster and more accurately, even by reps with little or no training
Take full advantage of upgrade, add-on, and renewal opportunities
Create a scalable foundation that can adapt to growth and changing priorities
Standardize products, pricing, and selling motions
Automate the handoff of data to downstream systems for commissions, fulfillment, billing, or revenue recognition
Give management more granular visibility into sales performance, forecasting, and subscription KPIs
You can achieve all these results—and then some—for your business if you choose the right CPQ application and you take the right approach to implementation. And that starts with ensuring the tool you choose is best in class and native to the Salesforce platform—where you already store all your customer data. It starts with Salesforce CPQ.
In my next blog post, I will delve deeper into these benefits and discuss in greater detail what sort of ROI you might expect for your company.
To learn more about how Salesforce CPQ can help your business sell smarter and faster, contact us today.