• Are you fed up with errors being made on your quotes?

• Does it take you a long time to create quotes manually?

• Can you see an opportunity to attract customers with precisely tailored offers - but it's too complicated using your current quoting process?

What is CPQ Software?

The words "configure, price, quote" illustrate that this software can help with all three of these core stages for setting, controlling and quoting prices.

In addition, CPQ software typically comes with a price engine that can assist businesses to keep their prices more in line with current market conditions – and to keep abreast of the competition.

CPQ software automatically pulls together all the necessary pricing information, allowing you to produce a quote promptly and accurately. The pricing data is streamlined, time is saved - and ultimately, more sales can be made.

The popularity of CPQ software clearly illustrates the very particular nature of price setting and quoting, with the added benefits of revealing opportunities to cross-sell and upsell.

It can be applicable in business-to-consumer (B2C) sale interactions, but is more commonly adopted in business-to-business (B2B) situations.

The Configure or configuration element, essentially refers to all the products or services that you want to include in the quote.

The Price element takes over once you have selected the required items. It is the pricing engine that ensures the correct price is displayed for the combination of items selected.

You may have set up certain bundle rules or discount structures based on the combination of parts selected. The pricing solution takes the stress away, to minimize any pricing errors.

The Quote element is the final piece of the jigsaw. It takes the selected items and the assigned prices, then presents them in a professional formatted manner for your customer.

There are many reasons why CPQ software will be good for your business - but we are sticking at just 3 here:

1. CPQ eliminates errors

On average, a spreadsheet will contain 1 error for every 20 cells that have data. Mistakes are almost inevitable when you or your salespeople manually configure proposals or place orders.

CPQ software has been proven to eliminate 40% of human error because it allows the establishment of rules to automatically prevent incompatible orders and generate better, more accurate quotes.

CPQ software makes collaborative selling much easier because it allows you to easily enforce your business rules, including pricing and discount information. It takes the worry away and automatically does all the checks to ensure the correct combination of items are quoted.

2. CPQ increase your deal sizes

At various stages in the configure cycle it can present opportunities to upsell or cross-sell. Therefore it gives you the opportunity to increase your average deal size, which is good for your bottom line and business growth.

3. CPQ streamlines and speeds up the quote-to-order process

No need for back and forth email trails and calls between your office and salesforce, to double check what products can be sold together and what the price should be.

CPQ streamlines the process and allows a quicker turnaround of complex quotes. The result will be a professionally produced, formatted document to impress your customers.

Not only will this increase your chances of winning an order as you can get back to customers quickly, but it also frees up the time of your salesforce to do more selling, which supports business growth.

The average sales person spends 45% of his or her day on inefficient tasks, yet a simple 5% increase in selling time can increase company revenue by 20%.

Conclusion

Is your current process of preparing quotes holding your business back? If you are really serious about profit growth, then you need to invest in CPQ software to:

• Get quotes to your customers faster than the competition!

• Eliminate errors and/or manipulation associated with spreadsheets

• Increase quotation volumes

• Grow order value as a result of upselling, cross-selling and bundling

• Increase customer satisfaction and create a good impression

The ROI will be recognised in a very short space of time. Can you afford not to invest in CPQ software?

Sources

11 Disadvantages of Using Excel to Manage Your Pricing

Why Use Configure Price Quote (CPQ) Software?

What is Configure Price Quote (CPQ)?

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Nagle, Tom; Hogan, John (2016). The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing

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McFarlane, Bill (2012). Pricing Strategy:how to price a product