CPQ, in the simplest term, stands for Configure, Price, Quote. CPQ technology has enabled firms to bolster their production through accurate quotation and pricing in the busiest manufacturing world. It makes sales reps sell more and sell fast by automating and managing the process of quoting. Companies have reaped the benefits of CPQ by reducing the mismanagement in the conventional manual quoting process. CPQ technology has dramatically bridged the gap between the sales team and the company's other departments. This has not only enabled the firms to raise productivity but also increased customer satisfaction.
However, one common concern while implementing CPQ is that it takes a long time to work with the existing systems. To ensure that the CPQ customer experience is rolled out efficiently, here are some steps or guides for CPQ implementation.
1. Determine Goals
The first and foremost step in the CPQ implementation is the determination of goals and objectives. This will help the firm check whether or not the CPQ technology is providing a real return on investment. Pre-establishing plans reduce the overall selling time, improve the quoted accuracy, reduce the churn rate and increase the average order value. Setting early goals is handy in getting into the faster sales cycle, automated quoting process, shortened response time, and improved win and renewal rates.
2. Optimize the Quote-To-Cash Process
Every firm needs to identify the lacunas within the existing system and deploy a different business strategy to cater to the market's changing nature. Thus using the Quote- to Cash process will help determine aspects of change and the areas where the improvement is to be made. Quote-to-cash, in the simplest of terms, describes the entire business processes related to the sales lifecycle. The process starts when the product configuration and quotation are made until the deal closes and revenue generates. Companies use this data to improve their subsequent sales cycle.
Advanced CPQ software thus automates the entire quote-to-cash process, which leads to faster quote generation, improved accuracy, and increased CPQ customer experience.
3. Look Into The CPQ Features
Advanced CPQ software has multiple features which can overwhelm the customers buying products, and using all the features at once is always challenging for them. Thus companies with a clear idea and goal need to prioritize certain CPQ features to be used by their clients. The best way to start is by implementing select "out-of-the-box" features, as they are more than enough to meet the business requirements and CPQ customer experience. Once get done with this feature, a firm can always present more features to the clients through the CPQ. In this way, a firm can implement the features starting from most critical, critical, not critical, and of lowest concern.
4. Initiate System Integration Process Through Data Management
After setting the price quote and product catalog, the firm should focus on data management. The primary motive behind implementing the CPQ technology is to make the sales team more prone to production processes with the correct data set at their backend while creating the quotes. The next step is to manage the data scattered across several systems and spreadsheets. Thus the data needs to be ready for exchange between the company's CRM, CPQ, and ERP.
5. Measure The Progress
After the full CPQ implementation, a firm must measure the progress and make further changes and can also consider using CPQ customer experience. Companies can ensure that the CPQ technology is delivering the desired results by regularly focusing on performance. User satisfaction surveys are the best way to check the accountability of the implemented CPQ.
Summing Up
The proper implementation of advanced CPQ software meets firms' desire to enhance sales. CPQ implementation is necessary for organizations to increase efficiency and make compliant proposals and quotations to the client. It leads the business to sustainable, flexible, and scalable future growth. If you are looking for advanced CPQ software, contact KBMax experts for smooth CPQ implementation and to improve your work hierarchy.