Guided selling is a process that seeks to keep the selling conversation on-topic. Modern guided selling CPQ tools can sales teams lead prospects through complex purchasing decisions while ensuring discussions remain relevant and productive.
In a large sense, selling is merely the delivery of decision information to buyers. The information should either draw the buyer closer to your product or help them determine that it is not the right fit. Both outcomes are valuable.
The buyer is either finding confirmation that your product fulfills their needs or learns that it does not. One outcome moves you closer to closing a deal while the other eliminates wasting time pursuing a deal that was never likely to succeed.
For marketing professionals, the guided-selling process requires that lots of credible, relevant content be made available and accessible to potential buyers. The guided part means that potential buyers are guided toward relevant content by reviewing online behavior, interest in specific items, and permissions granted by the prospect to the seller.
For sales, the process of guided selling is much more precise. It involves making every customer conversation relevant and focused on answering specific questions. Knowledge about customer requirements is exchanged for specific information about the seller’s solution.
This is where CPQ tools for sales become critical. They help sales representatives gather the right information, recommend suitable solutions, and maintain consistency throughout the buying process.
Enable Sales with CPQ Tools and Guided Selling
Almost any sales discussion, regardless of where you are in the buying cycle, seeks to accomplish one thing: matching a need with a solution. A guided selling process supported by CPQ tools uses guides the discussion through interview scripting built by product experts who are knowledgeable in the design of the product and its use. These structured conversations help sales representatives ask the right questions at the right time.
The process generally involves three key areas:
- Product configuration
- Pricing and estimation
- Quotation and fulfillment requirements
Let’s examine each area more closely.
Simplifying Complex Product Configuration
The needs discussion often begins with product configuration. Buyers need solutions that fit their specific requirements, and sales representatives need a reliable way to identify those requirements. A guided selling product configurator helps by presenting the right questions and ensuring that product recommendations align with customer needs.
The discussion may involve factors such as:
- Product materials
- Design options
- Performance requirements
- Application environments
- Optional features
Consider buying a canoe. Are you using it to paddle about in a calm lake or pond? If so, perhaps a wooden or lightweight plastic canoe will fulfill your needs. But what if you are into whitewater canoeing and shooting rapids? For this type of application, the stronger and more substantial aluminum construction is perhaps more appropriate. Aluminum also tends to draw less water than other materials since it is a lighter weight than wood and plastic. So, if you are shooting shallow-water rapids, aluminum has it all over the other materials.
The sales rep may be able to remember to ask about what type of canoeing you have in mind, but chances are, the rep is also selling powerboats, fishing boats, swimming equipment and many other product lines. Knowing all of the right questions for all of those products is a stretch for most folks. That is where guided selling CPQ tools provide value. The CPQ tool remembers what questions to ask, ensuring that customer requirements are accurately captured and that recommended configurations meet those needs.
Eliminating Errors in Complex Manufacturing Pricing and Estimations
After the product configuration is finalized, the conversation moves into pricing discussions. The needs discussion around guided selling will involve pricing and optional prices available through different quality levels, payment plans or transaction types. Most folks want to pay a price that is reflective of value delivered, and sellers want to cover costs and derive a level of profit from their transactions.
Prices vary based on quantities ordered and customer classification (national account status or GSA entitled). Other factors like seasons, regions, or countries may affect prices, as well.
The pricing engine within CPQ tools for sales takes all of those factors into account. Again, the interview-based scripting assures that the rep collects all of the relevant data about the customers to ensure that the correct pricelist is used in calculating the price for a specific deal.
Other factors are also examined. Transactional alternatives such as leases, rentals, or installment purchases are reviewed. Credit-worthiness determination can be subtly worked into these processes to evaluate the appropriateness of all possible buying scenarios.
Accelerating the Quoting Process for B2B Manufacturing Leads
Customers have needs outside of the basic configuration and pricing that are essential to making them happy and satisfied at the conclusion of business. Unfortunately, these types of requirements are frequently the source of dissatisfaction.
Shipping and receiving operations frequently have requirements about when shipments can be received, what carriers are acceptable and even how delivered products must be marked and packaged. This is especially true for shipments across national borders.
It may be that orders involving multiple copies of the same product need to be received at multiple locations around the world. Companies ordering tablets or laptops may not want to receive and re-ship these items; they may prefer to have shipments to each using locations based on a specific schedule.
These types of special arrangements may seem trivial and troublesome to the seller, but they are usually very important to the buyer. An automated sales quoting software solution or CPQ tool helps you make sure these are not forgotten in the haste to close a deal.
Addressing these and making sure they are included in your fulfillment plan will elevate you in the buyer’s eyes to a real partner whose intent upon making the customer happy.
Manual Sales Processes vs. Guided Selling CPQ
| Area | Manual Sales Processes | Guided Selling CPQ |
| Product Configuration | Sales reps rely on memory and personal expertise to identify customer needs and recommend products. | Guided selling leads reps through structured questions to recommend suitable and valid product configurations. |
| Pricing & Estimation | Pricing calculations and discount decisions often require manual verification, increasing the risk of errors. | Automatically applies pricing rules, customer-specific pricing, and transaction options to improve accuracy. |
| Quote Creation | Quotes take longer to prepare and may contain configuration or pricing mistakes. | Generates accurate quotes faster using predefined product, pricing, and business rules. |
| Capturing Customer Requirements | Shipping, delivery, packaging, and fulfillment requirements can be overlooked. | Ensures customer-specific requirements are captured and included in the quote and fulfillment plan. |
| Sales Consistency | Customer experience depends largely on the knowledge and experience of individual sales reps. | Provides a standardized guided selling process that delivers consistent customer interactions. |
Bringing Guided Selling and CPQ Together
Sales teams must extend the guided selling CPQ process that begins during marketing interactions all the way through the completion of the deal. Effective listening and effective communication make for a complete product solution delivered to the satisfaction of the customer.
By combining guided selling CPQ, intelligent product configuration, automated pricing and automated sales quoting software, manufacturers can create a more consistent and efficient sales process.
The result is better customer experiences, more accurate quotes, and stronger business outcomes for both buyers and sellers.
FAQs
1. What is guided selling in CPQ?
Guided selling CPQ is a capability that helps sales teams identify customer requirements through a structured question-and-answer process. It guides sales representatives toward the most suitable products, configurations, and pricing options.
2. What are guided selling tools and why are they important?
Guided selling tools help sales teams ask the right questions, gather customer requirements, and recommend the most appropriate products or services. They improve sales consistency, reduce dependence on product expertise, and help organizations deliver a better buying experience.
3. How does CPQ for manufacturing improve the sales process?
CPQ for manufacturing helps manufacturers manage complex product configurations, pricing rules, and quoting processes, allowing sales teams to streamline the quote to cash process.
4. What is a guided selling product configurator?
A guided selling product configurator is a solution that combines product configuration capabilities with interactive sales guidance. It helps users select features, options, and specifications based on their requirements while preventing invalid product combinations.
5. How do CPQ tools for sales increase quote accuracy?
CPQ tools for sales automate product selection, pricing calculations, discount management, and approval workflows. This eliminates manual errors and helps sales teams generate accurate quotes in less time.
6. How does automated sales quoting software support guided selling?
Automated sales quoting software supports guided selling by capturing customer requirements, recommending suitable products, and automatically generating accurate quotes.
