Is CPQ for You? Find Out With This Checklist

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According to Aberdeen Research, the average sales cycle takes approximately 4.68 months to complete—more than four months to get one prospect to make that leap into becoming a customer. It’s a competitive marketplace, and the faster a prospect makes that commitment the better. There has to be a way to speed up the process. The good news is … there is. CPQ is a solution.

“Being able to capture new business, exceed the expectations of customers and set a solid foundation for future growth relies on how well your company responds to every opportunity to sell. One of the most powerful ways to do this is to create quick and accurate quotes, proposals and pricing estimates that clearly reflect what you can do to best serve your customers.”

Ensure that you’re easier to buy from

Aberdeen defines CPQ? as “technology enablers with which selling organizations manage their opportunity-to-order (or lead-to-win) methodology with automated tools that impact the speed and accuracy of developing quotes, proposals, contracts and products.”

What does that REALLY mean? More sales.

According to Aberdeen, CPQ technology is being used to:

  • Better understand customer needs – The ability to present the “right offer at the right time” is well-supported by the use of CPQ. Properly deployed, sales reps can use CPQ applications to plug specific information about their account into a proposal or quote. This means that any past purchasing behavior or shipment histories, legal requirements and even competitive intelligence can be used to help them create a proposal or quote that is far more likely to be buyer-friendly than a generic, one-size-fits-all template.
  • Replicate the “A” players on the sales team – This is a time-honored goal among sales leaders. It can, however, be an elusive one. Much like the focus on customers’ needs, this strategic action is well-enabled by CPQ in that the best behaviors, proposals and knowledge can be identified, captured and distributed as best practices throughout the sales team.
  • Employ the “KISS” rule – Keep it simple and respect the customer’s time. While engaging a prospect or customer in substantive conversations is obviously a positive activity, making it easy for them to buy is even more valuable. Best-in-class companies actually deliver fewer versions of the average quote or proposal than all other firms.

Think CPQ might be for you?

To learn more about how CPQ can benefit your business, read: What a Configure, Price, Quote Solution Can Do for You

Happy selling!

 

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