CPQ Software – What Is It – Why Do I Need It to Grow Sales?

Sales teams realize that most of their time doesn’t go into selling. Research has shown that sales reps spend 66% of their time on tasks such as data entry and writing price quotes.

They waste time on spreadsheets and use outdated tools to create generic or incorrect quotes.

There is an easier way.

CPQ (configure price quote CPQ) applications are essential for growing your business. Some companies consider the CPQ process critical to their “quote to cash” process.

The best quote-to-cash software for your business will depend on many factors. We discuss these in this article.

These applications allow sales teams to move from spreadsheets into an automated tool that generates accurate price quotes. They can help you sell the right product combination, manage discounts, and automate approvals.

They make selling products easier, control discounting, and organize sales processes, allowing you to close more deals from any location.

While configure, price, and quote (CPQ) software has been around for decades, it represents the latest wave of sales optimization tools.

What is CPQ Software?

CPQ allows companies to quickly and accurately create price quotes for orders. CPQ software often works with customer relationship management (CRM) platforms and other business technology to ensure accuracy and integrated data.

Various CPQ systems are available that cater to different business needs, each offering unique features and integrations.

CPQ software generates price quotes according to pre-programmed rules. This ensures accurate pricing and considers discounts, quantities, customizations, product options, multiple revenue types, and incompatibilities.

Sales reps spend only 34% of their time selling. Research has shown that a significant portion of the time a salesperson spends not selling is spent creating price quotes, proposals, or gaining approvals.

Some benefits of Configure, Price, Quote software, when appropriately implemented, are:

  • Ten times faster quote generation
  • Reduced approval time by 95%
  • Twice as fast to go from quote to cash
  • 30% speedier ramp for new reps
  • CPQ reduces sales bottlenecks
An infographic titled "CPQ Users Report a Faster Sales Quote Process" highlights the impact of CPQ software with icons and statistics: 10 times faster quote generation, 95% reduction in approval time, 2x faster moving from quote to cash, and 30% quicker ramp for new reps. Source: salesforce.com.

Many companies consider CPQ software a valuable tool due to its functionality and excellent return on investment (ROI). Companies will continue to adopt CPQ software as they realize the benefits of using it with their CRM system for their sales teams.

Benefits of CPQ Software for Sales Teams

CPQ software offers numerous benefits for sales teams, transforming how they operate and interact with customers. One of the most significant advantages is the increase in productivity. By automating routine tasks such as quote generation and proposal creation, CPQ software frees sales teams to focus on high-value activities like building relationships and closing deals. This shift allows sales reps to spend more time engaging with customers and less on administrative tasks.

Another key benefit is improved accuracy. CPQ software ensures that pricing and product configurations are always accurate, reducing the risk of errors that can lead to lost sales or dissatisfied customers. With accurate pricing and configurations, sales teams can provide more reliable quotes, enhancing customer trust and satisfaction.

Another major advantage is enhanced customer satisfaction. CPQ software enables sales teams to offer personalized and relevant product recommendations tailored to customers' needs and preferences. This level of customization not only improves the customer experience but also fosters loyalty and long-term relationships.

Additionally, CPQ software provides real-time insights and analytics, allowing sales teams to make data-driven decisions. These insights help sales reps understand customer behavior, identify trends, and optimize their sales strategies. By leveraging data, sales teams can improve their performance and achieve better results.

In summary, CPQ software automates the sales process, increases productivity, improves accuracy, enhances customer satisfaction, and provides valuable insights, making it an indispensable tool for modern sales teams.

Key Features of CPQ Software

CPQ software features streamline the sales process and enhance customer satisfaction. One of the core features is product configuration, which allows sales teams to configure products and services to meet each customer's unique needs. Whether selecting the right components or bundling services, CPQ software ensures the configuration is accurate and tailored to the customer’s requirements.

Pricing rules are another essential feature. CPQ software enables sales teams to set and manage pricing rules, including discounts and special offers. This ensures that pricing is consistent and accurate across all quotes, reducing the risk of errors and discrepancies. Advanced pricing rules can also accommodate complex scenarios such as volume discounts, contract pricing, and channel pricing.

Dynamic pricing is a powerful feature that allows sales teams to adjust prices in real time based on customer behavior and market conditions. This flexibility ensures pricing remains competitive and aligned with current market trends, helping sales teams close deals more effectively.

CPQ software also automates various sales processes, including creating quotes, proposals, and contract management. By automating these tasks, CPQ software reduces the time and effort required to produce accurate and professional documents, allowing sales teams to focus on selling.

Integration with ERP systems is another critical feature. CPQ software seamlessly integrates with ERP systems, ensuring that product information and pricing data are always up-to-date. This integration eliminates data silos and ensures that all departments have access to accurate and consistent information.

Finally, CPQ software integrates with CRM systems, providing a single view of customer interactions and preferences. This integration allows sales teams to access valuable customer data, helping them make informed decisions and provide a more personalized experience.

In summary, CPQ software offers a range of features, including product configuration, pricing rules, dynamic pricing, sales process automation, ERP integration, and CRM integration, all designed to streamline the sales process and improve customer satisfaction.

How CPQ Software Works

CPQ software automates the sales process, making it more efficient and accurate. Here’s a step-by-step overview of how CPQ software works:

  1. Product Configuration: Sales teams use CPQ software to configure products and services according to customer needs. The software guides them through selecting components, options, and bundles, ensuring the configuration is accurate and tailored to the customer’s requirements.
  2. Pricing Rules: Sales teams set pricing rules and discounts using the CPQ software. These rules ensure that pricing is consistent and accurate, considering volume discounts, contract pricing, and special offers.
  3. Dynamic Pricing: CPQ software enables sales teams to adjust pricing in real time based on customer behavior and market conditions. This flexibility ensures that prices remain competitive and aligned with current trends, helping sales teams close deals more effectively.
  4. Quote Generation: Once the product configuration and pricing are set, CPQ software generates quotes and proposals. These documents are professional and accurate, reducing the risk of errors and enhancing the customer’s perception of the company.
  5. Proposal Creation: CPQ software creates personalized and relevant product recommendations tailored to each customer’s needs. This level of customization improves customer satisfaction and loyalty, as customers receive proposals that are directly aligned with their requirements.
  6. Contract Management: CPQ software automates contract management, ensuring that contracts are executed accurately and on time. This automation reduces the administrative burden on sales teams and meets all contractual obligations.

In summary, CPQ software automates the entire sales process, from product configuration to contract management, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and customer satisfaction at every step.

CPQ Software Removes Many Sales Obstacles

Even when you realize the benefits of a CPQ, you may believe your current sales process is sufficient. But, even if you think your sales process is sufficient, keep an eye out for these six signs you may benefit from CPQ:

  • You're using legacy price quote configurators.
  • Your ability to grow revenue is exceeding your ability to function.
  • You're building a recurring revenue stream.
  • You find it essential to have practical methods for implementing advanced business solutions like software with artificial intelligence.
  • You're sending inaccurate sales quotes to prospects.
  • Someone manually reviews all sales quotes.
A man in a suit stands by a large glass window in an office building, holding a smartphone in one hand and gesturing with the other. He appears to be discussing cpq software, looking focused and expressive. The background shows a modern office interior.

C - Configure

One size doesn't fit all. Good salespeople guide customers to find the right mix of products or services to solve their problems.

CPQ software allows sellers to create unique combinations based on company size and other relevant factors. For example, you can add additional training, extended service contracts, or complementary products.

P - Price

What percentage of your sales are at the list price?

You might offer volume pricing or special bundles. Or maybe extra discounts are available to sweeten the deal. It isn't easy to keep track of the current pricing and discounts allowed.

CPQ allows you to manage the pricing of all your products or services. Advanced pricing rules can also be created to manage volume discounts, percent-of-total subscriptions, pre-negotiated contract pricing, or channel and partner pricing.

Q - Quote

Once sales reps have provided a price quote, they should focus on closing. A pricing error or poorly formatted quote document can cause them to lose a deal.

Reps who create quotes by hand risk making mistakes, mismatching fonts, and other errors that could make prospects think the rep is not professional or caring.

Using CPQ, a sales representative can quickly create a quote and email it to the prospect. You can also include e-signature options to close the deal more securely and conveniently.

Why is CPQ Technology Used?

More reliable and faster product configuration:

CPQ software makes it easy to manage even complex products and eliminates incompatibilities.  Most CPQ software providers address these challenges.

Streamlining sales:

An order can be completed and sent into production within minutes rather than taking several days or weeks.

Standardizing pricing:

Because we build pricing into the software, sales teams no longer have to worry about complex pricing structures. This reduces overhead and speeds up training.

Improving customer happiness:

CPQ software allows customers to get high-quality, well-documented quotes that are easy to execute.

CPQ Software Can Improve Your Sales Efficiency

Configure, Price, and Quote software helps experienced reps become more productive and makes it easier for newer reps to be more productive. CPQ software can help reps with lead management, create additional configurations, and suggest add-ons such as training sessions, extended service contracts, and complimentary products.

CPQ software can determine your standard pricing and guide reps on adding line items or package discounts. Sometimes, reps can enter clients' budgets, and the software will calculate individual product discounts that correspond. You want quotes that provide better value.

CPQ also generates a quote that is ready for your customers. These documents can include your branding, formats, cover pages, and tailored cover letters. They can also contain marketing materials and terms and conditions, saving reps time and energy.

A man in a white shirt and maroon tie sits at a desk, reading a document. Behind him, a laptop showcasing CPQ software, a lamp, and a small potted plant are visible. The background features a bookshelf and a large plant, indicating a home or office setting.

The Traditional Quoting Process

These are the steps that a sales team would follow in a traditional selling process:

  1. Determine which products are the best and what configurations are necessary.
  2. For the base price, consult pricing documentation or static systems.
  3. Find eligible discounts and apply them manually.
  4. Wait for approval if you request a large discount.
  5. Create the final quote document to be sent to your customer.

Risks With Traditional Quoting

Scale

It's challenging to scale legacy processes that don't lend themselves to scaling. Businesses that consider new sales models and recurring revenue will often find those rules to be bottlenecks. Implementing change to legacy processes is frequently challenging.

Data and Disconnected Processes

We often separate traditional quoting from customer data, making it difficult for sales reps to deliver the best value for your products or services. Revenue teams waste time matching revenue numbers with what's actually in the contract.

This delays revenue recognition, and we often lose the full picture when these decisions are made. Service teams must spend more time researching customers' rights under their contracts and ensuring they deliver what they agreed to.

Lost Time & Money

Manual quoting is time-consuming. Sales reps should spend time finding new customers and landing more clients. With the right tools, the time required to produce an accurate price quote can be reduced.

Signs It is Time to Switch to CPQ

A serene, lush green landscape during sunset with railway tracks diverging in two directions. The tracks are surrounded by dense foliage and trees, and a calm road can be seen to the right side of the image. It's like nature's own version of CPQ software, effortlessly directing paths bathed in warm golden light.

Spreadsheets and homegrown systems are slowing down your sales cycle.

It's time to eliminate spreadsheets and other legacy software that you use to create price quotes or configure products—using outdated software risks making mistakes, wasting time, and limiting your ability to scale your business.

Your ability to grow revenue is increasing faster than your ability to function.

Your business will grow, as will the sales quotes you generate and the time your team spends generating them. To keep up, you need to save time.

Prospects are receiving inaccurate sales quotations.

It is unacceptable to send out inaccurate quotes, whether the pricing is incorrect or the configuration of your product is not optimized.

Someone must manually review all quotes. 

It may be possible to have someone look at sales quotes to verify the accuracy, but it is not sustainable. What happens if the person is sick or goes on vacation? Are approvals withdrawn? Can a temp learn to replace the boss? CPQ software automates the process and increases speed and accuracy.

You are creating a recurring revenue stream. 

Customers are looking for a strong relationship. This requires you to provide excellent customer service and a sales model that meets modern demands. Customers today are more inclined to subscribe to services and terms that allow them to move faster. To grow, you must use your customer data to meet your customers where they are.

CPQ Improves the Accuracy and Speed of the Sales Quote Process

An infographic titled "Salesforce CPQ Improves the Accuracy and Speed of the Sales Quote Process" highlights two sections: accuracy and speed improvement with CPQ software. Accuracy: configuration errors down 35%, pricing errors down 38%, forecast accuracy up 29%. Speed: time to generate quotes down 33%, approval time down 30%, and time to close deals down 20%.

Source:

What are the Main Advantages of Using CPQ Software?

Sales reps may have to dig through spreadsheets to find the correct pricing rules, which can make it difficult to deliver timely quotes. CPQ eliminates the conflict between sales reps and customers by clearly implementing pre-programmed rules.

Using a CPQ application, you can specify any configuration, price, discount, or scenario. This makes creating product options and configurations based on your company's capabilities easy.

The rep then creates the quote.

Using a custom template, quotes can be delivered quickly. This takes just minutes. The template automatically sends the quote to the parties for approval, reducing the waiting time.

Reps can create a price quote they are confident in. They don't need to wait for approvals and can use the quotes immediately to help drive their deals.

CPQ software makes it easy for the sales team to deliver quotes thanks to a streamlined quoting procedure. This is because of the CPQ automation's customized pricing rules. This is especially helpful to companies with subscription pricing or other revenue models.

A person operates a laptop, with a futuristic holographic display projecting from the screen. The holographic interface shows various icons and data visualizations, including graphs, gears, CPQ software targets, and interconnected nodes against a blurred background.

Companies can benefit from a standardized process with CPQ software

  • Control of pricing and discounts
  • Multi-currency support
  • Subscription, contract, and channel pricing are also known as recurring billing and usage-based pricing.
  • Advanced discounting and approval workflows

CPQ software can also handle repeat orders and subscriptions. It auto-generates renewal quotes and applies existing terms and conditions to add-ons.

CPQ automation considers complex configurations, bulk pricing, discount rules, and other factors. This automates the creation of personalized quotes that are easy to create and deliver to customers quickly.

If you can provide a sales quote quickly, your company will be more efficient and knowledgeable. This will allow the deal to slide through your sales pipeline, and customers will see your company as a partner who is interested in their success.

CPQ Software Helps Departments Collaborate

This solution is brilliant for salespeople to create quotes. However, CPQ has a broader impact on efficiency. CPQ software has the advantage of allowing the entire company to take part.

When you correctly deploy CPQ software, sales, renewals, and finance can seamlessly define different configurations. This means that salespeople won't have to try to sell configurations that aren't financially or legally possible.

Five people sitting at a conference table, engaged in a video call online discussing CPQ software. Each is attentively watching the screen, which displays eight other participants in separate video call windows. Laptops, papers, and coffee cups are on the table.

CPQ allows you to create sensible bundles and configurations. Instead of having salespeople determine configurations, the product's subject matter expert (SME) can help you decide the best configurations and options for your customers.

We then enter these configurations into the CPQ system, where they are used as rules by salespeople to offer customers the best options. When cross-functional teams collaborate, everyone wins. Your product will be customer-centric and solution-oriented.

Although the sales department is most likely to be the primary user of CPQ software, it's not limited to them. CPQ software can be optimized to benefit all employees. Your teams can also use CPQ analytics to analyze product trends and demand to ensure successful deployments.

Integrate CPQ Software With Other Applications

Sales, finance, legal, and manufacturing are often very distinct entities kept separate within an organization. CPQ software is a bridge between departments that establishes communication and standardization.  Because most configure price and quote systems run on a cloud platform, integration with other systems is easily done.

Signing a quote marks the beginning of a series of events that brings together all the company's departments. Every detail required for downstream teams lives within a quote. Therefore, a CPQ system should be used. It helps reduce errors and makes moving on to the next step possible.

Once the customer signs a quotation:

  1. An order is created.
  2. A bill is sent.
  3. Payment is received.
  4. Revenue is recognized.
  5. Audit trails are analyzed.
  6. Orders are fulfilled.

The accuracy of your quote will affect each department. CPQ software is compatible with your existing business technology, making the entire process more efficient.

A CPQ Solution Can Improve Efficiency

Salesforce Research's State Of Sales report shows that only 34% of salespeople's time is spent selling. This includes meeting customers in person and connecting with them virtually. Prospecting is also a significant part of the sales cycle. These numbers point to three key concepts:

  • Salespeople will spend more time with customers and making sales if their processes are more efficient.
  • It's a plus to have time available for customers and sales.
  • Salespeople must be able to make informed, effective sales calls.
A hand holds a marker drawing a straight line from point A to point B. Above it, a squiggly, complex line also connects point A to point B, illustrating the simplicity of using CPQ software vs. traditional methods.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications allow users to do in-depth research and take notes, making it possible to make great calls. Access to sales enablement information and documents will enable you to help the customer navigate their sales journey and present your company as an expert and trusted advisor.

CPQ software facilitates the smooth transition from the sales journey to the final sale. It allows you to accurately design products, apply quantity discounts and price adjustments, and use pre-programmed approvals.

Automation makes you appear like a real sales professional and gives customers confidence in your company's processes.

Save Money & Increase Revenue

Although business software applications such as your CRM platform, knowledge management systems, and web conferencing tools allow for more efficient sales processes than ever before, CPQ applications can significantly impact the company's efficiency and revenue.

CPQ allows sales teams to concentrate on selling and replicating the best sales practices rather than constantly retraining staff.

Sales professionals will see an increase in their success and company profits when closing sales is easy.

The ROI of CPQ

CPQ is more than just a sales tool. It applies to all aspects of your business and your customers.

A hand holding chalk draws a graph on a blackboard. The Y axis is labeled "Cost" and the X axis is labeled "Value." An arrow at the intersection point of the lines stretches from the graph's tips, representing high value with low cost—an ideal scenario often achievable with CPQ software.

Your customers:

CPQ makes it easier for your customers to get quotes quickly. It also allows sales reps to track which customers are eligible for discounts, so they can offer the best pricing options and ensure that customers get the best value.

Customers will appreciate receiving proposals that include the correct product configurations and bundles.

Operations and Technical Teams:

When quotes include incorrect product configurations, technical and operations teams must clean up. Using CPQ allows reps to create accurate sales quotes every time, making it easier for operations.

The Quote Approval Team:

Your company might have one person who reviews quotations during the sales cycle to ensure correct product configurations and another who reviews them for accuracy in pricing. These are never-ending tasks, and your company will grow to have more people responsible.

CPQ allows you to enforce your business rules regarding pricing and configuration. This will automate their expertise, saving time and allowing them to focus on more important tasks.

Your Sales Team:

With CPQ, your sales team can create professional proposals and quotes. Your sales reps will love their extra time to prospect, create leads, and close more business.

Finance:

CPQ will reduce the hassle your finance team has to deal with. The right permissions will be baked into the system, making it easier for them to focus on strategic tasks.

How to Select the Best CPQ Solution for Your Business

A wooden signpost with three directional arrows against a cloudy sky. The arrows are labeled "THIS WAY," "THAT WAY," and "THE OTHER WAY," pointing in different directions, much like navigating the choices in CPQ software.

How do you choose the best quote-to-cash software from the CPQ software market once you have decided that CPQ suits you? These are the questions to ask:

Can it scale?

A platform you already use (think CRM) will give you a better CPQ solution. Pre-configured, out-of-the-box features and workflows are vital to achieving your most common use cases.

The best CPQ solution scales with your CRM, so growth is not a problem. You shouldn't have any worries about CPQ integration breaking when your CRM is updated.

Flexible solutions are also crucial so that you can add new products or pricing later on.

Can it support multiple revenue models?

More companies are moving to recurring revenue models. This means that they charge customers regularly, predictably, for ongoing services. Think Netflix or Amazon's Subscribe & Save. The best CPQ solutions, as well as many other revenue models, can adopt this strategy.

Is it practical and intelligent?

Intelligent approval processes should support series-based and tiered approvals. Pricing intelligence should allow you to price based on customer budgets and apply discounts across all line items. Some systems will even suggest pricing that increases the chances of a sales rep closing a deal.

What is the implementation plan?

Your sales team should find CPQ to simplify their lives. The implementation is the first step. Before making a decision, review references and talk to customers who have used the same CPQ solution.

  • How was the experience?
  • How simple was the implementation?
  • How did they get support during deployment?
  • Was the vendor responsive?
  • Are there any excuses or promises that were not kept?

These questions will make a difference in whether you go live quickly or feel frustrated by an endless implementation.

Trends in CPQ Software

The CPQ software market is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements and changing customer expectations. One of the most significant trends is the shift towards cloud-based CPQ solutions. These solutions offer greater flexibility and scalability, allowing companies to easily adapt to changing business needs. Cloud-based CPQ solutions provide remote access, enabling sales teams to work from anywhere.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are also making their mark on CPQ software. These technologies enhance CPQ solutions by providing real-time insights and analytics, helping sales teams make data-driven decisions. AI and ML can also automate complex tasks, such as predicting customer preferences and optimizing pricing strategies, further improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales process.

Mobile CPQ solutions are becoming increasingly popular, allowing sales teams to access CPQ software on the go. This mobility ensures that sales reps have the tools to create quotes and proposals, even when away from their desks. Mobile CPQ solutions also support real-time collaboration, enabling sales teams to collaborate seamlessly, regardless of location.

Integration with CRM and ERP systems is another critical trend. By integrating CPQ software with these systems, companies can provide a single view of customer interactions and preferences, ensuring that all departments can access accurate and consistent information. This integration enhances collaboration and streamlines sales, improving customer experiences and business outcomes.

In summary, the CPQ software market is being shaped by trends such as cloud-based solutions, AI and ML integration, mobile accessibility, and CRM/ERP integration, all driving greater efficiency and meet evolving customer expectations.

Costs and Pricing for CPQ Software

The costs and pricing for CPQ software can vary widely, depending on the vendor, features, and deployment model. Cloud-based CPQ solutions typically offer a subscription-based pricing model, with monthly costs ranging from $50 to $500 per user. This model provides flexibility and scalability, allowing companies to pay for only what they need and quickly adjust as their business grows.

On-premise CPQ solutions, on the other hand, usually offer a perpetual licensing model, with costs ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per year. While this model requires a higher upfront investment, it can be more cost-effective for companies with stable and predictable needs in the long run.

Custom CPQ solutions offer a bespoke pricing model, with costs ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 per year. These solutions are tailored to the company's specific needs, providing high customization and flexibility. However, they also require a significant investment in time and money.

When evaluating the costs and pricing for CPQ software, factors such as total cost of ownership, return on investment, and customer satisfaction must be considered. While the initial cost is essential, the long-term benefits of improved efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction can far outweigh the upfront investment.

In summary, the costs and pricing for CPQ software vary widely, with options ranging from subscription-based cloud solutions to perpetual licensing and custom solutions. It’s important to carefully evaluate these options to find the best fit for your company’s needs and budget.

6 CPQ Software Solutions to Consider

Below are some robust CPQ software solutions with many implementations. The CPQ software vendors that manage these solutions are all experienced and reputable. Each solution has strengths and weaknesses, but they can all be safely recommended.

A wire sculpture resembling "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin, featuring a figure seated on a rock with its chin resting on one hand, depicted in a grayscale, minimalistic background. The intricately woven metallic wires are as precise and complex as cpq software solutions.

To be included in this list, each package must include the following features:

  • Include features for the basic activities of the configure price and quote lifecycle, configuration logic for the offering, custom and standard pricing, and quote tracking.
  • Give information to salespeople so they can quickly create offers that benefit both the customer and the company.
  • Allow users to set up workflows to create, change, and send different quote documents.
  • Allows the use of CRM software and other enterprise data to create and manage product catalogs, including pricing and bundling, for hundreds of thousands or more products
  • Analyze the financial rules, pricing, and customer costs to determine whether each offering is profitable. Also, consider external factors such as competitors, market changes, or laws and regulations.
  • Integrate with other solutions downstream to gather and analyze data for better pricing and upstream to propagate new prices into other solutions, such as e-commerce.
  • Assist users in analyzing and reporting throughout the quoting process. Provide data and suggestions for improving the process.

Sculptor CPQ

A product of Twistellar, a world-class software development company, Sculptor CPQ runs on the Salesforce platform and is an App Exchange product. Sculptor was designed for companies that need the CPQ functionality but don't need the complexity and high prices of Salesforce CPQ or Oracle CPQ.

Sculptor CPQ is easy to configure, and a basic implementation can be completed in one day. It uses the standard Salesforce data model and objects and provides deep customization capabilities.

Sculptor respects your data and doesn't damage or heavily change your Salesforce instance. It can be uninstalled as easily as it is installed.

  • Clean, easy-to-understand visual screens
  • Highly flexible, yet not overly complex
  • Comparatively affordable
  • Respectful of data - easy to install, easy to uninstall
  • It Runs natively on your Salesforce instance

Salesforce CPQ

Salesforce CPQ is a sales tool allowing companies to price any product configuration accurately. CPQ applications enable sales reps to quote prices quickly and accurately by considering customizations, quantity, discounts, and optional features.

Salesforce CPQ is easy for sales teams to use and accessible on any device because it's a cloud-based platform. It is hosted within the Sales Cloud platform, giving you direct access to your CRM to make the best sales decisions.

  • A Salesforce product that runs seamlessly on the Salesforce CRM
  • Sophisticated, with the ability to create highly complex rules
  • Expensive
  • Significantly alters your Salesforce instance, changes your data
  • Difficult to uninstall

DealHub

DealHub.io is an award-winning revenue platform that offers the most complete and connected revenue workflow capabilities. The zero-code platform empowers sales teams to move leads down the funnel and close new and subscription businesses from anywhere.

  • Connect all sales solutions into one fluid platform
  • Manage opportunities and automate the production of sales collateral for sales teams
  • Provide customers with fast and personalized proposals
  • Moderately expensive
  • Runs independently of CRM platforms
  •  

PandaDoc

PandaDoc allows businesses to manage and submit quotes. Its purpose is to improve workflows, provide insight into the selling process for companies, and create a positive customer experience. The platform is easy to use and elegant in the user experience.

  • Unlimited legally binding eSignatures
  • A wide range of pre-built templates for proposals and quotes
  • Integration with many CRM platforms
  • Affordable
  • Content Library

Oracle CPQ

Oracle CPQ guides customers through the order-to-cash process. This includes entering a properly configured and detailed purchase order. After a properly configured order has been entered, the CPQ solution will provide a price quote that includes all applicable discounts, terms, and conditions.

The customer can accept the quote, and it becomes an order. This solution increases order accuracy, reduces sales cycles, and lowers operational expenses. It's the only configure, price, and quote system that connects the back and front offices.

  • Enable self-service sales and eCommerce with proven performance
  • Automated configurations
  • Real-time pricing
  • Expensive
  • Document designer

Infor CPQ

Infor CPQ is an enterprise CPQ package that can help drive revenue growth, build a stronger brand, and increase seller effectiveness.

Infor has paired Infor CPQ with its proprietary Infor Coleman AI and Infor Birst analytics.  This is a full-featured, enterprise-grade solution for larger companies with more complex selling processes or products.

The Bottom Line

IT and SMEs need to oversee the configuration of any CPQ package and the design of the rules. This will ensure a smooth deployment and implementation. Once the CPQ package is deployed, it should be supported to ensure the staff is trained and supported to use it for sales tasks and functions. CPQ is a great way to save time, increase quote accuracy, and land more deals.

You can count on a well-selected and well-implemented CPQ package to improve your business.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About CPQ

What is CPQ software?

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software helps businesses quickly generate accurate quotes for complex products or services by automating pricing, configuration, and quoting processes.

Who uses CPQ software?

CPQ software is primarily used by sales teams, especially in industries with complex pricing models, to streamline and automate the sales quoting process.

How does CPQ software benefit my business?

It reduces errors, speeds up the sales cycle, improves pricing accuracy, and enhances customer satisfaction.

How does CPQ software integrate with CRM systems?

CPQ software integrates with CRM systems to streamline sales by automatically pulling customer data and ensuring pricing and quotes are consistent with client profiles.

Can CPQ software handle subscription-based pricing models?

Many CPQ platforms are designed to manage recurring revenue models, making generating quotes for subscription-based products or services easier.

Is CPQ software customizable to my specific business needs?

CPQ software can be customized to fit your business’s unique pricing rules, product configurations, and workflows.

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Mark Hope - Asymmetric

About the author

Mark A. Hope is the co-founder and Partner at Asymmetric Marketing, an innovative agency dedicated to creating high-performance sales and marketing systems, campaigns, processes, and strategies tailored for small businesses. With extensive experience spanning various industries, Asymmetric Marketing excels in delivering customized solutions that drive growth and success. If you’re looking to implement the strategies discussed in this article or need expert guidance on enhancing your marketing efforts, Mark is here to help. Contact him at 608-410-4450 or via email at mark.hope@asymmetric.pro.

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