Configure, price, quote is the beating heart of every CPQ solution, but when we look at what moves units in the furniture retailing space, it’s “configure” that jumps out at us. @@Configure is a loaded term in furniture retail@@, which is why the most successful salespeople in the space are “configuring in the cloud.”
First, there may be no other industry where the classic catalog of products is more completely embedded. Homeowners and renters alike are deluged by full-color catalogs presenting captivating displays of every item needed for the ideal bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. All the person needs to do is “configure” each room in their home, et voila!
And while this bricks-and-mortar practice may still be an effective means of selling to customers, for furniture retailers — online and off — delivery services and other vendors along the supply chain from factory to living room, old-school catalogs now make little to no sense.
No salesperson serving furniture retailers assembles a quote and its products using a printed catalog: it’s all in the cloud now. And for many successful vendors in the furniture supply chain, it’s in the cloud along with their entire sales proposal platform.
Customization
is king
Ever hear people say “content is king?” That holds true in the furniture space as well, but content in this market isn’t necessarily words on a web page or viral videos: it’s something much more tangible (chairs! lamps! carpet!). Having the technology to quickly and accurately customize each quote’s content is critical to success in selling to furniture retailers.
And it’s not just about quantities and colors, though you can and must be able to quickly make those kinds of modifications to every proposal going out your door. In many cases, it can get a lot more “local.”
For example,: the quotes and proposals you’re sending to outlets in New Mexico invariably have different “content requirements” than the ones you’re sending to outlets in New Jersey — the ability to have a cloud-based product catalog pre-populated with successful, regionally targeted offers is critical.
Once you know what sells in Albuquerque, having those bestsellers pre-configured in your CPQ system is a time saver and money earner.
Quote, close,
and repeat
The only thing more critical than customizability is repeatability, and your CPQ software should enable that, too. By repeatable, we don’t mean Joe Salesperson does the same thing every day: we mean repeatable across your entire organization, and by everyone from your most experienced salesperson to your greenest rookie.
A configure, price, quote solution’s true value is providing your team with a simple, repeatable process, one you can optimize over time. So when a brand new salesperson pitches a brand new furniture retailer in a brand new geo, it goes as well as a sale between a customer and rep who have worked together for decades.
Selling furniture is not like selling groceries or other commodities. Your average furniture retailer typically sees a customer only once or twice in a lifetime. The vendors supplying these retailers rely on CPQ solutions to ensure each outlet always has the right products at the right time, and that no customer is left out in the cold.
If you'd like to learn more about this topic or see iQuoteXpress for yourself with a free demo, contact us.
