The word is out. You don’t have to settle for Experlogix when it comes to adding a robust, fully integrated configure, price, quote (CPQ) solution to Dynamics 365. iQuoteXpress (IQX) offers the same quoting software functionality and features, but at a fraction of the cost (and with a few more benefits, too!).
Experlogix pricing: is cheaper better?
It’s not that Experlogix costs are wildly off-base. In fact, they’re often right in line with licensing costs on enterprise-level ERP solutions. Which is why, for most mid-size companies, Experlogix usually doesn’t cost out.
There are dozens (hundreds?) of CPQ providers in the market, and when the market gets saturated, companies often engage in a race to the bottom, lowering prices, one after the other. Which is not a good thing, as quality often suffers.
When you’re looking at pricing of quoting software – be it Experlogix, IQX, or ______ – remember that what you’re actually looking for is value. And value is usually more than a number.
Why pricing in CPQ matters… and why it doesn’t
If you’re Amazon, you probably don’t worry too much about the cost of any individual software license: you simply view it as a cap-ex, a capital expenditure, the cost of doing business, no returns generated.
However, with CPQ, you can – nay, you MUST – expect ROI on your spend. Because every sale has a CPA attached (cost per acquisition). If you’re measuring the amount of time your salespeople spend on any given sale, the building, sending, and tracking of sales quotes figures into that number, and would be key to determining CPA.
With IQX, our customers generally see quoting times reduced by as much as 70%, which makes ROI a near guarantee as IQX is priced at around $1 per day, per seat. Most CPQ providers don’t publish their pricing, but it’s critical for any CPQ customer to take that “per seat” price into account.
But, while price matters, it’s not the only thing. When evaluating CPQ providers such as Experlogix, IQX, et al., dig into supporting services: before implementation, during implementation, and after.
Also, with IQX, support is free, and setting up product and pricing configurations, a cornerstone of the implementation process, is included. In calculating ROI, calculate the cost of such services as well. Sometimes, some CPQ providers will “get you” on the back-end with support costs.
Integration with Dynamics
Finally, one of Experlogix’s biggest selling points over the years has been integration with Dynamics. Yes, it’s true: Experlogix does integrate with Dynamics. So does IQX, so does just about every other CPQ solution on the market.
What you’re looking for in a Dynamics CPQ integration is a single sign-on that essentially makes CPQ into just another feature with Microsoft’s CRM solutions.
Salespeople are notoriously creatures of habit. Getting them to use new solutions is often an uphill climb. But getting them to use new features in the solutions they already use? A win.
Is IQX better than Experlogix?
“Better” is usually in the eye of the beholder. But ROI isn’t. If you’re currently using Experlogix, we’d like to give you a tour of IQX as we believe you’ll find every feature you require and at a fraction of the cost. The only thing you have to lose is overhead.
