Not sure if every sales organization has a literal bell, but more than a few of the ones we have seen and worked in have. And when the bell was rung it meant (booya!) someone had closed a sale. Sometimes, it’d ring a couple of times a week, others a couple of times a day. But with quotation tools in widespread use across a sales department, that bell gets rung far more often and more loudly. And here’s why.
It’s all about being properly armed. Sales pros need to equip themselves with “weaponry” that enhances efficiency and effectiveness. Sales quotation tools like configure, price, quote (CPQ) software have emerged as game-changers in the arena, enabling reps to streamline complex sales processes, deliver personalized solutions, and ultimately, close deals faster via an approach that is both rapid-fire and more targeted. It’s about streamlining, personalizing, and collaborating.
Streamlining
A typical challenge for sales pros is navigating complex sales processes involving diverse product configurations, pricing options, and other (typically, client-driven) intricacies.
Quotation tools simplify these complexities by automating product pricing and configuration and other tasks, enabling reps to respond swiftly to customer inquiries, and more quickly deliver more accurate proposals.
According to research by the Aberdeen Group, companies utilizing CPQ software experience a 49% shorter sales cycle, allowing sales professionals to focus more on building customer relationships and closing deals rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks.
Personalizing
Simply put, you need to make your customers feel special, unique, one-of-a-kind. The market is hyper-competitive, making personalization, which used to be optional, foundational.
The good news is that sales quoting tools — by automating most every other part of the process — free you up to truly personalize every proposal you send. Most sales proposal templates let you add the prospect’s logo, put in some competitive intel, present market details, and more.
But it’s when it comes to each customer's unique requirements that CPQ really hits its stride. By leveraging data-driven insights and intelligent algorithms, the software recommends the most relevant products, pricing options, and configurations based on customer preferences and past buying behavior.
Research by Salesforce indicates that 72% of business buyers expect vendors to personalize. Quotation tools enable sales professionals to meet this expectation more quickly and more completely than ever, enhancing both customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Collaborating
Effective collaboration between sales, marketing, and ops teams is essential for driving seamless sales processes and maximizing revenue opportunities. CPQ tools facilitate collaboration by providing a centralized platform where teams can collaborate in real-time, share product information, and track sales activities.
Moreover, CPQ software offers advanced sales analytics capabilities, providing sales leaders with valuable insights into customer preferences, pricing trends, and sales performance.
Don’t take our word for it. Even 10 years ago, McKinsey highlighted that companies leveraging advanced analytics basically crush their peers. By harnessing the power of data and analytics, sales professionals can make informed decisions, identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and optimize pricing strategies to maximize profitability.
It looks like the numbers are in. Leading researchers have determined sales quotation tools are indispensable for pros looking to stay ahead of the competition. By streamlining complex sales processes, enabling personalized engagement, and fostering collaboration, CPQ empowers reps in any industry to elevate performance and ring that bell a whole lot more.
