What is CPQ and Why Every Business Needs One? Salesforce CPQ Basics Explained

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “The Tipping Point,” he discusses social epidemics – the steady adoption of technology or cultural change that all of a sudden hits an inflection point. And boom, it becomes the new normal. Everyone is familiar with the initialism, CPQ – Configure, Price, Quote, and yes, it isn’t groundbreakingly new. But the adoption of CPQ has accelerated over the years.

From being a nice-to-have to becoming the hottest area of a CRM, it is the catalyst for sales growth. As customers expect faster and more context-driven buying experiences, a CPQ solution improves deal velocity, accelerates the proposal management process, and supercharges sales teams.

Quick Facts

• The CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of CPQ solutions is 20%*
• 83% of sales professionals use some form of CPQ*.

Let’s start at the very beginning

What is CPQ?

Configure Price Quote (CPQ) is software that supports customers and sales reps during the product purchase process. It provides accurate pricing regardless of complex product configurations, pricing tiers, multiple service offerings, customizations, discounts, and even if your sales reps are new. It enables organizations to offer perfect and consistent prices across a constantly evolving spectrum of variables. CPQ is like a company’s best-performing salesperson on steroids. Mobile-first application design, a remote workforce, and impatient buyers are accelerating the adoption of CPQ.

The companies that have transitioned to the CPQ environment have seen positive results in deal size and quote accuracy.

We can hear you saying, I have a high-performing sales team; why do I even need this software? It is because CPQ is built from the ground up to empower high-performing sales teams to close more deals faster.\

Don't forget to check out: Stages of Salesforce CPQ Implementation

How does CPQ work?

B2B commerce is complex. A CPQ solution takes care of all the backend heavy lifting that goes behind generating an individualized price quote. It identifies and pulls out product variants and prices based on buyer specifications.

Multiple pricing agreements, adhering to country-specific pricing laws, pricing based on the volume that is a challenge for processing systems, and heavy catalogs pose a huge challenge for B2B companies. With the right CPQ solution, you don’t have to solve the same problem twice.

Salesforce CPQ Basics

CPQ is a term that is almost synonymous with Salesforce and for a good reason. Salesforce CPQ is feature-packed and hosted within Sales Cloud. No complex integrations. No upgrades. No sweat. Let’s now dive into the details.

Configure, price, and all things nice

Configure – It is the first and simplest step you take once your brand new CPQ is out of its box. Fill out essential details about your customer, product/service, and sales process.

Price – Apply discretionary discounts for customers, including pricing details, and let Salesforce do all the math. Dynamic pricing or generating accurate quotes in brand-aligned PDF documents has never been easier. Sales representatives can calculate unit costs, block costs, subscription pricing, and discounts in simple clicks.

Quote – Users can set up perfectly customized on-brand quotes with Salesforce. Quotes can be generated lightning quick by inputting basic information. Quotes refer to both electronic records of quotes and PDF documents. For more details visit (SF link/ optional)

B2B buyers demand better buying experiences. Here’s why the answer lies in CPQ.

Here’s the way the cookie crumbles…

Step 1: A prospect is interested in your product(s).

Step 2: Multiple interactions are involved to get a quote and order the product.

Step 3: It takes months to win deals because the sales cycle halts at several places.

Do you know where the problem lies? In steps two, and three. And that’s precisely why every business needs a CPQ solution.

Reinvent the buying experience

B2B buyers are demanding quicker and more intuitive buying experiences. Is your business ready for this shift? To thrive in a competitive environment and secure business, it is essential for organizations to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Companies should harness the power of Salesforce CPQ through quicker quoting processes, next-best-action recommendations, and dynamic pricing. You can quickly extend your CPQ implementation with self-serve B2B Commerce capability which allows customers to reorder quickly.

Check out another amazing blog by Demandblue here: How Salesforce CPQ Can Enhance the B2B Customer Experience?

A customer engagement platform that delivers tangible value

• CPQ doesn’t empower sales teams alone. It supports customer service and finance teams who’ll benefit by decreased handling time and fewer mistakes.
• It provides customers a self-service experience and reduces sales touches.
• It vastly improves price positioning and quotation quality.

The right time to implement CPQ is NOW

DemandBlue understands that any technology is only as good as the data it runs on. Over the years, we’ve managed agile implementations for complex CPQ projects and helped businesses pivot to new business models. We’ve customized Salesforce CPQ to address specific industry needs. To know more about how we can implement and customize Salesforce CPQ to drive new value head here.