Configured Software How to Increase Your Deal Size by Over 100

1. Configured Software: How to Increase Your Deal Size by Over 100% ======================================================================= You’re bringing in leads from multiple channels. You’re training your sales reps to produce the best results for your business. The more you spend on training, the more sales reps you have, and the more revenue you generate. There’s just one problem: training and increasing the size of your salesforce isn’t exactly a scalable way to fuel growth. Not to say investing in reps isn’t worthwhile. But as you continue investing in people, you need a more efficient method to drive your topline growth, where you don’t necessarily need to keep spending more to make more. Configured software—aka configure, price, quote software (CPQ)—can help you increase your average deal size by 100% (according to Epicor) without hiring additional personnel. In this guide, we explain what CPQ is and how you can leverage this powerful solution to improve your revenue by increasing your win rate and deal size. What is Configured Software (CPQ)? CPQ is a software solution that helps manufacturers with the following: Configure Manufacturers often sell complex products with many possible configurations. Selling these products requires sales reps to understand a customer’s needs and come up with viable configurations. The customer selects one based on their needs and requests pricing. Not scalable, is it? Also, you need an experienced team of sales reps capable of assessing viability and creating renderings of complex configurations. CPQ trims the process short by generating viable configurations automatically, allowing buyers to move to the next leg of the buying journey quickly. Price Pricing errors can be expensive. Often, they can significantly shrink your margins. In worst cases, you’ll end up with a loss. And it’s not like you can change your pricing last minute without tarnishing your reputation. Another pricing problem you might face as a manufacturer is the buffer between a pricing request and quoting the customer a price. B2B buyers want fast responses, and 71% of B2B buyers want a B2C-like experience where they can get questions answered quickly. Being slow when quoting a price means leaving money on the table. CPQ addresses both concerns. CPQ quickly comes up with a price based on a predefined rules engine. Also, it takes humans out of the pricing equation, which means zero pricing errors.

2. Quote Sales reps only spend an average of 34% of their time selling—why not help them earn some of that time back by automating quotes? Your customers might request a quote for multiple configurations. Instead of having sales reps work on mundane tasks that you can automate, like creating quotes, allow them to direct their efforts towards tasks that need a human touch. Your buyers will appreciate automated quotes too. 60% of B2B buyers prefer not interacting with sales reps at all, so why not give your customers what they want with configured software (CPQ)? How CPQ Software Increases Deal Size The previous section provided summarized how configured software can improve your deal size. But let’s dig deeper and more clearly establish how CPQ can increase your average deal size by 100%. 1. Allows Buyers to Explore High-Value Configurations B2B buyers want to spend an average of 5 to 6% of their time with a sales rep. That’s a short window of time where you have a lot of ground to cover—selecting a configuration, giving them a demo, and coming up with a price. This means buyers might not have enough time to explore more high-value configurations. Addressing this issue can add significantly to your top line, and that’s where CPQ can help. CPQ can help provide viable configurations faster. It can also offer multiple designs based on the buyer’s needs, allowing them to explore a more extensive list of offerings. You can also eliminate the role of sales reps in the selection process by integrating the CPQ with your B2B ecommerce website. Buyers can view a 3D rendering of the configuration in real-time. This gives buyers a clearer understanding of what the final product may look like and if the design matches their needs—without speaking to a sales rep. 2. Configure Price Quote Software Improves Sales Team Performance Sales reps can use CPQ to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities on the fly. The software generates recommendations based on previous orders and product rules, so sales reps won’t have to look for these opportunities manually. When your sales team can offer helpful products related to their primary purchase or a better configuration than the one the buyer has in mind, they’ll be able to increase your average deal size. Plus, CPQ saves sales reps plenty of time each week. Sales reps can use this time to work on running retargeting campaigns for existing customers with products that may add value to their primary purchase.

3. Over time, the increase in revenue from cross-sells and upsells can drive your revenue upwards. 3. Eliminate Pricing Errors With CPQ Sales Features When sales reps quote a price, they may need to source data from several sources and channels. They put all the data into a spreadsheet and try to determine a price. The problem? There’s a lot of room for error. But that’s not all. Your business may also use arbitrary discounting. You may have a different price list based on a buyer’s location, quantity, and the sales channel the buyer came to you from. This can further complicate pricing and make the process vulnerable to errors. CPQ automates this process and ensures you never lose deals because of a pricing error. It also guarantees that your average deal value isn’t lower than it should be, protecting your profit margins. Final Thoughts: How to Increase Deal Size by 100% With Configured Software Configured software can be an excellent investment because it provides direct, revenue-focused benefits. In addition to increasing your average deal size, CPQ can improve customer experience, make your internal processes more efficient, and automate tasks like creating CAD files. Customer experience can be a significant growth driver in the long term, while efficiency and automation help you improve profitability. Unsurprisingly, CPQ offers an average ROI of 622%. If that sounds interesting, try using a Epicor CPQ for your business.