10 Key Considerations Before Implementing CPQ Solutions

CPQ plays a vital role in the overall sales cycle and revenue generation for organizations. It ensures error-free quotation process, with smart pricing capabilities and least dependency on IT functions. It is viable solution against prevailing manual process, which is tedious, error-prone and time consuming. With many inevitable benefits to organization, selection of appropriate CPQ solution and comprehensive considerations become more important. In this article I listed 10 key considerations for organizations before adopting CPQ solution. 

1. Choose a Simple CPQ
   Simplicity is the key for successful adoption of any CPQ solution. Salesreps, mostly familiar with excel sheets, sometimes find it difficult to use solutions which are complex and requires multiple clicks or navigations.


2. Prefer CRM-native CPQ solutions
   Both technically and functionally, it adds more value and provides greater flexibility if CPQ solution is either native or closely integrated with CRM.


3. Define Business CPQ process
   Most of the failures I noticed in CPQ implementation are due to lack of clear Business Processes around CPQ. Take this as opportunity to further streamline and optimize your quoting & approval process. Also have your process well documented before start implementing CPQ solution.


4. Simplify Approval Process
   In overall CPQ process, approvals play a vital role. Unfortunately approvals are also the part of process which consumes most of the time and make it complex. CPQ adoption is also an opportunity to make approval process more simplified, logically shorten and consistent.


5. Stop Comparison with Manual Processes
   Most of the salesrep are still comfortable with manual CPQ & Approval processes. One of the major reasons for non-adoption of CPQ solution is straight comparison between two. Remember that none of the software can fulfil all tasks accomplished by manual processes. Hence instead of one-to-one comparison, document processes/requirements and evaluate software based on functional needs and easy-to-use interface.


6. Functional Richness
   Ensures that the CPQ solution, you are planning to adopt, is functionally suffice your business needs. Closely evaluate the product modelling, quotation lifecycle, pricing capabilities, constraint rules, catalog/shoping cart functionalities, discounts, promotion/offers, customer facing document generation features, multi-currency support, and approvals.


7. Performance
   For most of the time, performance has been on the top of the demand list from users. Especially with CPQ solutions now moving to cloud, ensure that your solution performs well enough to be accepted by users.


8. Involve Users from Start
   Involve SalesReps, Pricing Leads, SMEs, Functional Leads, Managers and all category of users right from the inception phase. Conduct workshops/session, demos and listen to their current problems and expected solutions. Take their confidence in simplification process.


9. User Adoption is Key for Success
   As stated above, unless being adopted and comprehensively used by users, CPQ solution can’t add value to the overall sales cycle. User adoption is a multi-dimensional task, which needs efforts from different perspectives.


10. Training and Guidance
    Related with user adoption, proper training session and periodic skill upgrades helps hugely in making users comfortable to use the solution. Never compromise on trainings and education.