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how to simplify the sales process

How To Simplify The Sales Process & Close More Deals in 2022

If youโ€™re trying to find new ways to make the sales process less bloated, thereโ€™s a great chance youโ€™ve been in the industry for a while! Software options have become more sophisticated. Demands have rapidly changed. Your target demographics (and how you reach them) have evolved. 

Letโ€™s dig into some tangible and intangible ways to simplify the sales process, increase ROI and minimize costly screw-ups! 

The Who: Create Customer Profiles For Target Audiences 

We get it - the past few years have thrown sales through a loop. Many companies started going after any business they could get, while others restricted their scope to make more money off fewer leads. Itโ€™s time to physically get back to the drawing board! 

Take time to clearly define who youโ€™re going after - and who you donโ€™t want to go after. Who are these perfect people? Where do they shop? Not just where do they shop, but where do they make their actual buying decisions? Is it in-store, in the car with their family or in the trenches of Reddit forums? 

Creating well-defined buyer personas not only helps you meet customers where theyโ€™re at but you can also use that information to build robust digital marketing campaigns with almost no wasted dollars by dialing in that demographic data! 

The Why: Add Some Empathy To Your Approach  

Itโ€™s not about the product - itโ€™s about what the product does for the buyer. Establish a playbook of primary talking points to quickly earn that invaluable trust based on consumer needs. Learn the pain points of your target audience by looking at Google News and exploring forums. (Sometimes, you can just let Google fill in the blanks for you!)

Here are a variety of phrases you can search to generate topics of interest: 

  • Problems with [product]
  • Alternatives to [product]
  • Negatives of [product]
  • Does [product] ______
  • Why wonโ€™t [product] _____
  • [product] vs _____

Once you get a solid list going, rank these pain points, challenges and insecurities as they pertain to each target demo. Assign 2-3 of them to each and avoid bringing up the other headaches if possible. Your service or product probably tackles those challenges, but you donโ€™t need to create unnecessary land mines or time sinkholes during your pitch! 

Remember: people really like talking about themselves and their company, so ask questions - even if you already know the answers. โ€œWhat solutions do your competitors use?โ€ โ€œI know youโ€™re looking for this product, but what are you really looking for out of this product?โ€ โ€œWhat just really sucks for you on a daily basis?โ€

Taking a little extra time to be real with a hot lead can make you more money than spending not enough time on three cool leads. 

The When: Make Scheduling Demos & Appointments As Easy As Possible 

Itโ€™s hard to get everyone to agree on much, but there are two things we all really enjoy: simplicity and options. Your sales team can piggyback on this desire for convenience by offering a variety of different contact points for customers. 

Your website, specifically, should have a clearly-labeled online scheduling link, at least one general Contact Us form and a phone number someone can use at any given time to ask questions. Some folks feel comfortable scheduling a demo right now, while others may want to send in a form while theyโ€™re on the go and respond at a time when theyโ€™re able to make a decision. Other people just want to see the options laid out in front of them! 

Itโ€™s comforting to know that the choice for communication is yours and you can make it when you want to. 

The How (& How Much): Use An Accurate CPQ Software To Wow Buyers

Weโ€™ve mentioned simplicity, accessibility and empathy - but there is one tangible solution that can wrap up everything while making everyone happier: Infor CPQ. 

As the best configure price quote solution on the market, Infor minimizes the time it takes to create accurate quotes and generates true-to-life, customized product models that will help your customer truly visualize what theyโ€™re getting. 

By experiencing the visualization in front of them, the customer can envision how the product will fit in their daily life. Thereโ€™s no guessing. This is what they get and hereโ€™s how much they get it for! 

Looking To Capture The Power of Infor? 

We invite you to take a spin on an example configurator here or to get in touch with us directly to discuss the needs of your customers and your sales team.ย 

International Infor CPQ Assistance at RenaissanceTech

With the rise of the remote workplace, we have adapted our business to be virtual friendly. The more services that we can perform online, the less we are required to travel. This allows us to eliminate the time and money associated with traveling and enables us to reduce consulting costs and spend more time tending to our clients. With that being said, if travel is necessary and safe for our clients, we will undoubtably make the trip.

              This has led us to the realization that we can offer all our services globally. With the introduction of our remote training sessions, our consultants can teach your employees how to use our software over a video call. This leads to greater accessibility for international and domestic clients. Additionally, our Infor CPQ software supports many different languages including Dutch, German, French, English, Spanish, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. On top of that, Infor CPQ allows for the seamless conversion of currency using exchange rate multipliers. This makes it easier to perform quotes for clients in other regions of the world.

              With the expansion of our capabilities, we are excited to widen our customer base and serve clients globally. Whether they are a domestic or international client, our goal is to make sure that they are taken care of while exceeding their expectations. At RenaissanceTech, we treat every client the same no matter the size of their business or the industry they work in. We are currently assisting clients in the UK, Australia, NZ, and Canada. Anyone looking for Infor CPQ expert help, can contact us, no matter their country.

Contact us to discuss your international project today!

Why Start Remote Training

Why Start Remote Training

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Why Start Remote Training

May 27th, 2020

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Necessary social distancing measures are calling for a new way of learning. To obtain safer training conditions, institutions and companies are relying on a remote style of learning. Technology has ensured that the constant need to continue learning is still present in a disconnected world. With remote training, participants receive flexibility to work from any location, companies save on travel, training schedules spread across multiple days, virtual networking opportunities increase, and it allows for continued access to the best resources. These benefits should not be overlooked when compared with the traditional way of education.

With virtual learning students can work from any location, eliminating the time spent and costs incurred to fly people onsite to be with a trainer. Since users will not have to travel to each otherโ€™s business locations, contact will be kept to the absolute minimum. While trainees can stay home and cut travel cost to a minimum, they also benefit from flexible training schedules. Training classes can be spread out over longer periods of times to encourage work on training and working on company time. This allows trainees to maintain a balance of learning and working for productivity during this time. With this flexible approach to training, businesses can achieve a lot more with less money.

Attendees of a training or workshop can network with other attendees and thought leaders on subjects important to them. More connections are made with people that would usually never meet in person but have similar knowledge and experiences. Gaining skills from experienced workers and then applying them at their company will boost efficiency. Users can also be positive that they are learning from a skilled instructor in a quality course. When taking a class or training online, users are taken through material that has been tested and proven valuable numerous times. Participants can be sure that they are receiving quality training from an expert instructor. ย 

Take Advantage of Remote Infor Configurator CPQ Training

With these benefits, it is hard to deny that virtual learning has proven its worth. Now more than ever, it is important that companies take advantage of virtual training. At RenaissanceTech, we have utilized remote CPQ training to continue collaboration between the best resources and our customers โ€“ all while keeping our employees and customers safe. Our remote infor CPQ training courses are specifically tailored for teaching configurator rules writing as efficiently as possible. If you would like to attend our remote CPQ configurator training, register for expert help today!

Why You Need Infor CRM

Why You Need Infor CRM

Why You need Infor CRM

This Blog is authored by our trusted Infor CRM Partner, Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
By: Jessica Wert, Marketing Coordinator at Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
March 31st, 2020

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Often we see manufacturers utilizing the latest and greatest technology in their factories and making the investments in ERP software to keep production efficient. What about where it all beginsโ€ฆ.the sales department.

Are you arming them with the best tools to generate more orders? Are you able to see all the crucial parts of the quote to order process in one place?

Bringing Infor CRM to your sales process can complete the picture. Infor CRM allows manufacturesโ€™ to build a complete sales process customized to their business. With functions like Opportunity, Activity, Lead and Account Management you can create a process that drives sales growth.

Sales professionals have a lot to keep up with; emails, quotes, bid due dates, customer visits and the list goes on. It is near impossible to keep up and remember everything. With an opportunity management process to create and follow up on quotes with customers; leadership and sales can stay in the loop on what needs done and by when. Combined with the activities and alerts in CRM sales staff will never miss a bid deadline or forget to follow up. Infor CRM also gives you mobile and Outlook versions that all sync in real time, making it extremely efficient. Record emails and notes directly from your Outlook with Xbar and have customer information in the palm of your hand with Infor CRM mobile. Using a CRM to control your sales process leads to more closed opportunities.

Another piece that is important to manufacturers is the Infor ION Integration. This Infor CRM out of the box Integration brings CRM, ERP and even your Configure Price Quote (CPQ) software together. Not to mention other 3rd party software tools you may be using. Having your software โ€œtalkingโ€ back and forth creates a cohesive business environment. Giving access to data across departments for sales, production, accounting and service will lead to increased sales and pipeline visibility.   Creating this visibility to quotes, orders and general sales notes helps other departments jump in when needed to help close a sale. Now forecasting, setting quotas and communicating lead times are easier than ever.

Ask yourself; why not invest more in one of the most important departments in your company? Sales! Arm your team with all the tools to succeed. Remove the road blocks of forgotten information so that they can focus on selling. Infor CloudSuite CRM can do some of the heavy lifting for them; making them more efficient and better sales professionals!


Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CloudSuite CRM. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.

Infor CloudSuite CPQ at RenaissanceTech

RenaissanceTech has over 200 successful CPQ implementations and is the only Infor CPQ specific channel partner. The founders of RenaissanceTech worked on the initial development of the infor CPQ solution. If you want to work with the experts in CPQ implementation, servicing, and support, contact RenaissanceTech today.

Infor Equips ANSCHรœTZ with Product Configurator by Infor

Munich, Bavaria, Germany, 2019/03/13- Infor, a global leader in business cloud software for Enterprise and SMB companies, today announced it is supporting J. G. ANSCHรœTZ GmbH & Co. KG by renewing its IT infrastructure. The family-owned company from Ulm (located in the German state of Baden-Wรผrttemberg), a renowned manufacturer of sports and hunting rifles, will introduce the Infor CPQ product configurator to strengthen its foreign sales business. In addition, the old enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will be replaced by the new Infor LN solution and the Infor OS technology platform. By undertaking this project, ANSCHรœTZ intends to meet the increasing challenges of the digitization age as well as the growing demands of its customers.

Founded in 1856 in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, ANSCHรœTZ has made a name for itself mainly in the world of sports: More than 97 percent of all professional biathletes use the manufacturer's rifles and appreciate the workmanship and precision of ANSCHรœTZ products. The business is thus strongly geared to international markets.

To comply with national and international legal regulations and, at the same time, organize sales in a profitable manner, efficient IT is indispensable. Recent years have also shown a clear trend towards individualization and personalization of products, which is forcing suppliers to differentiate their portfolios.

To meet these requirements, ANSCHรœTZ decided to roll out new technology. Among other things, the company was looking for connection options to an existing, external web shop for middlemen in the United States. Infor convinced the management of another approach: after a thorough review, ANSCHรœTZ decided to seek direct contact with resellers instead by leveraging Infor Configure Price Quote (CPQ).

Infor CPQ gives companies the ability to customize their configuration and quote generation. This allows the CPQ process to be tailored to the needs of sales channels, distributors, or end users. The solution offers document automation (automatic creation of quotation documents or functional descriptions) and 2D/3D automation (including integration of the design).

The ANSCHรœTZ implementation project will be followed by an upgrade from the previously used Infor ERP system to Infor LN, which is specifically designed to meet the requirements of manufacturers. In addition, the Infor OS (formerly Infor Xi) technology platform, which includes the Infor ION open network middleware and the Infor Ming.leโ„ข social collaboration platform, will ensure that other software and/or other companies, such as those in the supply chain, can be connected smoothly.

โ€œGlobalization and digitalization have been challenging our business model,โ€ says Jochen Anschรผtz, CEO, ANSCHรœTZ. โ€œIf you want to be competitive, there is no way around efficient IT. Thanks to Infor CPQ, we will be able to deepen our relationships with local wholesalers, especially in North America. This will strengthen our sales activities tremendously.โ€

โ€œConsumers are increasingly demanding highly personalised products. Manufacturers can only offer these if they use the appropriate software to deal with complex manufacturing requirements,โ€ says Jรถrg Jung, managing director Central and East Europe, Infor. โ€œThis can only be done with software that is tailored to companiesโ€™ industry-specific needs. ANSCHรœTZ shows there is a great need for such solutions and that our approach at Infor is the right one.โ€

About the J.G. ANSCHรœTZ GmbH & Co. KG
The J.G. ANSCHรœTZ GmbH & Co. KG, Ulm, is one of the leading producers in the world of high-performance hunting and target rifles. The family-owned company was founded in 1856 by Julius Gottfried Anschรผtz in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia. After world war II, the company was re-established in Ulm. ANSCHรœTZ stands for innovation and perfection. The name ANSCHรœTZ is inseparably connected with innumerable Olympic, international and national shooting triumphs. Thanks to the pioneering efforts in biathlon, more than 97 percent of all biathletes are shooting with ANSCHรœTZ products.

ANSCHรœTZ is successfully operating all over the world. The export share is approximately 60percent. Beside the traditional production of hunting and target rifles, ANSCHรœTZ is investing increasingly in the newest machining technologies. The ANSCHรœTZ high-performance products enjoy an extraordinary worldwide reputation because of their precision, workmanship, and accuracy. Since its foundation, the company has always been owned by the Anschรผtz family.


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Pair the best ERP and CPQ software with the best service provider.

Renaissancetech is an infor channel partner.

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Are you ready to collaborate with your customers on product design?

Are you ready to collaborate with your customers on product design?

Infor | Aug. 28th 2018

In its 2018 predictions, analyst firm IDC prognosticated the following will happen by 2019:

50% of manufacturers will be collaborating directly with customers and consumers regarding new and improved product designs through cloud-based crowd-sourcing, virtual reality, and product virtualization, realizing up to 25% improvement in product success rates. (This is prediction #5 in theย IndustryWeekย article discussing IDCโ€™s Top 10 predictions.)

2018 is well over halfway through. Do you feel like you areโ€”or will beโ€”among the 50% of manufacturers who can collaborate successfully with customers for product design and development? The thought of trying to manage this collaboration via scanned documents, spreadsheets, and multiple meetings seems overwhelming. Modern technology can help you get the efficiency and quality control you need to make customer collaboration faster and easier for everyone involved.

  1. Configure price quote softwareย helps your sales people know exactly what options are available, and makes it easier for them to facilitate a customer conversation to build exactly the product they are looking for.
  2. Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) softwareย provides the flexibility you need to automate new business processes or quickly adjust them if they arenโ€™t working well.
  3. Integrated document management and social collaboration toolsย combine employee communications with business processes, efficiently bringing information from your external customers and internal organization together.

Collaborating with customers on product design opens a whole new level of complexity in your operations. Figure out how to accommodate this new way of doing business today and position yourself not only as the vendor that makes the products your customers use, but as the partner in your customersโ€™ success.

 

Pair the best ERP and CPQ software with the best service provider.

Renaissancetech is an infor channel partner.

View the original article.