How To Complete A Successful CPQ Implementation
Configure Price Quote (CPQ) is an incredibly valuable tool for increasing sales and quoting efficiency, increasing average sales size, and reducing errors. But how does one master the implementation process? When you determine CPQ is right for your business, the next thought is how to navigate an implementation.
Let’s walk through a short “CPQ how to” implementation guide.
First: Define your Goals
What are the ultimate goals to be achieved with your CPQ? You will want to determine which goals are right for your business and ultimately your bottom line.
- Standardize the sales and quoting process? Saving time and money
- Allow for a dealer portal? Expedite dealer orders, happy customers are return customers
- Roll out new products faster? Quick go-to-market is critical in fast paced manufacturing environment
What are your ultimate sales & manufacturing goals? Understand your process needs and set measurable goals for your CPQ.
Next: Focus on the Critical.
CPQ is full of feature-rich tools but, chunking down to the most important process efficiencies is important for your first step into a CPQ product.
Below are some examples:
- Choose out of the box features
- Guided selling
- Order management
Choose the right project Team:
Ensure you have the right CPQ implementation team by your side. Do your research. Know the CPQ provider or partner’s history, what is their experience with CPQ? What’s their area of expertise? Having the right team will help make your implementation even more successful. RenaissanceTech, a Gold Infor CPQ partner has experience on more than 200 successful CPQ implementations, in a variety of verticals.
Evaluate your Quote to Cash process:
Because that’s why we are here after all. That’s the principle of CPQ, optimizing your quote to cash process. Your business is unique, you will want to evaluate your unique sales process and determine which best practices to adopt during the implementation.
Data Management!
With the right data being delivered to your team they can be more productive. CPQ will help centralize this date by integrating it with your existing CRM and ERP. Ask your RenaissanceTech implementation team for best practices for data management and integration into your existing CRM and ERP.
Shift the Thinking:
Prepare your team for change. The “But, we’ve always done it this way.” The mentality will inevitably happen. Having a change management team will set the tone for a smoother transition. Having the right implementation training and support available will also ensure the transition becomes a welcome one. RenaissanceTech has a comprehensive training and support structure for all CPQ implementation.
Post-implementation Support:
Talk with your implementation partner about ongoing support, advanced CPQ training and what they offer. Establishing a rapport and open clear communication with your CPQ partner will only enhance the CPQ implementation.