Salesforce CPQ is an extension to Salesforce’s CRM used by sales teams in companies to create the correct pricing for products, quote them and configure them. CPQ tools optimize features like customizations, optional features, quantities, and discounts, allowing sales teams to create quotations quickly.
Using Salesforce CPQ gives the company’s sales teams an easy-to-use tool that’s available on the cloud and mobile. This attribute makes it an incredibly versatile and flexible piece of software, as you can use it via a direct link to make critical business decisions at ease.
Salesforce CPQ provides sales a tool that is fully automated with additional features of pricing, discounting, and guided selling. A recent report by Salesforce found that 83% of salespeople now use a CPQ when working on a deal for a business. It gives so much functional ability and flexibility to a salesperson, making their quoting process efficient, aligning them with the broader industry standards, and saving a lot of time, freeing them up for other tasks.
How long does it take to implement Salesforce CPQ?
Salesforce CPQ might be costly in terms of integration and internal resources in addition to training resources and spent sales timelines.
Salesforce implementation depends on a multitude of factors, including:
- Consultant’s skill
- A company’s experience with similar software
- Your company’s size
- Your minimum viable product
The consultant/contractor’s skillset
When it comes to CPQ consultants, there are both good and bad ones. Even the best at Salesforce make mistakes. Wherever humans are working, there is room for error. Therefore, your Salesforce implementation relies significantly on how good your consultant is.
If you pick the best from the industry, you will get someone who is extremely fluent in Salesforce CPQ but also someone who can save you a considerable amount of time.
Experience with similar integrations
A significant factor in how long your Salesforce CPQ implementation will take is a company’s experience with similar software. If the business already has CPQ software in place, that is a good sign to show that the company knows how to implement it. If there are more complex solutions in place that aren’t like Salesforce CPQ, there could be a more extended implementation as a lot of training will have to be carried out.
Your company’s size
When looking at a company, the size of its employees, transactions, and geographical spread is a key factor to consider when it comes to Salesforce CPQ implementation.
The difference between 50 employees and 1,000 is huge when implementing Salesforce CPQ (or any other sales tool). The issues of distribution, training, communication, and ensuring set-up all come into factor when you think about the duration of the Salesforce CPQ implementation.
How much does it usually cost to implement Salesforce CPQ?
The total cost to implement Salesforce CPQ can depend on various factors but can cost anything from $10,000 (for the basic implementation) to $100,000 (which works for a multi-component project including integrations and configurations with customizable options).
A business can outsource their implementation process to a freelance, independent, consultant r they can opt for the Salesforce consultant. Whilst the rates are often lower outside of Salesforce, the time taken will extend dramatically and the chances of success will diminish. Using a Salesforce consultancy can cost from $10,000 up to $50,000 depending on their skill, experience, and demand.
Salesforce CPQ implementation consultants are the best option due to their resources through people, their high security, extensive expertise, great value by having so many talented minds on the team, and a 24/7 customer support line that can resolve customers’ issues in a timely manner.
Here are six tips to consider when implementing Salesforce CPQ:
- Make sure your business requirements are clearly defined when setting up the implementation process.
- Ensure your users and company stakeholders fully understand why you are implementing Salesforce CPQ – get them onboard.
- Keep in mind any plans for scaling upward
- Ensure all data is backed up safely.
- Scan to see if any additional plugins are required
- Get involved, even if you have hired outside help for the implementation
- Training, training, training – take plenty of time to get your future users extremely comfortable and fluent in using Salesforce CPQ.
Once you have implemented your Salesforce CPQ correctly, you can see the dividends in the form of a sales boost, an increase in bookings, and shorter sales cycles. Salesforce CPQ will not only shorten your time spent on deals but also provide more accurate results too. It is a dream for any business that wants to scale up to its full potential.