Your sales team is only as strong as the tools and data an organization equips them with. Sales software gives them the ability to categorize and filter the critical data they need to do their jobs.
Beyond just having software in place, however, it's just as important to ensure that the system has the functionality they need to get the most value out of it. One capability your sales team will want to have is to have CPQ software.
Not every CPQ software solution is the same, and you'll also want to have one that you know will work best for your team. Let's take a closer look at why you'll want to have something known as CPQ guided selling for your software, and why it should be as user-friendly as possible.
What Does CPQ Mean?
CPQ stands for "Configure, Price, Quote." It allows companies to understand what the right price is for a product based on a custom-made configuration.
When a company produces a static product and disseminates it to its customers, that product will often have a set price. Where there begins to be differentiation is when companies provide customization options. When customers can configure different versions and iterations of their product, that will impact the makeup of the product itself.
These changes often affect the price as well. CPQ software can help sales teams match up the right price with the correct set of customizations. They don't have to worry about a feature's price not being added or captured correctly - the software takes care of it for them, easing the burden on the sales staff.
That's the basics of what CPQ is. Now you'll want to understand how to pair it with the right capabilities, including one that's particularly crucial to your sales team's success.
What is Guided Selling for CPQ?
Your sales team no doubt has the talent and skills necessary to move your prospects through the buyer's journey. But having the right tools to help move your sales reps through the process along with the buyer only makes the job easier for them.
What do you really need out of your CPQ software? For one, you need the ability to quickly update the pricing based on whatever customization you need to account for. You also want the ability to pose the right queries regarding what your ideal customer is actually after.
You can do this by integrating a toolset known as CPQ guided selling. Guided selling is a capability that examines your products and guides your sales team through a series of questions about them.
Using customer data, the guided selling functionality will ask the sales reps what customizations or features they want to add to a certain product. The system limits the number of potential selections based on its analysis of the products and what the customers need.
Think of it as a filter that allows your sales team to quickly access the product features they need rather than toggling through every single product available.
If that sounds like a useful and valuable tool to have, you'll want to partner with a software provider who can offer that functionality. But here's why guided selling is often the difference between sales teams that succeed and those that struggle.
Why is Guided Selling Important?
Guided selling is pivotal because it considers the needs of your sales team and your customers. For most organizations, the sales team is their lifeblood for new and repeat business. It's the sales team that's tasked with explaining to the customer why they should select the company's product or service to fit their unique requirements.
So what does that mean for the company? It means creating an optimal, user-friendly experience for that sales team to ensure they can operate effectively. CPQ software with guided selling is much easier to use and intuitive than software without it, and ensures that customers get the perfect solution that's right for them, every time.
Guided selling enables sales reps to identify the right solutions for the customer they have in front of them. They're doing more than just picking parts and products from a list. They're crafting a bespoke solution for that customer, unique to their specific needs and challenges. Specificity and customization is the key to winning repeat business, and guided selling optimizes a sales team's ability to provide that.
Additionally, guided selling also makes it easier for your sales team to level up your customers. It prompts them to upsell, offering more products or features that partner well with the initial offering. It also prompts them to cross sell products more effectively, suggesting bold and exciting combinations that will give customers more value and the company higher profits.
Why Doesn't Every CPQ Solution Include Guided Selling?
It's important to remember that not every CPQ software is created equal. Each one will have a different set of capabilities. It's critical to find one that matches all your business needs. Failure to do so will leave you wanting more out of your CPQ solution.
As stated above, guided selling is a vital functionality you'll want to have as part of your CPQ software. But not every CPQ software includes guided selling. That's because to perform it correctly, the software needs to be constructed with attribute-based configuration rather than product-based configuration.
Attribute-based configuration allows you to tailor your product's configuration based on a set of product features that have been selected. These attributes might impact the price of your product, and the value of each attribute can affect the other attributes selected.
It enables greater customization and options—all good things for you, your customer, and your sales reps. It promotes a more flexible, versatile experience that helps solve problems faster.
The key is to find CPQ software that has guided selling as a part of its offering, which you can do by partnering with the right provider.
How Logik.io Can Help
At Logik.io, we have a team of experts well versed in CPQ and configuration. Logik.io has the tools you need already integrated, and can easily integrate with other tools such as Salesforce. We've also partnered with Threekit, a company that specializes in 3D product visualization, to provide stunning, photorealistic 3D images of your custom-made products. Together, we have all the tools needed to bring a winning experience to both your customers and your sales teams.
Check out Logik.io's configuration solution for Salesforce with Threekit-powered visuals to see what happens when the best come together to create amazing experiences.
