Can CPQ (sales proposal automation) improve Dynamics CRM adoption?
Your Dynamics CRM is loaded with features and functionality that are proven to improve and speed how you do business on most every level.
The sad fact is that your sales team likely only uses 10 – 20% of them.
This problem isn’t unique to Dynamics CRM or any business technology platform: it’s pretty much the same across all tech. People get into ruts, they use the tools and apps they already know, and ignore the rest.
But when you add — configure price quote software (CPQ) — to Dynamics 365, it can actually increase overall adoption and use of your CRM in general. Here’s why.
Accessing sales quotes in Dynamics
Every successful sales rep lives and dies by how many quotes he has in circulation. When you , you create integrated workflows in which a rep “passes through” the CRM platform to see what opportunities closed and when.
Because while Dynamics has the ability to track a quote, most reps usually don’t go beyond tracking from “sent” to “signed.” A CPQ solution, however, provides “micro-tracking” functionality that delivers deeper data within the sent-to-signed process, data and details that can help a rep more quickly close any given opportunity, which compels a rep to dig into both his CRM and CPQ tools more often.
CPQ as the (inter)face of your CRM
From a customer perspective, most all of the “action” in your CRM goes on behind the scenes. Because while you may track every interaction with a customer, that same customer neither knows nor likely cares about how you’re tracking the progress of the sale.
However, they are fully aware of and engaged with the quote you send them, which makes your sales proposal automation solution the de facto place where your CRM connects with the customer’s world. They may not know you tracked calls a, b, and c, on dates x, y, and z, but they are likely to be 100% certain that they have received a quote and when the “sign-by” date is.
And the sales proposals you send via your CPQ solution can put a “pretty face” on your company, too. Far too often, reps are building and sending their own quotes. Unless every rep in your organization is both a professional designer AND a professional copywriter, this is rarely a sound business practice.
But a CPQ system integrated with your Dynamics CRM solution means reps have access to dozens of professionally designed sales proposal templates, and that the content therein (e.g., products and pricing) may be centrally administered, too.
How are you sending sales proposals within your Dynamics solution? How well does each proposal reflect your brand and business? If you’re looking for consistency in sales proposals and improvements your overall sales quote workflow in your CRM, it’s time to integrate CPQ.