How does Salesforce CPQ close the revenue gap in SaaS companies?

By Adrian Gawryszewski

Typical quotes usually include a description of the product, its quantity, price, and contract terms. However, the economic situation has changed. Services and different subscription models are in demand. How to quote them??

The Salesforce CPQ addresses and adapts to the needs of cloud-based services like SaaS businesses. It helps with controlling costs and making good use of time to give accurate quotes on services.

Revenue gaps in SaaS companies

The main aim of SaaS businesses is to get revenue. But on each step of the customer journey, there are some hurdles to overcome. The Salesforce CPQ is to help overcome them and make a smooth sales process that starts with quoting and ends with billing.

What are the steps where the revenue could get lost? Typically, the SaaS sales process encompasses the following actions:

• Quote and Price (quotes, proposals, product information)
• Presenting Offers (contracts)
• Closing Deal (sales orders, onboarding documents)
• Bill and Review (invoices, renewal, agreements)

Source: Salesforce

The more Salesforce CPQ can connect workflows, the better it will be at setting correct margins and avoiding revenue leakage. The ability to share data in real time between CRMs within each quote creation session has the potential to save countless hours a year. What are the other features of Salesforce CPQ that help increase the revenue flow and the growth potential of SaaS businesses?

Win more deals with shortened response times

Time is crucial for preparing and sending the proposal. Sadly, many companies still rely on manual work using spreadsheets or Word documents. The process needs approvals, which are given in a long email correspondence.

Sales cycles are shorter than ever, so you need to prepare a quote quickly if you want to sell. Customers would prefer not to wait, since they have a wide range of options. It is easier to accept a proposal from a competitor than to wait for a quote.

“Interactions that feel impersonal — like receiving irrelevant offers or waiting on hold — run the risk of alienating customers and damaging hard-won relationships.”

Source: State of the Connected Customer, Fifth Edition, Salesforce, 2022

How does Salesforce CPQ solve the issue? Due to standardization, pricing data is already stored in one place. The salespeople need to make a quote. The limits of the quote, maximum discounts, and feasible combinations of services are written down and approved.?

There is no room for mistakes or errors. To prepare a quote, you simply have to use the elements stored in Salesforce CPQ. Thanks to this, SaaS companies are successful. Time becomes their advantage in the fierce market battle.?

Capture more revenue with greater quote accuracy

A well-prepared quote does not mean solely that it is free of errors. More important is the image and trust that is built among customers. How would they trust you when your quote is not accurate? What effect will it have when you say that there was a wrongly calculated margin??

The mistakes mostly occur when there is no single source of truth. When the information is dispersed, many employees are involved in the decision-making process. If you need approval for every change in the quotation, for any discounting or pricing conditions, it will result in a longer time for the preparation. And the higher risk of delivering wrong information to the customer.

CPQ streamlines the quoting process. The approvals are automated, and most of the information needed to prepare a quote is already stored in the software. This results in accuracy, interconnectivity, and scalability, which introduces more visibility and transparency for SaaS companies and their customers.

Protect margins from ongoing price pressure

Using CPQ software helps in two different ways:

• CPQ enables the implementation of consistent quoting rules which are used throughout whole organizations. They have to be formulated beforehand to put them into CPQ and ensure that everybody uses them.
• On the other hand, a consistent and well-designed approach to the quoting system helps to protect margins and keep them on an acceptable level. It is important since the market is enormously competitive and each activity decides about the success or failure of the SaaS business.

Consistency and easy quoting make sales easy, even for people who are new to the organization or less technically competent. With the help of CPQ, their performance is efficient and free from pricing mistakes.

Utilize technology to enhance brand image

Contributing to the positive image of the company is promoting professionalism, accuracy, transparency, personalization, efficiency, and a commitment to data-driven improvement.?

“Majority (56 %) of customers expect offers to always be personalized.”

Source: State of the Connected Customer, Fifth Edition, Salesforce, 2022?

Salesforce CPQ allows for personalized quoting and adding distinguishing elements like brand features. Such adjustments make customers feel valued and cater to their individual requirements.

Moreover, it positions the company as one that is dedicated to delivering a top-notch experience, ultimately strengthening its brand image in the competitive SaaS market.

Make informed decisions thanks to metrics

Salesforce CPQ plays a pivotal role in providing better visibility into sales performance for SaaS companies:

• Centralizes data related to sales quotes, proposals, and deals. This unified data repository offers a comprehensive view of all ongoing and completed sales activities.
• Provides real-time updates on sales quotes and proposals, allowing sales teams to see the status of each deal as it progresses.?
• Helps identify bottlenecks, top-performing products or services, and areas for improvement.
• Enables the creation of customized dashboards and reports. Sales managers can tailor these tools to their specific needs.
• Supports accurate sales forecasting and aids in resource allocation, goal setting, and strategic planning for the sales team.

This enhanced visibility empowers sales teams to make data-driven decisions, improve efficiency, and achieve their revenue goals more effectively.

Make the sales process efficient with Salesforce solutions

One of the most difficult challenges for SaaS companies is their rapid growth. They need tools to scale out their services. CPQ software solves the problem efficiently. Moreover, it provides possibilities to integrate with other platforms and software that support various business activities.?

CPQ quoting systems and CRM are good ways to close the revenue gap in cloud-based companies. Both solutions are available from Salesforce and can be used by SaaS businesses to enhance their success.

Read our Case Study: Virtana: Managing day-to-day Salesforce operations