Few things are more important to the sales process than CPQ (configure, price, quote). Though CPQ software has been available for many years, new innovations and improvements are making it an ever-more-integrated part of many companies’ sales processes.
One of the leading CPQ solutions making a splash in the sales scene is DealHub, which combines CPQ, CLM and other sales services with tools and systems designed to maximize the agility of sales teams and streamline their work. As Gideon Thomas, CMO at DealHub explains, the company’s singular approach to CPQ has helped it stand out in an increasingly competitive market.
Maximizing CPQ Efficiency
Not surprisingly, DealHub’s sales-focused features come front and center — but it is more than “just” a CPQ. “Our CPQ makes it easy to configure price quotes, even for complex products, and that is undeniably important when offerings are becoming increasingly rich and complex. We can also support enterprise complexity,” Thomas says. “The formulas that inform our CPQ logic can all be adjusted easily by a system admin. So if you’re used to working with a CPQ solution that needs to be coded, any time your team needs updates, you’re always waiting for the next dev cycle, whereas the no-code approach allows everyone to keep working.”
“Another key way we facilitate agility,” Thomas continues, “is through our digital DealRoom, which serves as a central hub between buyers and sellers, for generating agreements, reviewing and revising contracts, e-signatures, sharing due diligence documents, and discussing all of the above. This hub provides complete visibility to sales teams and their clients so everyone can enjoy a more transparent and streamlined process.”
The DealRoom allows sales teams to make use of all of DealHub’s features with each sales experience, including CPQ, CLM and subscription management. By eliminating manual, decentralized processes, sales cycles are accelerated. “Our platform flows the way that sales professionals like to work,” says Thomas, “”ensuring everything is in one place, with minimal manual tasks.”
Seamless Integrations
Thomas is quick to recognize that DealHub is far from the only solution sales teams might be using. Indeed, sales teams use an average of 10 tools to close deals — and while DealHub can eliminate the need for some extraneous tools, it doesn’t have to replace everything.
“We live in a day when no software solution operates in a vacuum,” Thomas notes.
“Sales teams have CRMs and other tools that they are comfortable with and that help them work better. By seamlessly integrating with the platforms sales teams are already using, DealHub can help teams make even better use of their existing software. With new capabilities that extend the way people already use their existing platforms, integration is easy and effective.”
Some of DealHub’s top integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Gong, Microsoft Dynamics, DocuSign and Freshworks. Regardless of the preferred framework used by a sales team, code-free integration ensures that the addition of a CPQ provides a simple-to-use extension that allows them to work more efficiently.
Providing a Guided Selling Playbook
Another distinguishing feature of DealHub is its implementation of guided selling playbooks for sales teams. “Sales teams need guidance like any other team. They need best practices. To be the most effective, they should be able to focus on selling, not administrative tasks,” Thomas explains.
“A sales playbook essentially standardizes your company’s best practices for everything from discounting to providing service recommendations. The dynamic playbook gives sales reps a great starting point for discussion on sales discovery calls, and based on what the prospective buyers say, this information dynamically influences the rest of the nurture process, so you’re only making relevant offers.”
The playbook is generated based on configuration rules that have been set within the DealHub CPQ. The more detailed the configurations (such as accounting for different types of customers or company sizes), the easier it is to make the playbook a go-to resource for sales teams during the quoting process.
Aside from standardizing best practices, a playbook can make it easier to add relevant upsells and cross-sells during a deal, or to simply focus more time on building relationships with prospects. This allows for faster decision-making as sales reps determine what will work best for a client, as well as ensuring quick turnarounds for quotes and proposals.
Facilitating Multi-Team Collaboration
“Your sales team doesn’t work in a vacuum — they work in conjunction with operations and finance teams as well,” Thomas says. “However, when information and processes are siloed, it becomes a challenge for these teams to collaborate effectively. This is especially true of distributed teams. CPQ solutions must be set up in a way where these ‘separate’ teams can seamlessly share information as needed. When the sales team has accurate, up-to-date information that is synced with other relevant departments, they can focus on selling instead of worrying about whether they are providing good data to prospects.”
Aside from automating processes for sales teams, DealHub’s solution also makes it easier for finance teams to keep revenue growth on track with features such as approval workflows, discount governance and projected revenue reports. Making all of this accessible in a single platform ensures improved coordination between sales and finance departments, while simultaneously helping the organization maximize its revenue.
With increased accuracy and transparency, the organization can build a culture of consistency that provides a more professional and streamlined experience to prospects.
A CPQ That Delivers Real Results for Sales Teams
In a competitive business environment, your sales team’s ability to quickly and accurately generate quotes that are free of errors and tailored to the unique needs of the prospect is crucial.
Quite often, communication and capability can prove just as important of a decision-making factor for prospective clients as the quoted cost. With an effective CPQ solution, sales teams can make a powerful impression that convinces prospects.
