In today’s competitive marketplace, businesses are constantly seeking ways to optimize their operations and enhance customer satisfaction through various technology innovations. One such innovation is Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software dedicated specifically to Professional Service – aka “Services CPQ”. In the world of SaaS specifically, this is a relatively new concept since PS teams have traditionally been viewed as a cost center vs a strategic revenue driver. But for any businesses that offer services, a Services CPQ can be an absolute gamechanger for increasing sales efficiency, project outcomes, profitability, and customer loyalty.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into what Services CPQ is and why it’s essential for unlocking new growth in today’s ultra-optimized business landscape.
Differentiating Services CPQ from “Product” CPQ
CPQ, or Configure, Price, Quote, has been a staple in the sales and manufacturing industry for quite some time. It enables companies to quickly and accurately generate quotes for complex products by configuring various components and pricing them accordingly.
Services CPQ takes this concept a step further by going beyond simple quoting tools that are often just glorified spreadsheets disguised as add-ons for a company’s CRM or financial system. The ability to create dynamic rules around various components of a service offering is one of the key differentiators here. Services are often complex, so Services CPQ tools are able to create more custom calculations that take into account the variations of service offering while still maintaining an intuitive and integrated experience.
Components like advanced back-end catalogs with business-led programming, various built-in calculators to handle things like T&M and bid margin, and tagging features throughout the configuration and proposal generation experience, all define the best Services CPQ platforms today.
8 Ways Services CPQ Unlocks Growth
Now that you know what Services CPQ is and the problem it solves, let’s look at some ways it can facilitate business growth. Although there’s more out there, here’s 8 right off the top.
- Efficiency: Services CPQ eliminates manual and error-prone processes of service quoting. By automating the configuration, pricing, and quoting tasks, it significantly reduces the time and effort required to create accurate service quotes. This efficiency allows sales and service teams to respond faster to customer requests, improving overall responsiveness.
- Customization: Every customer’s needs are unique, and Services CPQ allows for the customization of service offerings. It helps businesses tailor their services to meet specific customer requirements while ensuring that they remain financially viable. This level of personalization can lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Standardization: Services CPQ creates a single source of truth, ensuring the entire firm is using the latest approved language, consistent branding, the latest pricing, and only current offerings. Updates can be made by non-technical users and are instantly available to all users. This reduces errors and creates additional efficiencies.
- Pricing Accuracy: Pricing services can be complex, with multiple variables such as labor costs, materials, and travel expenses. Services CPQ uses predefined rules and algorithms to calculate prices, ensuring consistency and accuracy in pricing. This reduces the likelihood of over or underpricing services, which can impact profitability.
- Cross-Selling and Upselling: Services CPQ can suggest complementary services or add-ons during the configuration process, increasing the potential for cross-selling and upselling. This can significantly boost revenue and profitability for service providers.
- Analytics and Insights: Modern Services CPQ solutions often come with robust analytics and reporting features, or they provide crucial data and insights for existing BI platforms. This data-driven approach allows businesses to gain insights into their service operations, enabling them to make informed decisions, identify trends, and continuously optimize their service offerings.
- Improved Collaboration: Services CPQ software enhances collaboration between sales, service, and other departments. It provides a centralized platform where all relevant teams can access and update service configurations, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
- Competitive Advantage: Businesses that implement Services CPQ gain a competitive edge. They can respond to customer inquiries faster, offer more tailored services, and maintain pricing consistency. This enhanced customer experience can set them apart from competitors.
In conclusion, Services CPQ is an invaluable tool for services-based and SaaS-with-PS businesses alike. It elevates organizations out of the antiquated world of disconnected spreadsheets and docs that lead to broken and static processes. It empowers sellers to deliver better customer experiences and gain a competitive advantage that, quite frankly, the majority of customer-facing teams still haven’t tapped into. As the business landscape continues to evolve and hyper-optimize, Services CPQ will continue to be an essential investment for unlocking and facilitating future-proofed business growth.
Learn how WorkRails – the world’s leading Services CPQ – can help 10x your services revenue.
