4 ways a CPQ platform reduces sales team burnout

KBMax's Kevin Jackson shares how CPQ tools allow sales teams to focus more on high-yield activities because their administrative tasks like configuration and quoting are automated.

Author
Date published
February 14, 2020 Categories

30-second summary:

  • With 2020 showing no signs of reprieve for sellers, organizations need to reduce the burden they place on sales teams or risk losing those who serve as their most direct path to revenue.
  • By embracing next-gen tools, specifically Configure Price Quote (CPQ) Platforms, organizations can enable sales teams to focus on high-impact work by automating simple tasks like configuration, quoting and approvals.
  • CPQ tools boost sales reps’ ability to automate tedious admin work so they can serve as the face before the customer and guide them through their purchase decision with a human touch.
  • By viewing an order through a CPQ tool visually, and receiving the price and submitting the order on the spot, you greatly reduce the risk of order error.
  • By taking the configuration process to a CPQ platform, the sales rep and customer are clear on what engineering can offer them, phasing out the need for time-consuming configuration communication.
  • Visual CPQ solutions provide amazing opportunities for those conversations by offering a high-tech, visual walk-through of the product’s possibilities and pricing.

A sales leader’s main goal is to build relationships with prospects and usher them through the buyer journey. But too often, they are drowning in admin work with barely enough time to make human connections.

In fact, more than half (57%) of sellers feel their workload is beyond their capacity, resulting in major stress and extralong hours. This strain shows in the sales sector turnover rate — 28% (versus a 17.8% average overall turnover rate). And the cost of replacing each of these sales professionals is a cool $114,000.

In addition, sales reps also sell less when burnt out, creating a very attributable impact on a business’ bottom line. With 2020 showing no signs of reprieve for sellers, organizations need to reduce the burden they place on sales teams or risk losing those who serve as their most direct path to revenue.

By embracing next-gen tools, specifically Configure Price Quote (CPQ) Platforms, organizations can enable sales teams to focus on high-impact work by automating simple tasks like configuration, quoting and approvals.

How CPQ tools lessen the burden on sales professionals?

By uniting the customization, pricing and purchasing processes, CPQ tools elevate the buyer experience. But they also boost sales reps’ ability to automate tedious admin work so they can serve as the face before the customer and guide them through their purchase decision with a human touch.

CPQ tools’ capacity to remove the burden from sales teams comes down to four main abilities:

1) They free up sales professionals from admin work

Most sales reps love their jobs for the thrill of connecting with another human and providing them with a product that fulfills their needs. But sales roles often come with administrative responsibilities such as manually pricing products, updating CRM tools and keeping tabs on available inventory. A CPQ tool takes over admin responsibilities — such as pricing and purchase logistics — and helps the customer commit to a sale faster.

2) CPQ tools reduce ordering errors

When sales teams place orders for their customers, it can be hard to be sure what product they’re ordering when the catalog doesn’t offer visual elements. Some sales teams are forced to complete orders from a spreadsheet of product codes without any imagery. When there aren’t any visual elements included in the ordering process, the sales rep is at risk of ordering the wrong product for their customer, potentially throwing a wrench in the sale altogether. By viewing an order through a CPQ tool visually, and receiving the price and submitting the order on the spot, you greatly reduce the risk of order error.

3) CPQ tools negate confusion when interacting with engineering

Configuring a custom product can be a chaotic process. When dealing with customized orders, sales teams that aren’t empowered by CPQ tools spend too much of their time shuttling between the customer and the engineering team. If the customer is requesting multiple complex additions to a custom product, it’s generally the sales rep’s responsibility to serve as the messenger between the two. By taking the configuration process to a CPQ platform, the sales rep and customer are clear on what engineering can offer them, phasing out the need for time-consuming configuration communication.

4) They provide the opportunity for deeper conversations with the customer

As mentioned, the best sales reps thrive when they have the opportunity to engage the customer one-on-one and explain how their product can meet the customer’s needs. Visual CPQ solutions provide amazing opportunities for those conversations by offering a high-tech, visual walk-through of the product’s possibilities and pricing. CPQ allows the sales rep to bring the product to life before the customer’s eyes, resulting in a more efficient sales and buying process.

Sales teams can offer a business the most direct route to revenue, but it appears that many organizations aren’t adequately protecting them from burnout. Visual CPQ tools offer the opportunity to not only elevate the quality of the buyer journey for the customer, but also for sales reps to offload their side responsibilities and focus on doing what they do best — creating human connections to foster the sales process.

Kevin Jackson has over two decades of experience helping customers transform their manufacturing, product development and sales. As KBMax’s VP of US Sales, he is obsessed with customer success and solving the issues that manufacturers are experiencing today. Twenty years ago, Kevin started working in the product configuration space because he wanted a hard problem to solve. Two years ago he came to KBMax because they made it easy to solve the problem.

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