It was the best of quotes, it was the worst of quotes.
We find ourselves existing in a world of two quotes, both take an organization down two very different paths. Although both tales can end in success, the trials and tribulations of the manually configured quote (let’s call it Quote A) prove difficult and there can be many twists on the way. Automated Quote (Quote B) on the other hand is a much easier tale to predict which often benefits not only the organization’s customers but their very own employees too.
The lifecycle of Quote A:
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The quote without governance and no apparent safety rails, which involves cutting and pasting rows and rows of data from other systems/files like Microsoft Word and Excel. Imagine having to then identify and rectify rows and rows of errors in this data. Imagine failing to do that and imagine having to pay the price.
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Manual quoting entails challenges, like formatting and styling of the quotes and/or proposals, and challenges with having to deal with the multiple iterations of the quote that beg due diligence. Cutting and pasting repeatedly for example, in a hard-coded cut and paste proposal is extremely difficult. You have to lineup for approvals, quote validation and technical vetting each time because of potential variation of errors from cutting and pasting; reducing your agility and time to value.
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Poor document outputs have the potential to cause damage to your organizations image and brand. The cutting and pasting generally inherits multiple, often inconsistent and outdated styles, fonts and bad logos which create poor brand alignment. The importance of professional branding and style to your customers can be pivotal, unfortunately for quote A, due to multiple cuts and pastes, multiple inputs such as different spreadsheets and legal documents it’s extremely difficult to avoid poor branding. It’s never good when a customer reads an allegedly professional quote with multiple styles, fonts, images, logos and poor cut and pasting. These are all byproducts of manually created quotes and each time they are modified the risk of errors occurring is amplified. Not only this but it takes a long time to validate and provide quality control on these manually configured quotes, these corrections are extremely time-consuming.
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The risks of organizations who quote manually is that they face constant ongoing challenges that never cease to exist. Especially when we consider the fact that the first quote is rarely accepted and thus the technical risk factors of cut and pasting continue to increase; amplifying the risks of failure at the expense of your organization’s revenue and reputation.
The lifecycle of Quote B:
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The automated quote solution. There is an initial investment of getting a system set up but ultimately you minimize your reputational and financial risk and you delight your customer because you are able to turn things around quickly; responding to their demands and needs promptly. The power of an automated quote-to-cash system is that it’s very easy to repeat, clone, and tune finely. In addition, it’s beauty is that it embeds governance to protect your bottom line and your brand, and maximizes customers’ happiness and success.
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CPQ empowers organizations to make good revenue, faster. A well-integrated CPQ system integrates with all your vendors and receives automated pricing updates, automatically without having to augment or change any spreadsheets. This CPQ includes a style guide that reinforces the way your quotes and correspondence are assembled, which further strengthens your organization’s position.
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On brand, quote B enables an organization to be more consistent with their brand, fonts, and visuals thus further reinforcing the professionalism of the organization sending the quote. Despite these details appearing minuscule, they can make a huge difference in the performance of the two quotes. They create more trust and confidence from customers as your quote is delivered quickly and easily digested by a customer.
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2020 saw technological evolutions that drove organizations across the globe to transform the way they do business both internally and externally. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, organizations that use automation outperform those who don’t. The environment and framework for all businesses has become far more automated and less reliant on manual practices, so much so that anything manual is likely to stick out like a sore thumb.
Ultimately we want to exist in the age of wisdom. To make quoting successful, you need to make sure your system is easy to use and supports your workforce at a time when we are more remote than ever. Hope is not a strategy, luck is not a factor – by enabling systems, the probability for success is higher.
