3 Common Challenges in Implementing Salesforce CPQ and Their Solutions

We all know effective implementation of business processes goes a long way in enabling companies to realize their revenue goals. One of the key processes executed by an organization is the implementation of Quote-to-Order (Q2O) cycle. Seamless execution of the Q2O cycle plays an important role in enhancing revenues and meeting the needs of clients with high efficacy.

Many firms are automating their Q2O processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs in a big way, using robust Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) tools. These tools allow businesses to fully utilize customer and marketing data to execute Q2O cycles seamlessly and reduce the length of sales cycles significantly. They also enable companies to configure products effortlessly, create appropriate pricing models and develop precise quotes quickly.

One of the most widely used CPQ systems is Salesforce CPQ. Available as part of Salesforce Revenue Cloud, this powerful solution can be easily integrated with various Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools of Salesforce and provides complete visibility into the quoting process.

Today, we’ll look at 3 commonly-faced challenges in implementing Salesforce CPQ and how they can be resolved in an effective manner.

Solutions to 3 Major Problems Commonly Encountered in Implementing Salesforce CPQ

1. Too Many Complications in Implementations

Many complain Salesforce CPQ is extremely complex and consumes a lot of time to set up, leaving sales teams frustrated. This problem arises primarily because companies don’t have a clear idea of the Q2O management solution’s capabilities and lack clarity on what they wish to achieve using the feature-rich solution.

How Can This Problem Be Overcome?

You must thoroughly plan the implementation after performing a comprehensive analysis of your business needs. It is important to resist the temptation of using all features of the CPQ solution; make sure you only go for those capabilities which your team requires.

It’s highly advisable to focus on the following aspects when you develop a plan to implement Salesforce CPQ.

• Prepare a comprehensive list of your needs and map them to relevant features of Salesforce CPQ.

• List the needs in the order of their priority; this will help you determine the order in which the capabilities of the Q2O management tool must be implemented.

• Ensure effective participation of all business teams -- remember, a Salesforce CPQ implementation impacts multiple teams such as sales, product engineering, IT and finance, and proper coordination between the teams is critical to the implementation’s success.

• Use a good project management tool to facilitate hassle-free implementation and timely monitoring of its progress.

2. Data of Low Quality Entering the System

Proper client and product data is critical to the generation of precise quotes that meet the needs of your customers. Unfortunately, most companies handle data management during the implementation in a haphazard manner, and as a result, the efficacy of the implementation takes a beating.

How Can This Problem Be Overcome?

You need to develop a solid data management plan, focusing on the key aspects listed below, to ensure only data of good quality gets into your Salesforce CPQ database.

• Make sure you thoroughly analyze the data for its completeness, accuracy, consistency and relevance before you import it into your Salesforce CPQ tool; you can utilize various applications to clean the data with high levels of efficacy to save precious time.

• Review data objects and fields meticulously to ensure all your data policies are implemented. For example, you may wish to enforce a policy where the quote numbers must include only alphanumeric characters. So, you must restrict the user from entering any other characters.

• Map data comprehensively to determine the relationship of each data object. This is very useful to get complete information about data-process interdependencies (which data drives which process).

3. Poor Stakeholder Involvement

The implementation of Salesforce CPQ has implications for the entire organization. Therefore, it’s important to see all stakeholders are involved actively and ensure high levels of transparency in the execution of the project. Unfortunately, many Salesforce CPQ implementation initiatives fail due to poor response from stakeholders.

How Can This Problem Be Overcome?

You need to focus on the following best practices to improve collaboration among various project stakeholders.

• Schedule a meeting of all stakeholders to explain the objectives of the implementation and know their concerns -- although convening a formal meeting can take time, it’s the best way to communicate why the Q2O management solution is needed and seek their views on making the project a success.

• Send weekly e-mails to all stakeholders apprising them of the progress made in implementing Salesforce CPQ. Seek their suggestions on how the implementation can be made better.

• Take active steps to involve the stakeholders. One of our clients, a well-known manufacturer of air-conditioners created a gamified app to seek suggestions from each stakeholder. When a suggestion was implemented, the person making the suggestion received 100 points that could be converted into a gift coupon. The manufacturing firm also made an organization-wide announcement appreciating the person. This went a long way in ensuring active involvement of all stakeholders.

As you can see, resolving the above-mentioned challenges helps you implement Salesforce CPQ in a highly effective way. At Solunus, we work with you to unleash the immense power of the Q2O management software to boost your revenues. Our rich experience gained implementing the Salesforce solution for a wide variety of organizations coupled with our proven ‘needs-first’ approach enables us to deliver the best ROI on the CPQ product.

Hope you liked this post. What were the challenges you encountered while implementing Salesforce CPQ and how did you overcome them? We’d love to know.

About Solunus

Solunus is a leading Salesforce consulting company, based in Dallas, TX, USA. Our proven ‘needs-first’ approach coupled with our unrivaled expertise of the Salesforce platform enables us to provide the perfect solution to help you deliver delightful services to customers and achieve rapid growth.