Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a powerful CRM platform to manage leads and customer relationships. What it lacks, however, is the ability to manage the sales process from end to end, to send accurate, branded, professional quotes and sales proposals, and report on the buyer interaction with those quotes.
Fortunately, CPQ software for Microsoft Dynamics, enables sales teams to configure complex pricing easily and respond to buyer requests for quotes quickly, two factors that heavily impact the customer experience and the likelihood of a sale.
Benefits of CPQ for Microsoft Dynamics 365
Add to that the benefit of visibility into every quote, and you can see how CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote) software takes your CRM from standard to spectacular.
Then there’s the increase in productivity. Automating sales quotes and proposal generation frees sales reps to spend more time talking to potential customers. Less time spent on administrative tasks means more opportunities to increase revenue.
Learn more: What is CPQ?
Choosing the right CPQ for Microsoft Dynamics 365
CPQ is commonly ranked as one of the most critical technologies to support CRM. But, how do you choose the right CPQ for Microsoft Dynamics that integrates seamlessly to create a rich user experience that will elevate your sales process and maximize your sales team’s productivity?
1. Aligned with native Microsoft Dynamics user experience
In 2018, Microsoft made some nice user experience improvements to MS Dynamics 365, including enhancements to forms and dashboards, and improving the visual hierarchy. The best CPQ will sync with the native MS Dynamics user experience, making it easy for your sales reps to generate pricing, quotes, and proposals from within the platform, using a single sign-on. This single sign-on capability turns the CPQ into another feature within your CRM, so reps don’t have to leave the platform to use a separate tool, greatly increasing user adoption and ease of use.
2. Easy to use
Sales reps face many challenges when working with buyers. They must be up-to-date on products and pricing, trained in using sales software, and savvy in their communications with buyers. They must understand their company’s sales methods and policies. And, they need to be prepared to share the right content with buyers at the right time in their buying journey. All of this can be accomplished with a CPQ that incorporates guided selling using a sales playbook.
A CPQ that is easy to use and includes features such as sales playbooks and pre-configured rules for pricing and discounting will increase adoption of the software and decrease new hire onboarding time. You and your sales team will benefit from a CPQ which requires minimal training time to bring sales reps up-to-speed and helps them close deals easily.
3. Robust yet agile
A productivity-enhancing CPQ will include features that streamline the sales process, yet be agile and customizable to your organization’s needs. Look for a CPQ that allows you to customize your product catalog and configuration rules and easily change pricing and discounting. CPQ offers the time-saving benefit of branded templates, but look for a CPQ that can generate customized documents as well.
Flexible features aren’t the only benefit of CPQ. In Dynamics, salespeople can quickly view their funnel. A CPQ takes it a step further and enables your reps to view the current stage of the quotes in their pipeline and determine the most recent action taken on each quote. Visibility into the funnel stages and status of each quote allows you to identify bottlenecks and empowers agile decision-making on each deal.
4. Easy to implement and administer
A CPQ that is quick and easy to set-up and configure, and one that doesn’t require a developer to write custom code, will help you achieve a positive ROI faster. Seamless integration with MS Dynamics CRM is a must.
A CPQ streamlines the sales process and reduces administrative tasks. If you cannot update pricing, configure new discounting rules, and add new products easily, it is not the right CPQ for you. Look for a CPQ that provides ongoing support beyond initial set up so you have help should issues arise or when you need additional customization of the software. Partner with a CPQ vendor that is easy to work with and makes customer support a top priority.
5. Supports complex pricing models
For companies that need to configure complex pricing and quotes, such as those in the services, finance, manufacturing and telecommunications industries, CPQ picks up where MS Dynamics falls short. The best CPQ for your organization will support complex pricing options including subscriptions, leases, add-ons, and bundled pricing. Features tailored to configuring complex pricing enable a faster and more accurate quote-to-contract process.
6. Localization
If your organization works across borders, having a CPQ that can adapt quotes to different regions is critical. Localization can adapt quotes to the local language and seamlessly translate prices into the local currency so sales representatives and customers don’t have to worry about currency conversion misunderstandings. Localized CPQ can also adjust to take into account different rules, regulations, and legal frameworks so that regional compliance is built right into every quote and proposal.
7. Automated approval workflows
Getting timely approvals used to be a process. With CPQ, the entire process gets automated and integrates right into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This can slash approval times from days down to minutes! When automation enters the sales arena, manual approvals also become a thing of the past, which removes the likelihood of human error. CPQ, when integrated with MS Dynamics, guarantees consistency and responsiveness on every deal with pre-approved workflows.
Guess what also happens when approvals speed up? The entire sales cycle shortens, so sales representatives can rest easy knowing they’ll get deals greenlit faster.
8. Data synchronization
Imagine having Microsoft Dynamics, your finance apps, and all of your other business systems centralized. A system that pulls everything together would remove data silos, reduce manual data entry, and have all your updates in one place. CPQ makes it possible to sync up data in real-time so that a sales team’s quotes and proposals reflect the latest data, product information, pricing, and applicable discounts.
With all data timely and centralized, sales representatives avoid copy-paste errors. They no longer need to jump between platforms or juggle different spreadsheets either. CPQ not only ensures data flows seamlessly – it also unifies the customer experience. This unification ensures everyone (across teams and departments) has the same accurate, synchronized data for smoother communication and seamless customer interactions.
9. Analytics and intelligence
Visibility into the sales process, at each stage of the buyer’s journey, yields valuable data about how customers respond to quotes and proposals, what communication with buyers is most effective, what prices and discounts have the best close rate and other intelligence that can inform your sales process, policies, and pricing. Actionable data leads to better sales strategies that empower your team to be more successful.
10. Scalable for growth
As your business grows, you need CPQ software that will grow with your company. A vendor dedicated to CPQ will be able to support you as your business grows. Continual improvements and updates, taking into account customers’ needs for enhanced functionality, ensures that the CPQ software will grow with you. Choose a CPQ vendor that is committed to supporting your long-term business growth.
CPQ fulfills Microsoft’s sales vision
This quote from Alysa Taylor, Corporate VP, Azure + Industry at Microsoft, resonates with us at DealHub.io and our mission to offer a new breed of CPQ to our customers.
DealHub is purpose-built to break down the silos between marketing and sales, customer and sales rep, manager and sales team. Our CPQ for Microsoft Dynamics aligns with the platform, not only in functionality but in our vision for the value that a CPQ offers for today’s companies and their customers. The unique value that DealHub.io brings to Microsoft Dynamics users is the new approach to CPQ which focuses on ease-of-use and a better buyer experience. DealHub has evolved CPQ to a point where every Price Quote can now be sent out in a personalized DealRoom, making it easier for the buyer to have all the sales collateral they need centralized in one place.
Learn more about DealHub CPQ integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales
and how to streamline quoting and accelerate your sales process in this video:
