CPQ Implementation? Set Clear Goals

CPQ Implementation? Set Clear Goals

In 2020, Vlocity was acquired and is now part of the software company Salesforce. Vlocity is now called Salesforce Industries and offers industry-specific cloud and mobile software solutions including CPQ. It sounds like an open door: before a CPQ implementation project can begin, it is crucial to set clear goals. To do this, outlining an ideal picture of the future, "a bigger picture," is helpful.

Clear objectives

Determining what the end goals are is part of good preparation and, for any project, one of the most important first steps to take. This is especially true when implementing Configure, Price and Quote (CPQ) software.

It seems logical: establishing what needs to be accomplished gives the work direction and structure. Yet this is where things often go wrong. Through various forms of miscommunication, a project can stagnate or even fail in the early stages: the sales manager is misunderstood by the IT colleagues in the team, or targets are simply too unclear and abstractly defined.

Big picture stuff

To avoid this, it is helpful to first think about an ideal picture of the future. A picture of the future or a so-called "dot on the horizon," as cliché as this may sound, is a good starting point for setting clear goals.

For example, before implementing CPQ software, it is good to outline an ideal scenario in terms of, say, systems flexibility, generating more revenue or the time frame in which a customer quote should go out the door.

Here, it is important to think as far away from common and existing practices as possible: this ultimately makes it much easier to convert an ideal picture into concrete, achievable goals.

Concrete examples

wrote down examples of concrete objectives relevant to the implementation of CPQ software:

• The time required to create and send a quote changes from two weeks to two hours.
• Training sales colleagues on new products will soon take three days instead of five.
• Increase profit margins on certain products or services from 31% to 35%.
• Product introductions often involve intensive classroom face-to-face meetings. That will soon be possible completely digitally.

Of course, the above examples and associated figures are not equally relevant to every organization. However, it does show how concrete and measurable intended results can be captured even without numbers.

Colin Hammer

Colin Hamer is a Software Engineer at CaseNine. He is responsible for various Salesforce projects at clients.