As the need to present real time data to the customers from any location grows, shifting over to online quoting software from MS-Excel or MS-Word is indeed demand. A Sales quoting software provides accurate and professional business quotes; shortens your sales cycle; and increases your bottom line – we all know it’s super advantages. But with a plethora of Online Quotation Maker tools available in the market, how would you ensure that the software you are selecting is the right, the best and most effective for your business needs?
A non performing sales quotes software could leave your sales rep in a fix and your customers unsatisfied, resulting in spoiling the brand reputation for your organization. Hence, don’t rush into buying a sales quoting software that pops up on the first page of a search engine, is used by your competitor or simply because it is more popular in the market. Before selecting the quoting software, here are a few evaluation tips you should consider.
#Go for cloud based software
A desktop application can be a good option when the boundaries of your business are restricted, you want your own backups or you are tight on budget. But if you are looking for scalability, flexibility and virtual access from anywhere, then an online Business Quotation Maker software could give you the desired results. Since it is stored on a cloud based server and managed by a vendor, there are no hassles of installations, updates or maintenance either.
#An online payment feature is definitely an advantage
You may not want to waste valuable time getting the customer to sign the deal after he has given a positive nod. Cloud-based quoting software that allows you to accept online payments on the spot through an electronic signature will multiply the value of your sales quote by several times.
#Simple or complex – Sales quotes should accommodate all pricing requirements
Percentage and volume based pricing, discounts, customs and bundles, freight or markups – a business quoting tool should be able to capture every possible pricing scenario and generate customizable quotes for the customers.
Read more – What is a Sales Quotation? Tips to Create Impressive Quotations
#CRM enabled Quotation management software- It should also integrate with other business apps
Closely check the integration features of sales quoting software. Does it allow you to manipulate the data intelligently and diligently from across CRM, accounting, marketing, and other business apps? CRM Quotation Software should also fetch you the real-time price and availability of the product.
#Do not hesitate to ask for a free product demo
The best way to check if all features will live up to their promises is to ask your vendor for a free demo or a free trial. This will not only give you a hands-on glimpse of the working features of the software but also show you if you need to install any additional software or app to support the quoting tool. If a vendor is not showing interest to give you a free demo or free trial, then it may indicate that the sales quoting software may not match your expectations.
Read more – Sales Quotation Management Software
#Never miss evaluating vendor support and services
It does not matter how low maintenance the quoting software may be, you may need vendor support from time to time. Once you are satisfied with all features of the sales quoting software, ensure that the vendor provides comprehensive technical support for the configuration, updates, and security. If possible, read the latest reviews on the product as well as vendor services to get accurate feedback.
Always remember, you are investing your money as well as time in the sales quoting software. Hence, it is advisable to list down all the required features you want and the expectations that you have from the software and then match them to your needs.
Some Other Tips For Choosing The Right Online Quoting Software
#Largely Automates the Sales Process
Easy and quick; you will hear those terms repeated a lot while discussing the best CPQ software for your team. If post CPQ implementation, your salespeople still need to work much harder to produce quotes, solutions that solve the needs of your customers, and discounts that best suit the customer, then that is not an agile solution. Your team will be able to produce the sales elements that they need instantly and instinctively. That kind of utility from CPQ software will build trust among customers, which will also lead to long-term loyalty renewals.
#Easy Communication with your Team
The whole point of CPQ software is to make complex pricing quicker, easier, much intelligent, and more trackable. A good CPQ solution will include guided selling to make the process simpler and enable more systematic collaboration for all team members.
#Completely Customizable
Your solution might come with some components and capabilities right out of the box, but can you customize the CPQ to fit your team perfectly? This is something which you need to think about, especially as you scale. The last thing you need is to be forced from one CPQ solution to another, squandering all the time and effort your team put into familiarizing itself with the UI.
#Scales along with your Organization
Speaking about scaling, you should make sure that the solution that you decide upon can scale easily as your organization grows. The same reason will apply when you do not want to have to change to the latest and better CPQ solution if your organization starts to outgrow the last one.
#Analytics Included
The CPQ solution you decide on should provide regular data reports that will allow you, as well as every member of your team, to see what is working and what is not. This type of data will help with guided selling and it makes salespeople better. So make sure that all regular reports are included.
#Constantly Updated
Additionally, to have access to the support system, you will need to know that your CPQ solution is being frequently updated. Even the best technology becomes outdated in some months. The best CPQ software today might become outdated and useless tomorrow.
#No Surprise Costs
While we are on the subject of pricing models, do a little digging into the CPQ solutions you are comparing and try to pinpoint any fees that may come up along the way, like when you start to scale. You do not want to get tricked into a low-cost solution today only to pay through the nose later.
