Partners want to sell more, sell quickly and sell at higher profits, which creates challenges for those who are tasked with extending a company’s sales arm into different channels. Channel partners can be selective regarding who they work with. Competition is fierce, and it’s easy for them to switch focus to work with whoever helps them find more profit faster.
Partners demand first-class access to the same resources as internal sellers, including tools that automate the opportunity-to-quote-to-order process. They want these tools on their mobile device, in real time.
Channel sales prioritize high-value relationships with the ultimate customer, so you must empower them with end-to-end sales and customer service solutions (as well as account and knowledge management tools) to make sales and keep customers loyal.
Partners also want a high-value, effortless relationship with you—one that quickly leads to profits. If you can deliver a superior and consistent experience, you will earn their loyalty.
CPQ begins to streamline the sales process when the reseller or distributor selects the best product fit. Channel sellers can then configure the total solution and generate an accurate price quote. A robust CPQ solution can automatically generate a detailed proposal with little effort needed from the channel partner. The sales data seamlessly feeds into the order and fulfillment system and ultimately into a reporting system for visibility across the organization.
Oracle CPQ helps companies of all sizes improve the entire quote-to-order process by generating accurate quotes quickly, no matter how complex or configurable the product. If needed, an approval process can also be configured for special pricing, configuration, or deal situations. Partners can generate a cobranded, professional quote document and feel confident when they present it to customers.
A strong CPQ tool, combined with a company’s partner relationship management (PRM) system, does yield results. Half of the companies who are considered best in class by Aberdeen utilized PRM solutions to complement their sales infrastructure, compared with only 22 percent of those companies Aberdeen classified as laggards.
The deployment of an effective PRM system that lets channel sales partners or customers to self-quote through automation gives best-in-class companies a strong competitive advantage. By automating this crucial part of the sales funnel and reducing friction around the approval process, you can extend your sales reach by helping sales partners close more deals, faster. Everyone wins.
Define price parameters—discount levels—to maximize margins.
Automatically bypass approval process by pre-determining quoting restrictions and triggering managerial approval parameters.
Merge contracts, highlight differences in two contract versions, and store contracts with appropriate accounts.
Easily roll out new products and services as they become available.
Allow sales teams to focus on selling, not searching for product information or tracking down approvals.
Easily create recurring revenue contracts or subscriptions that flow seamlessly across any recurring revenue cycle, including service agreements, warranties, consumables, and billable consulting.
A leading vendor of fluid-handling systems for industrial applications realized a 50 to 70 percent reduction in quote generation time and application engineering resource utilization, while achieving 100 percent quote accuracy. Leveraging the channel management component of its streamlined sales solution to encourage online orders, the company now receives more than 80 percent of channel orders through the web because its vendors’ representatives can configure, price, quote, and order mixers and parts completely online. These orders flow directly into the company’s back-office systems and onto the shop floor without manual processing.
A global network security provider replaced its homegrown quoting and configuration tool with a robust, web-based sales platform, enabling its sales teams and channel partners to generate quotes and service contract renewals, manage product configurations, and enter orders. Prior to Oracle CPQ, this company had identified 20 point solutions in its quoting, pricing, and configuration process. With Oracle CPQ, the new system consolidated all those critical tools into one integrated system. The streamlined solution enables the sales team to quote renewals, products, and services on the same quote, creating additional cross-sell and upsell opportunities.
Our customers around the world have reported significant results after implementing Oracle CPQ.
Learn more about Oracle Configure, Price, Quote.
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Configure, Price and Quote Applications Published 11 December 2023. Analysts: Mark Lewis, Dayna Radbill
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