Unlocking Sales Excellence With Salesforce CPQ: Best Practices to Streamline Sales Processes for Australian Businesses

For businesses in Australia that are looking to improve quoting and billing processes, Salesforce CPQ is a good option to consider.

Currently, the CPQ software market is undergoing a significant surge, projected to grow from $1.65 billion to a substantial $3.8 billion by the close of 2026.

Furthermore, businesses that adopted CPQ software are enjoying a remarkable 17% increase in their lead conversion rates.^[i]

However, it’s essential to note that simply selecting any CPQ software won’t suffice. The key to unlocking these impressive benefits lies in choosing the right CPQ software for your specific needs.

This is why Australian businesses count on Salesforce CPQ to simplify their sales processes and boost conversions.

Businesses that adopt Salesforce CPQ software witness an astonishing 105% boost in their average deal size.^[ii]

This blog post will delve into the world of Salesforce CPQ, exploring the best use cases for this game-changing tool.

6 Key Use Cases of Salesforce CPQ for Australian Businesses

1. Complex Pricing Structures

If you’re a real estate development company offering various property types, each with multiple optional upgrades and features, you’ll find Salesforce CPQ for your Australian business to be a powerful tool. It efficiently manages the intricate pricing of your properties, guaranteeing that your customers receive precise quotes customised to their unique preferences. This results in increased transparency and a reduction in pricing errors, ultimately enhancing your customers’ satisfaction.

2. Bundled Product Offerings

If your company offers bundled product packages, Salesforce CPQ can be a valuable asset. Let’s say you run a software company that offers a suite of applications in bundled packages. With CPQ, your sales team can effortlessly configure and present these bundled choices to your customers. For instance, you can swiftly generate quotes for various software applications, including any applicable discounts or promotions. This streamlines the sales process and boosts cross-selling opportunities, as customers recognise the value of purchasing multiple products together.

3. Contract Renewals, Subscription & Amendments

For organisations operating on a recurring revenue model, such as SaaS companies, Salesforce CPQ for Australian businesses proves invaluable. Take the example of a SaaS provider that offers subscription-based software services. CPQ can effectively manage the entire subscription lifecycle, from initial sign-up to contract renewals and amendments. It automates the process of sending renewal notices to customers, making it easy for them to continue their subscriptions hassle-free. Additionally, any amendments or changes to the subscription can be seamlessly handled, ensuring customer satisfaction and revenue continuity.

4. Streamlining Sales Process

Salesforce CPQ’s impact on streamlining the sales process is profound. Let’s consider a manufacturing company that sells complex machinery. CPQ streamlines the entire journey, from lead to quote. Sales teams can input customer requirements, configure the product with specific features (as selected by the customer), and generate quotes swiftly and accurately. This reduces the need for manual data entry, minimises errors, and allows the sales team to focus on building relationships and closing deals. The result is faster deal closures and a notable boost in customer satisfaction.

5. Multi-Currency & Multi-Language Operations

If you’re running a global eCommerce business dealing with diverse currencies and languages, Salesforce CPQ can be your ally. It streamlines the quoting process by automatically converting prices into your customer’s preferred currency. Additionally, it offers support for multiple languages, enabling you to tailor quotes and communication to your customer’s language of choice. This ensures a seamless experience for your international customers and empowers your company to efficiently expand its global reach.

6. Integration With CRM & ERP Systems

Australian businesses can leverage Salesforce CPQ’s integration capabilities are a game-changer for organisations using Salesforce CRM and ERP systems. Consider a large enterprise with a complex sales and finance structure. By integrating Salesforce CPQ with their CRM and ERP systems, they create a unified tech ecosystem. This integration ensures that sales and financial data are synchronised across the organisation, eliminating data silos. For instance, when a sales rep generates a quote, the financial team immediately has access to this information for accurate invoicing and revenue tracking. This cohesion improves overall efficiency, reduces data discrepancies, and enhances decision-making.

How to Set Up Salesforce CPQ: Best Practices for Beginners

By following these actionable steps, you can effectively implement Salesforce CPQ for your Australian business, optimise your sales processes, and enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness in managing quotes and configurations.

Best Practices Related to Salesforce CPQ Installation

• Install for All Users: Ensure that Salesforce CPQ is accessible to all relevant users by installing it for all users. This guarantees that necessary objects are available when licenses are allocated to specific user groups.
• Sync Sandboxes: When initiating a new development project, regularly update your Sandboxes from the Production org. This step keeps your development environment aligned with the latest data and configurations.
• Authorise Calculation Service: After installation, go to configuration settings and authorise the new calculation service. This is crucial for accurate pricing and quote generation.
• Handle Installation Issues: If you encounter installation issues and the status displays “Failed,” address them promptly. Start by running Post Install Scripts, and if the problem persists, seek support from the appropriate Salesforce resource.

Best Practices Related to General Development

• Prioritize Product Data: Focus on General Development to ensure clear and accurate data in your product catalogue. Load detailed product information, including Product Codes, Product Family, Sub-Families, and Descriptions.
• Enforce Bundles and Configuration: After loading products, enforce bundles and configurations. This step ensures that products, configurations, and prices are well-defined, facilitating Guided Selling, Approvals, estimate modelling, and Renewals/Modifications concurrently.
• Leverage CPQ Functionality: Before resorting to more complex solutions like Flows, Process Builder, or Apex, maximise CPQ functionality. This includes utilising features such as Auto-mapping, Price Rules, Product Rules, and Summary Variables for increased efficiency and reduced complexity.

Best Practices Related to Product Catalog

• Create a Detailed Product Catalog: Populate the Product Catalog with comprehensive product information as early as possible. Determine the essential attributes for product definition and searchability.
• Eliminate Duplicate Products: Check for products with similar names but varying quantities or term lengths. Consider implementing discount schedules or block pricing to streamline the catalogue and enhance clarity.

Best Practices Related to Configuration, Product Setup, and Pricing

• Set Up Configuration Rules: Establish Configuration Rules and associate them with Product Rules for bundles. This ensures that bundled products are configured and priced accurately.
• Minimise Lookup Queries: Reduce the number of lookup queries related to a price rule by using formula fields that combine key attributes. This optimisation simplifies pricing queries and enhances performance.

Best Practices Related to Approvals

• Customise Email Templates: For more sophisticated approval processes, you can create separate email templates associated with specific approval rules. This allows you to display different information tailored to each approval stage.

Best Practices Related to Quote Templates

• Utilise Quote Terms: Incorporate Quote Terms when dynamic terms require conditions or summary variables. Ensure proper formatting of HTML code when pasting it into the WYSIWYG editor to avoid formatting issues.

Best Practices Related to Deployment

• Assign CPQ Permission Set Licenses: In the Production environment, provide users with CPQ permission set licenses after deployment to maintain proper access and functionality.
• Note Managed Component Limitation: Remember that you cannot add managed components to a Change Set, so plan your deployment strategy accordingly.

Best Practices Related to Process

• Understand the Process: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the CPQ process to progress effectively.
• Calculate MCV/ACV: Use workflows and twin fields to calculate Monthly Contract Value (MCV) and Annual Contract Value (ACV), synchronising them to opportunity products for accurate opportunity value tracking.
• Optimise Renewal Pricing: Utilise List Renewal Methods and price rules to create flexible renewal pricing methods.
• Leverage Virtual Bundles: Improve product selection using virtual bundles.
• Record Types for Record Locking: Implement record types for record locking purposes, especially for Subscription-based Asset Amendments (SBAA).
• Differentiate Among Product Types: Clearly distinguish between products configured as assets, subscriptions, or one-time subscriptions within your CPQ implementation.
• Unprorated Subscription: Use price rules to achieve an unprorated subscription model for flexible billing.
• Enable Multi-Currency: Ensure that the CPQ system is set up to work with multiple currencies for international operations.
• Enable Asset Upgrades: Activate Asset Upgrades in your line editor package settings to facilitate the substitution of assets within the quote line editor, particularly for processing upgrades.

The Bottom Line

Salesforce CPQ’s multifaceted capabilities yield tangible results for your business. It empowers you to gain a competitive edge, improve processes, and ultimately, elevate the relationship between your organisation and its customers.

Ready to Set Up Salesforce CPQ for Success? Leverage our Salesforce CPQ Services!

Statistical References:

^[i] Emizentech
^[ii] GetonCRM