Shopping habits are changing, they are evolving, consumers, more and more informed and attentive, expect precise answers to their needs with products and services that exactly meet their needs. For this reason, in response to this new demand, the offers are increasingly complex and articulated. But how can salespeople manage to juggle dozens of combinations, possibilities and incompatibilities between the products themselves without making mistakes? The product configurator comes to their aid.
Offer configurator: how to use it?
The offer configurator, also called commercial configurator or CPQ if we want to call it by its original acronym, is nothing more than a sales management software that was created to support sales people in configuring a complex offer, thus automatically generating a quote which can then be easily transformed into a contract. Based on a series of algorithms, the CPQ software helps the salesman in the configuration of a product or service, guiding him in the choice of only the possible options, showing bundles, accessory services or related products that are certainly compatible with the chosen product. The same applicable discounts are determined by predefined rules during the software configuration phase, therefore the seller will never be able to apply discounts which would then not be approved by the sales management. If, for example, the software is integrated with the ERP systems present in the company, it is possible to check the availability of a specific product in the warehouse, as well as, in the case of integration with credit systems, it is possible to check the customer’s solvency in real time.
The ineffectiveness of the traditional method
The traditional method, which consists of consulting catalogs, brochures, price lists and reporting everything on a sheet of paper has always led to problems of efficiency and productivity. Consider, for example, errors in the transcription of a price due to outdated price lists, or errors in the choice of incompatible products, or worse still the application of a discount that is not allowed. All blocking errors for the processing of the contract, which force the salesperson to contact the potential customer again to reopen the negotiation, thus losing time and credibility.
The 5 main advantages of a commercial configurator
The advantages of choosing to digitize a sales process are numerous. We have already talked about the reduction of configuration errors, but there are many other advantages, here are some of them:
- Paper purchase cost savings:
Paperless estimates and contracts leads to significant savings on costs related to the use of paper, because companies they will be able to say goodbye to hundreds of blocks of commission copies or order forms of various kinds. - Greater efficiency:
order processing and archiving times are much faster because they can occur in real time, contract review times are canceled out because each contract is error-free and therefore can be processed immediately. - Immediately make new sellers independent:
thanks to guided sales paths and the setting of applicable rules, prices and discounts, all sellers can follow the same sales deck and configure an offer, even complex, without requiring months of training and coaching. - Improving the shopping experience:
sellers turn into real consultants capable of actively involving the customer and configuring the offer with him, guiding him in choosing the solution that best suits his needs. - Sell more:
Salespeople can finally focus on selling activities, be more effective and proactively manage deals, reducing wasted time and back-office activities. The result is an increase in the number of salespeople hitting sales targets.
Why Choose the Apparound offer configurator
Apparound is not a simple product configurator, but contains a complex technology, made easy to use thanks to an intuitive interface that allows you to speed up the sales processes, while improving the relationship with the customer. The Apparound solution supports the seller during the entire sales process, from the first meeting with the customer to the closing of the deal. The software, developed on a cloud and omnichannel architecture, available both on the web and through the mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows, allows you to:
- Show and share digital content:
product catalogs, brochures, videos, data sheets can be presented, price list and promotions always updated, even offline. - Creating the best offer together with the customer:
Being customer facing allows the customer to be involved in the configuration of an offer suited to his needs. The salesperson can compare different scenarios with him in real time and send the offer by e-mail. - Generate and sign the contract:
Starting from the offer, it is possible to generate a commercially valid and error-free contract, which can be signed directly on the seller’s device, through the graphometric signature, or through the remote signature with OTP authentication. The signed contract, with the relative attachments, is then automatically sent to the back office for processing. - Track the sales process:
Each sales action is tracked with dates and times, so salespeople have a history of their most important customers and all sales activities including follow-up marketing. In addition, Sales Managers have a global view of the sales pipeline in real time to easily make forecasts or provide collaborators with support during negotiations.
Apparound included in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for the fifth consecutive year
Gartner® is a multinational corporation that deals with strategic consulting, research and analysis in the field of information technology and the Magic Quadrant™ has always represented one of the most authoritative analyzes in the world . Over 200 Sales management software on the market are evaluated annually and Apparound joined the top 16 CPQ providers for the third year in a row alongside multinationals and big names in the sector. According to Gartner®, the main strengths of Apparound are to be linked to the native availability on any mobile device, the ability to work even in the absence of network coverage, in addition to the great advantage of allowing you to close a deal in real time by collecting the electronic signature directly on the seller’s device, through the graphometric signature, or the possibility of making the potential customer independent to close the deal even remotely through remote signature with OTP authentication.
