Companies that still rely on a manual process to get from proposal creation to approval, or better stated, quote-to-cash, can find closing deals to be very slow going.
Of course, getting a sales quote approved to send-off to a prospect doesn’t necessarily mean a closed deal, but the quicker it gets there, the more likely the prospect is to buy. And the less vulnerable you are to being outsold by a competitor. And just think about the message you’re sending with each day that passes without your quote in your prospect’s hands:
“Hi, our company is unprofessional. And, by the way, we don’t care!”
In order to close deals quickly, reps first need an efficient system to quickly get sales quotes created and approved. A system that provides for collaboration, communication and visibility literally from anywhere in the world.
Reject the Waiting Game Before It Starts
Consider the following hypothetical scenario — but completely credible — at a company that hasn’t yet adopted an automated Sales Quotation Management solution:
Scott, a sales rep, has spent 10 hours carefully gathering numbers and support data to include in his manual proposal for a crucial potential client. He completes the quote and then he goes in search of Dave, his VP of Sales, to get approval.
On his way to Dave’s office, Scott runs into Fred, a friendly co-worker who asks him if he saw the game last night. They begin an excited replay of their favorite team’s big win.
Ten minutes later, Scott’s in the elevator heading upstairs. But when he gets there, he discovers Dave has just walked out the door. Disappointed, he leaves the quote on Dave’s desk, walks back to his cubicle, and waits.
Five hours later, with no word from Dave, Scott leaves for the day…!
The next day, Scott finds out that Dave won’t be back in the office until following day. So, he dives into cold-calling, missing a call from his contact at Potential Customer Inc., who wants to know when he’ll see the quote.
Eighteen hours later, Scott calls Dave, who is back in the office, but in a meeting and can’t be interrupted until lunch. Scott is then forced to call the client and say there will be further delay.
And as they say, the beat goes on…and Potential Customer, Inc. is quickly becoming, Lost Opportunity Inc…!
Such tasks are unfortunate parts of getting approvals’ for sales quotes when companies have manual processes. Instead of being out in the field engaging clients, reps like Scott are immersed in administration, wasting extremely valuable time. In a research brief, Aberdeen spells it out as such:
“…Common sense and sales management experience dictate that the longer a sales opportunity takes to result in a no-win, the more time is wasted pursuing a resolution, and not in trying to close more fruitful opportunities.”
Every sales manager wants to know how to speed up their team’s efficiency. It makes sense. So where do you start?
Adopt automation…!
iQuote™ is a Sales Quotation Management solution that is real-time integrated with the QAD’s ERP Enterprise Applications. iQuote™ utilizes the ISS Group AART™ (Advanced Approval Routing Technology), for routing of Customer sales quotes and creates QAD Sales Orders and/or Customer Price Lists upon quote acceptance by your Customer. iQuote™ offers the collaboration, communication and visibility to create sales quotes for new Prospects or existing Customers; creating a sales quote for new or existing Items, multi-line sales quotes and volume discounting, creating a new sales quote from quote history, and more.
Mark your calendars as we look forward to seeing you at MWUG for the Spring user group conference, scheduled for March 20-22 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort in Lincolnshire (suburban Chicago, IL). Join us, along with Sean Brown of Somero Enterprises on Tuesday, March 22 at 10:00 AM as he discusses Sales Quotation Management and ‘How to Improve the Sales Quote-to-Cash Process’, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and one of the critical metrics measured within any sales organization.
