Beating the competition is requires fast,accurate quotes in today’s speedy sales scene. Manual quoting processes can be slow and prone to errors, leading to lost opportunities and frustrated customers. This is where quote automation steps in, transforming the sales cycle by enhancing efficiency and precision. PandaDoc offers a comprehensive solution to streamline the quote creation and approval process, empowering sales teams to close deals faster and with greater accuracy by tapping into valuable customer data, avoiding bottlenecks, and delivering increased efficiency.

What is quote automation?

Quote automation involves using software to automatically generate sales quotes based on predefined rules and data inputs. This technology integrates with product catalogs, pricing databases, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to produce detailed and accurate quotes swiftly. By automating this process, companies can respond to requests for quotes (RFQs) more quickly, reducing the time spent on manual data entry and minimizing errors.

What does quote automation eliminate?

Implementing quote automation helps to solve several challenges from the manual quoting process:

• Errors and inconsistencies: Manual data entry is susceptible to mistakes, leading to incorrect pricing or product configurations. Automation ensures that quotes are generated using up-to-date and accurate information, reducing the likelihood of errors.

• Delays in response time: Crafting quotes manually can be time-consuming, causing delays that may result in lost sales opportunities. Automated systems can generate quotes in minutes, enabling quicker responses to customer inquiries.

• Scalability issues: As businesses grow, the volume and complexity of quotes can increase. Manual processes may struggle to keep up, whereas automation can handle large volumes efficiently, supporting business scalability.

How does sales quote automation work?

Sales quote automation operates by integrating various components of the sales process into a cohesive system. First, let’s take a top-level view at what the sales quotation process typically looks like without automation (notice the number of steps):

And here’s how it could look with quote automation software

1. Data integration: The software connects with existing CRM systems, product catalogs, and pricing databases to access real-time information.

2. Rule-based configuration: Administrators set predefined rules for pricing, discounts, and product bundles, ensuring that all quotes adhere to company policies and pricing strategies.

3. Automated approvals: The system can route quotes through approval workflows automatically, ensuring that necessary authorizations are obtained without manual intervention.

4. Sales reps: can whip up custom quotes fast by picking from pre-set choices – the system does the math and applies the rules automatically.

Top benefits of quote automation

Implementing quote automation can yield several significant advantages:

1. Accelerated sales cycles: By reducing the time required to generate and approve quotes, sales teams can respond to prospects more swiftly, increasing the chances of closing deals.

2. Enhanced accuracy: Automation minimizes human errors in pricing and product configurations, leading to more reliable and professional quotes.

3. Improved compliance: New automated systems and clear rules mean all quotes follow the rules and pricing guidelines.

4. Increased scalability: Automated systems can handle a higher volume of quotes without a corresponding increase in resources, supporting business growth.

5. Better customer experience: Quick and accurate quotes enhance customer satisfaction, demonstrating responsiveness and reliability.

6. Data-driven insights: Automation tools often include analytics features, providing valuable insights into sales performance and helping identify areas for improvement.

7. Seamless integration: Many quote automation solutions integrate with existing CRM and ERP systems, creating a unified platform for sales operations.

8. Consistent branding: Automated templates ensure that all quotes maintain a consistent look and feel, reinforcing the company’s brand identity.

What is CPQ, and how does it help with automated quoting?

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote. It is a type of software that assists companies in accurately defining the price of goods across a vast and constantly changing spectrum of variables. CPQ solutions integrate with CRM platforms to streamline the sales process by enabling sales teams to configure products or services, apply pricing and discounting rules, and generate quotes quickly and accurately.

“CPQ offers an opportunity to develop strategic pricing for your business that is now super easy to implement, reducing manual errors and giving time back to your reps to focus on revenue-generating activities.”

Vasil Remeniuk, Director of Product Management at PandaDoc

With PandaDoc’s CPQ solution, you get a unified platform that integrates document automation, eSignatures, and contract management. This integration enables sales teams to handle the entire process of generating quotes and receiving payments in one system, eliminating the need to switch between various tools and maintaining data accuracy. Sales reps can efficiently generate customized quotes using PandaDoc CPQ’s features, including guided selling, dynamic pricing, and adaptable workflows, leading to faster sales cycles and improved customer satisfaction.

“CPQ has transformed our quoting process. Our quoting is not only more efficient but also much more attractive, offering an Amazon-esque experience to our customers. It has significantly streamlined our operations and enables reps to generate proposals in real time””

Mike McCormick

Director of Employee Education

Automating quotes and using CPQ tools in sales significantly boosts efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction. Using tools like PandaDoc, businesses can simplify their quote creation, minimize mistakes, and accelerate deal closures, leading to increased revenue and a stronger competitive edge.

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