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The Ultimate Guide To Salesforce CPQ
The Ultimate Guide To Salesforce CPQ
SALESFORCE
CPQ
I’m a seasoned Salesforce professional with a rich experience spanning over 12 years in the dynamic
world of cloud technology. My expertise lies in crafting bespoke Salesforce solutions, with a primary
focus on Quote to Cash projects – a crucial aspect of modern business operations.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege to collaborate with some of the industry’s titans, including
renowned consulting firms such as Cognizant, IBM, Accenture, TCS, Appirio (now Wipro), and
NeuraFlash. These experiences have allowed me to hone my skills and acquire in-depth knowledge
in the Salesforce ecosystem, positioning me as a trusted advisor in this field.
In 2023, I took a bold step to channel my passion and expertise into a new venture. I founded
RevSolutions, a Salesforce consulting company committed to delivering innovative and tailored
solutions to organizations seeking to maximize the potential of Salesforce for their business growth.
My journey has been marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence, a commitment to client satisfaction,
and a passion for driving meaningful change through technology. I am driven to continue delivering
exceptional Salesforce solutions that empower organizations to thrive in today’s ever-evolving
business landscape.
One of the primary benefits of CPQ software is its ability to expedite tasks like monitoring
prices and creating product proposals. It ensures the accurate delivery of pricing information to
different customers, facilitating personalized configurations that align perfectly with their needs.
As an extension of CRM software, CPQ seamlessly integrates with business operations, catering
to a wide range of scales, from small enterprises to larger corporations. Its implementation
brings immense value by enhancing sales processes and optimizing revenue generation.
CPQ software streamlines the contract process, preventing leads from slipping away
due to slow sales quotes. With all essential data readily available and up-to-date, your
sales teams can instantly provide accurate pricing, eliminating the need for phrases like
“Let me get back to you.”
CPQ software eliminates the possibility of human error, ensuring improved accuracy in
delivering quotes. Unlike humans who may make mistakes, your business must maintain
a flawless reputation with customers. A survey by Ovum highlights that 76% of consumers
discontinue their business with a brand after just one negative customer experience. By
relying on CPQ, you can consistently provide precise and dependable quotes, fostering
trust and loyalty among your customers.
z Personalized service
CPQ software enables your business to offer personalized service tailored to individual
customers, rather than a generic approach. Instead of treating clients as part of a broad
target audience, CPQ empowers sales representatives to create customized quotes in real
time. Whether customers require adjustments to their purchases, applicable discounts,
or other specific factors, CPQ ensures a seamless process for generating updated quotes
that cater to their unique needs. Moreover, this personalized service also presents an
analytics opportunity. Studies show that over half of all customers are willing to share
valuable personal data with companies that prioritize personalized sales quotes. By
leveraging CPQ, your business can build stronger customer relationships by providing
tailored solutions based on individual preferences and requirements.
z Reduced timeframes
Configure price quote software offers the compelling advantage of optimizing time for
both you and your clients. By automating the quote process, CPQ eliminates the usual
downtime associated with contract creation, enabling sales reps to handle more leads
efficiently. Studies from the Aberdeen Group revealed that organizations utilizing CPQ software
experience a 28% reduction in sales cycle duration and a notable 49% increase in proposal
volume per representative each month.
z Maximized sales
CONFIGURE PRODUCTS
The “Configure Products” feature allows you to customize various types of products and
services based on their unique characteristics. Whether dealing with product bundles
or multidimensional quoting products, this tool enables you to configure order lines with
independent quantities and discounts, including time components. The optimization process
is further enhanced by utilizing product rules, ensuring that incompatible products are not
considered in the quotes. Additionally, these rules open up opportunities for seamless cross-
selling and upselling propositions, enriching the overall sales experience.
FIX PRICES
Salesforce CPQ offers multiple price books tailored to various business scenarios. Each
case is automatically associated with the appropriate price book, and the platform includes
advanced options to optimize pricing based on specific contexts. These options encompass
block prices, volume discounts, pre-agreed prices for specific clients, and more. By leveraging
these features, businesses can obtain precise and suitable pricing while streamlining the
entire pricing process for enhanced efficiency.
GENERATE QUOTES
With Salesforce CPQ, generating quotes becomes a seamless, automated process, producing
high-quality, customized documentation that aligns perfectly with your business needs.
Sales teams can effortlessly predefine elements to include in the document, such as terms,
conditions, and sections, utilizing the quote models and templates provided by the document
generator. Moreover, the generated documents are tailored to reflect the brand’s identity,
ensuring consistency and projecting a strong, professional image for your company. This
feature streamlines the quote creation process while maintaining a sense of uniformity and
promoting a positive brand perception.
z Set clear and measurable goals, focusing on ROI and specific needs.
z Identify essential CPQ features that align with your goals and prioritize them.
z Integrate and update information from various sources to ensure accurate quoting.
z Create a positive and gradual transition plan to prepare your staff for the change and
new software adoption.
z Continuously monitor and improve performance through feedback and goal tracking.
z Enable Email Deliverability for All Users: Ensure that email deliverability is enabled for
all users in your Salesforce org to facilitate smooth communication and interactions.
z Enable Orders: Enable the Orders feature in Salesforce to efficiently manage and track
customer orders, enhancing the overall sales process.
z Enable CRM Content: Activate CRM Content to securely store and share valuable content
with your sales teams, enabling them to access relevant materials easily.
z Check Prerequisites:
Understand your organization’s specific needs and goals for implementing CPQ.
Install the package in your Salesforce org, following the installation wizard.
Go to “CPQ Managed Packaged Settings” and enable the CPQ features that align
with your organization’s requirements.
Define your products and services using the Product and Price Book objects.
Create price books with different pricing options and associate products with
relevant price book entries.
Configure pricing rules and discount schedules based on your organization’s pricing
strategy.
Customize quote templates to reflect your company’s branding and professional look.
Include important details like your company logo, terms, and conditions.
Match product catalog information with data from various sources, such as CRM
and ERP systems.
Provide comprehensive training to sales teams and users on how to use Salesforce
CPQ effectively.
By following these steps and customizing the setup to fit your organization’s requirements,
you can successfully implement Salesforce CPQ and streamline your quoting process for
increased efficiency and better customer experiences.
BATCH QUANTITY
Batch Quantity is a feature in Salesforce CPQ that enables pricing products based on specific
quantities or bunches, such as “$10 for every 32 units.” This feature recalculates the entered
quantity by a defined divisor and uses the resulting value for the quote line’s quantity. For
example, if a product option has a batch quantity of 4 and a sales rep enters a quantity of 8, the
resulting quote line will have a quantity of 2 and a net total based on the batch pricing.
BLOCK PRICE
Block Price is another feature that enables you to set a fixed price for a product based on the
quantity, overriding the default calculation of quantity multiplied by the unit price.
CONTRACTED PRICES
Contracted Prices are pre-negotiated prices with specific customers that are automatically
applied to all quotes for that customer. These prices can be associated with the customer’s
account and used for any product in any price book, with the option to set time constraints.
CO-TERMINATED SUBSCRIPTIONS
Co-Terminated Subscriptions allow users to add subscription products to an active contract.
Salesforce CPQ automatically adjusts prices to align the subscription’s end date with the
contract’s end date. Users receive a prompt during quote creation if the account is eligible
for co-termination.
CUSTOMER PRICE
Customer Price is the final price of a product after applying any discretionary discounts. It is
calculated as the regular price minus any additional discount.
DISTRIBUTOR DISCOUNT
Distributor Discount is a discount applied to the partner price, resulting in the net price for
the product.
GUIDED SELLING
Guided Selling is a feature that prompts users with a series of questions to help them narrow
down the available product options based on their responses. This helps users quickly find the
products they need, even in large catalogs. Additionally, different prompts can be displayed
for different groups of products, allowing for a customized guided selling process based on
the quote line group.
LIST PRICE
List Price in Salesforce CPQ functions similarly to Salesforce product pricing on opportunities.
Each quote line has a list price that is derived from the price book.
MARKUP PRICE
Markup Price allows Salesforce CPQ to calculate the price by adding a markup amount to
the product cost, and the resulting value is stored as the regular price.
MERGE FIELDS
Merge Fields in Salesforce CPQ quote templates allow you to create dynamic mail-merge
documents for your quotes. These fields act as placeholders in the template content or dynamic
quote terms, enabling the generation of PDF documents using the quote template layout.
OPTION CONSTRAINTS
Option Constraints are rules applied to products listed in the Options Related List. They
control which options can or cannot be purchased together. These constraints are essential
for setting up option dependencies and exclusions, providing real-time rule processing to
offer immediate feedback to the sales rep.
PARTNER DISCOUNT
Partner Discount is applicable when selling through a channel or VAR (Value Added Reseller).
It allows offering a partner discount on the entire quote or specific product line items. The
partner discount is applied after all automatic and discretionary discounts, and the resulting
price is stored as the Partner Price.
PRICE RULES
Price Rules in Salesforce CPQ are a powerful tool for automating price calculations and updating
quote line fields within the Edit Lines screen. These rules enable automatic discounting of quote
line items based on specific product or quote attributes. You can define multiple conditions for
each price rule and specify whether one or all conditions must be met to trigger the resulting
PRODUCT
Products in Salesforce CPQ refer to individual line items that can be added to a quote. This
includes core product offerings and supplementary items like options, accessories, add-ons,
and more. Each product, component, accessory, or part that can be a quote line or an option
in a bundle needs to be added as a product record in Salesforce.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Product Features are categories or groups of product options within a bundle. Options within
the same feature may have different constraints, such as “pick one or more” or “pick 2 of 5.”
PRODUCT OPTIONS
Product Options are components of a bundle that are also products and can contribute to the
bundle’s price. These options can be associated with features, and their behavior in relation
to configuration, pricing, and constraints can be configured accordingly.
PRODUCT RULES
Product Rules in Salesforce CPQ validate the quote line items to ensure there are no invalid
product combinations at the line editor level. However, it’s crucial to be mindful of the number
of active quotes product rules to avoid impacting the performance of the Edit Lines screen
and to stay within Salesforce governor limits.
QUOTE
A record that stores all the details of the products and prices quoted for an opportunity. Similar
to opportunities having multiple product line items, quotes also consist of multiple quote line
items. An opportunity can have multiple quotes, which can be viewed from a quotes-related
list on the Opportunity page layout.
RENEWALS
A process for renewing subscription products (with a price per time period) for another term. The
renewal process automates the creation of opportunities and quotes for subscription products
that need to renew at the end of a contract. Renewals create assets for each non-renewable
quote line item on the account record based on a picklist field’s value on the product record.
It also generates subscription records for each renewable quote line item on the contract.
QUOTE TEMPLATE
A quote template is a predefined format for presenting quote data, typically in PDF format.
Similar to Salesforce email templates, it contains the design, content, and layout of generated
quote documents. Some content can be dynamic, such as the expiration date, while other
content remains static, like the company address or slogan. Merge fields can be used to define
dynamic content, similar to other parts of Salesforce.
SPECIAL PRICE
Allows users to change a product’s list price, overriding the regular price when in effect.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICING
This can be a fixed price or a percentage of the total, dynamically calculated by Salesforce
CPQ. The percentage of the total can be based on specific quote items using filters, quote
items in a group or all quote items.
TEMPLATE CONTENT
An element of the quote template where content is stored for display in varying portions of
the template. Administrators can create and modify these records using a rich text editor or
by directly modifying the underlying HTML and inline CSS.
TEMPLATE SECTION
Represents the structure of content throughout the quote template, indicating where and
how to display template content vertically on the quote document.
TOTAL PRICE
Automatically calculated as the product of unit price and quantity, with prorating as necessary
for subscription products.
USER PROFILE
Facilitates proper permissions and provisioning of Salesforce CPQ licenses to suitable users.
Not every Salesforce user needs to be a Salesforce CPQ user, but all Salesforce CPQ users
must also be Salesforce users. They require a standard Salesforce user license and a custom
profile, and you can assign Salesforce CPQ licenses to specific Salesforce users from the
managed package.
2. After logging in, you’ll most likely land on a dashboard. This dashboard offers an overview
of your quotes, opportunities, products, and related information. The CPQ user interface is
designed to guide you through the process of configuring, pricing, and generating quotes.
3. To create a new quote, you’ll navigate to the “Quotes” section and select the option to
create a new quote. You’ll then add products, configure them, adjust pricing, and review
the quote details.
4. Once you’ve configured the products and set the pricing, you can generate a quote
document. This document can often be customized to include your company’s branding,
terms and conditions, and other relevant information.
5. After generating the quote, you can save it within the CPQ system and then send it to
the customer for their review and approval.
Configuring products and pricing in Salesforce CPQ is a crucial aspect of streamlining your sales
process and delivering accurate and tailored quotes to customers. By creating and managing
products, defining price books and rules, and setting up advanced pricing strategies, businesses
can efficiently navigate through their product catalog and offer personalized pricing options.
MDQ PRODUCTS:
Utilize Multi-Dimensional Quoting (MDQ) for fixed-price subscription products. Break down
the subscription into segments, each representing a unit of time (e.g., quarter, month, year),
with independent pricing and quantities. This provides detailed control over pricing specific
time units within one subscription.
SUBSCRIPTION PRODUCTS:
Set up subscription products for services that run for a defined period, such as annual support
services. Salesforce CPQ automates the pricing, prorating, and co-terminating of subscriptions
on contracts and renewals, streamlining the subscription management process.
USAGE-BASED PRODUCTS:
If your products or services involve future consumption and pricing based on usage, set up
Usage-Based Products. This enables you to define pricing rates for different levels of usage,
scaling prices accordingly and promoting flexibility for your customers.
CREATE PRODUCTS
To create products in Salesforce CPQ, follow these steps:
2. Then, click on the “New” button to start creating a new product record.
3. Choose the appropriate record type for your product, and click “Next” to proceed.
4. Enter Product Details: Fill in the necessary details for the product
5. Save Changes: After entering the required information, click “Save” to create the new
product record.
By following these steps, you can easily create products in Salesforce CPQ and start building
your product catalog.
MANAGE PRODUCTS
Before utilizing products in Salesforce, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of the
fundamental concepts. As an admin or sales operations manager, you can create products in
Salesforce to track the items and services your company offers. Once created, these products
can be added to quotes, opportunities, and orders by your sales representatives. Before you
begin the product creation process, it’s crucial to consider some important guidelines.
PRICE BOOKS:
There are two types of price books: in salesforce CPQ the Standard Price Book and Custom
Price Books.
z Price Books: A Price Book is a curated list of products and their respective prices. The
Standard Price Book serves as the master list of all products with default standard
prices. It is automatically created by Salesforce when product records are generated.
Custom Price Books, on the other hand, allow you to offer products at different prices
for specific market segments, regions, or subsets of customers. Create separate Price
Books to address the unique pricing requirements of different customer groups, such
as domestic and international customers.
z Price Book Entries: A Price Book Entry is a specific product listed in a Price Book along
with its associated price. There are two types of Price Book Entries:
Standard Price Book Entries: These represent the default (standard) prices for
products listed in the Standard Price Book. Salesforce automatically creates a
Standard Price Book Entry for each product record. You can mark the entry as
active or inactive based on your sales strategy.
Price Books play a crucial role in Salesforce CPQ, allowing you to define different pricing
scenarios and manage product prices based on various market factors.
PRICE RULES:
Price Rules in Salesforce CPQ are a powerful automation feature that streamlines price
calculations and updates quote line fields. This functionality is particularly valuable for
businesses with products that dynamically adjust based on the presence of other items in
the quote.
With Price Rules, you can inject static values, field values, or summary variables into a quote or
quote line fields. For instance, you can create a rule to ensure that the quantity of maintenance
kits in a quote is always twice the quantity of printers in that same quote. When a customer
modifies the printer quantity and saves the quote, Salesforce CPQ triggers the relevant price
rule, automatically updating the maintenance kit quantity accordingly.
Price Rules offer flexibility in their application, allowing you to target either the configurator
or the quote line editor’s calculator. You can also specify when the price rule should be
applied, choosing from options like before calculation, after calculation, during calculation,
or any combination of these events. By leveraging Price Rules, businesses can streamline
their pricing processes and ensure accurate and dynamic adjustments to quotes based on
specific product relationships.
Our goal is to create a Product Bundle along with a New Quote. Before doing so, we must
first create a parent product that includes Features & Options. It is essential to select at least
one product from the available options and set a default quantity for these options within
the parent product.
Cloud Package (Parent Product): This is the main product that serves as the base for the bundle.
z Cloud Server
z Cloud User
z Cloud Consulting
Begin by finalizing the Parent Product, for example, the “Cloud Package Product” Once the
Parent Product is defined, ensure that the Configuration Type is set to “Always,” and the
Configuration Event is set to “Allowed.” This allows for easy customization of the “Cloud Package
Product” with various Options.
Next, create Features, which act as categories for the Options. Features provide a structured
way to organize and present the different choices available to customers.
After setting up the Features, proceed to create Options. Options represent the specific choices
that customers can select within each Feature category.
To complete the process, link each Option to its corresponding Feature and then connect the
Options to the “Cloud Package Product” as part of the product bundle.
2. Select the relevant “Price Book” (e.g., Product Bundle) from the available options.
3. Choose the Parent product you want to work with (e.g., Cloud Package Product) from
the list.
4. In the Salesforce CPQ Configuration Section, set the Configuration Type to “Allowed”
and Configuration Event to “Always,” and then click “OK” and “Save.” This designates the
selected product as a Parent Product.
2. Click on “New Product Feature” and enter the Feature Name, Min Options, Number, and
Configured SKU.
3. The Configured SKU will automatically select the parent product if you are working from
the Parent Product. Save the Feature.
TO CREATE AN OPTION:
1. Continue from the previous sections (Parent Product) and find the “Options” Section.
2. Click on “New Product Option” and enter the Number (unique identifier), Configured SKU
(select the Parent Product), Quantity, and Optional SKU (select the Products from the
Look Up for each Option you want to create).
This configuration enables you to offer customized product bundles to customers, where they
can choose from different Features and select specific Options based on their preferences
and requirements.
BLOCK PRICING:
z Block Pricing allows you to define multiple quantity ranges for a product and set
corresponding prices for each range. When a sales rep adds the product to a quote,
Salesforce CPQ automatically calculates the price based on the quantity and the
applicable range.
COST-AND-MARKUP PRICING:
z With Cost-and-Markup Pricing, sales reps can set prices based on a product’s cost plus
a specified markup amount. This method allows more precise pricing control compared
to traditional list price and discount calculations.
CONTRACTED PRICING:
z Contracted Pricing allows sales reps to use the negotiated prices from their original quote
when creating future quotes within the same contract’s account. This feature streamlines
the quoting process for recurring sales, such as renewals and amendments, maintaining
consistency in pricing across multiple transactions.
PRICING PERMISSIONS:
z Salesforce CPQ allows administrators to customize pricing permissions for users based
on their roles and responsibilities. This feature ensures that only authorized personnel
can access and modify pricing information, maintaining data integrity and security.
Salesforce CPQ comes with a default quote template that serves as a starting point for creating
customized templates. The default template includes basic sections such as quote details,
product details, pricing information, and terms and conditions. While the default template is
functional, businesses often prefer to create their own templates to align with their specific
branding and quoting requirements.
1. Access Quote Templates: Go to the Salesforce CPQ app menu and select “Quote
Templates” tab to begin creating your template.
2. Define Template Details: Provide essential information, such as the template name and
description, and choose whether to set it as the default template.
3. Customize Template Content: Tailor the template by selecting the desired fields, sections,
and layout. You can include quote headers, product details, pricing tables, custom images,
and more to suit your specific business requirements.
4. Add Dynamic Quote Terms: Utilize Salesforce CPQ’s dynamic quote terms feature to
automatically update quotes based on predefined conditions. This enables personalization
based on customer attributes, like region, industry, or pricing agreements.
5. Before finalizing the template, preview it to ensure it meets your needs. Generate sample
quotes to test the template’s functionality and appearance.
6. Activate the Template: Once satisfied with the template, activate it to make it available
for use in your quoting process.
1. To create a new quote related to an opportunity in Salesforce, you can click on “New
Quote” on the Quotes related list. If your Salesforce admin has enabled the option to
“Create Quotes Without a Related Opportunity” in Quote Settings, you can also click
“+New Quote” directly on the Quotes page.
5. All the products listed in the Opportunity will be copied over as line items in the newly
created Quote.
3. Select the desired products and click “Select” in Lightning ExperienceComplete the
fields for the line items. The sales price will default to the product’s list price recorded in
the selected price book. You may have permission to edit the sales price.
4. Save your changes, and the line items will be added to the Quote Line Items-related list.
The discount displayed will be the average discount for the line items.
2. In Salesforce Classic, use the arrows to adjust the order of the line items. In Lightning
Experience, simply drag the line items into the desired order.
3. Save your changes, and the sort order will update accordingly. The PDF quote will also
reflect the new sort order.
To access the quote line editor, navigate to a quote record and select “Edit Lines.” This editor
allows you to view and modify all the quote lines and make changes either across the entire
quote or to individual lines.
If there is a field displayed above the quote line list, you can edit it and then save or calculate
the quote to apply the changes to all quote lines. Typically, this process is used for applying
quote-wide discounts or markups, such as using the “Additional Discount (%)” or “Markup (%)”
fields.
ADD PRODUCTS
This menu can contain standard buttons or custom actions that your Salesforce CPQ
administrator created. It includes the following standard buttons by default.
The quote line editor provides several buttons to help you manage your quote:
z Add Products: This menu allows you to go to the Product Lookup page and select products
to add to your quote. It may also include custom actions created by your Salesforce CPQ
administrator.
z Add Favorites: This option takes you to the Favorites page within the Product Lookup,
where you can add previously saved or shared favorite records to your quote.
CALCULATE:
Clicking this button applies price calculations to your quote, including all relevant price rules
and product rules. It recalculates your quote’s prices after any changes you’ve made.
DELETE LINES:
If enabled by your Salesforce CPQ administrator, you can select multiple lines and use this
button to delete them all at once.
Quick Save: Save your quote line changes without leaving the quote line editor.
Reset Discounts: This option resets all user-applied discounts to their original values.
Save: Save your quote line changes and return to the quote detail page.
Cancel: Return to the quote detail page without saving any changes you’ve made in the quote
line editor.
z Open the quote line editor for the quote you want to work with.
Note: quotes with groups cannot have ungrouped quote lines. If your quote already has quote
lines, they will be automatically added to the first group you create.
z Within the group, click on “Add Products” to access the Product Selection page.
z Select the products you want to add to the group and then click “Select” to return to
the quote line editor.
z If you want to create additional groups, simply click on “Add Group” again.
z If you want to remove all groups from your quote and revert the formerly grouped line
items to standard line items, click on “Ungroup.”
z The left side of each quote group’s header contains the group’s name and description.
You can click on these fields to edit them.
z On the right side of each quote group’s header, you’ll find quote line fields that your
Salesforce admin enabled for editing at the group level. Any value you enter in these
fields will be applied to all quote lines within the group.
z To clone or delete a group, click on the dropdown arrow next to “Add Products,” and then
choose either “Clone Group” or “Delete Group” as needed.
z Choose the quote lines (products or services) to which you want to apply discounts. You
can select individual lines or multiple lines by checking the checkboxes next to each line.
If you have specific fields for discounts (like “Additional Discount (%)” or “Discount
Amount”), enter the desired discount value in the appropriate field(s) for the selected
quote lines.
z Choose the desired value type for Additional Discount from the available options in the
picklist: Percent, Currency, Unit, or Total.
z When you modify the discount method and enter a new override value, the corresponding
amount will automatically adjust based on the newly selected method. After making these
changes, you have the option to select Calculate, Quick Save or Save. This will ensure
that the discount is appropriately applied to the Customer Prices as per your adjustments.
Leverage the potential of your business by harnessing the power of data-driven insights
through the robust Analytics and Reporting features in Salesforce CPQ. This empowers you
to provide your teams with timely insights and predictive analysis that directly align with their
ongoing tasks and projects.
Through unified interfaces like the Analytics tab, mobile access, and integration with Slack,
you can engage with all your Lightning reports and dashboards, CRM Analytics assets, and
Einstein Discovery models and projections.
The Analytics tab offers a contemporary and unified encounter for efficiently managing all
your analytics content within Salesforce CPQ. This consolidated platform simplifies access to
a range of reports and dashboards, streamlining data management and facilitating insightful
analysis. The search functionality has been refined, enabling quicker and more precise
information retrieval, thereby enhancing overall efficiency. Additionally, the introduction of
Collections further enhances the organization of your data. This innovative feature empowers
you to curate specific analytics tailored for individual projects or items that hold the utmost
relevance to your business objectives.
When all your data is gathered in one place, these reports and dashboards become even
more helpful. They give your team a clear view of how well your business is doing financially.
This helps you figure out where it’s best to invest your time and money.
REPORT BUILDER:
Think of the report builder as your creative tool that lets you create and tweak reports. You
can drag and drop things to make reports and change existing ones. This is where you pick
what type of report you want, how it should look, and what information should be in it. You
can access the report builder from either the Analytics tab or the Reports tab.
To begin a new report, you can click on “Create | Report” on the Analytics tab, or “New Report”
on the Reports tab. To change an existing report, find it on either the Analytics tab or the
Reports tab, and select the “Edit” option.
FIELDS:
Fields are like the building blocks of your report. Imagine your report as a table with rows
and columns. Each row is a result, and each column is a field. For example, if you’re making
a report about employees, each row represents one employee, and each column could be
something like their first name, last name, job title, and so on.
When you’re making or editing a report, you get to pick which fields you want to show in your
report. It’s a good idea to only include the fields you really need to keep your reports running
quickly.
FILTERS:
Filters help you narrow down the data in your report. They can make your report show only the
info you want. For instance, if your report shows all the cases in your company, but you only
want to see the open cases assigned to you, you can use filters. Filters are useful for focusing
your report on specific things or making sure it runs fast.
Filters can be set up in the Report Builder. You can also add, change, or remove filters while
you’re looking at a report.
REPORT TYPES:
Report types decide what fields you can use in your report. For instance, if you’re making a
report about files and content, you’ll have fields like File ID and File Name. If it’s about accounts,
you’ll see fields like Account ID and Account Name. When you start making a report, the first
thing you do is pick a report type.
You can get all the data through reports and dashboards. Creating reports and dashboards
is easy – you can do it right from the Analytics home. You don’t need to open lots of different
tabs; you can stay in one place and create the analytics you need.
2. When you click it, you’ll see options for making a report, dashboard, or folder. For example,
if you click Dashboard, it’ll guide you through making a new dashboard.
3. Once you’re done making your report or dashboard, you can easily get back to the home
page using the navigation breadcrumb.
So, if you want to find out important stuff about your Salesforce data, just build a report or
dashboard, and you’ll get all the answers you need without any fuss.
z Custom Objects: If your metrics require more complex data relationships, consider creating
custom objects to store and manage the data.
BUILD REPORTS:
z Use the visual report builder in Salesforce to craft reports that display your selected
metrics. Include filters to focus on specific criteria like periods, product categories, or
sales teams.
z Group your data in reports to analyze metrics by categories like periods, products, or
regions. Summarize the data to see averages, totals, or percentages.
z Depending on your tracking needs, you might need to create custom report types that
allow you to access the specific data and relationships between objects that you want
to track.
z Use charts, graphs, and tables to visualize your metrics. Choose the appropriate visualization
type for each metric to make it easy to understand.
SHARE DASHBOARDS:
Salesforce CPQ allows you to share dashboards with specific users or groups. This enables
relevant team members to access and monitor the key metrics and KPIs that matter to them.
REGULAR MONITORING:
Make it a routine to regularly review your dashboards. This helps you stay updated on the
performance of your sales processes and quickly identify any trends or areas that need attention.
By using the appropriate CPQ tool, you can make the entire process simpler. This includes
configuring products, setting prices, and creating quotes.
With this tool, you can promptly address specific customer inquiries, providing a modern
customer experience that ensures customer happiness. You can also keep track of the different
options available.
CPQ enables you to make attractive offers that result in quickly and confidently finalizing a
contract.
z By using a CPQ solution, these challenges can be fixed effectively. CPQ software makes
your sales team work faster by cutting down the time needed for each step of the sales
process in a few ways:
z CPQ software lets you easily create special sales offers for your customers with just a
few clicks, like suggesting extra things they might want.
z CPQ tools tell the sales team about each deal’s progress, which makes the approval
process quicker.
With CPQ software, you can avoid errors that might pop up when making complex price
quotes for customers. It also connects to other important software your company uses, like
CRM or ERP systems. This means all the important information for setting up your products
can be brought in easily.
Another great thing about CPQ software is that it always uses the latest pricing updates. So,
whether your business manager or sales team makes changes, everyone can see them right
away on one screen.
z You can even adjust prices based on specific things. For example, you could change
prices depending on where your customer is or what kind of customer they are.
z CPQ systems also let you do something called “value-based pricing.” This means you
charge a price based on how much your customer thinks a product or service is worth.
z You can also use pricing rules to give different types of discounts to your regular customers.
Like if they buy a lot, they might get a volume discount, or if they’re a big customer overall,
they could get a special discount.
z Whether you’re running an online store, making things, working in finance, or dealing with
legal matters, Salesforce CPQ software can do a bunch of things to make your brand
look good and make customers happy.
z You can easily make groups of products that fit what a customer wants. This makes it
more likely that you’ll close the deal and make the customer happy.
Knowing which products make the most money helps your sales team focus on selling those
more. This makes sales go up and your business makes more money.
z Salesforce CPQ doesn’t just help with making price quotes. They also let you see how
well your sales are going right when they’re happening.
z You can see which products are the most popular. It uses different numbers, like how
often customers stop buying or the average value of quotes, to show how good your
sales process is.
Check if the pricing rules and discount schedules are set up correctly.
Ensure that product configurations and bundles are configured accurately.
Verify that the correct price book and currency are being used for the quote.
z Configuration Errors:
Review your product configuration rules and constraints for any mistakes.
Make sure that the quote template is correctly designed and associated with the
quote.
Check if there are any missing or incorrect merge fields in the template.
If using integrations, ensure that they are properly set up and connected to your CPQ.
Check for any errors or issues in data synchronization between CPQ and other
systems.
Confirm that users have the appropriate access rights to view and modify CPQ data.
Make sure that product options, bundles, and pricing are set up correctly.
z Customization Conflicts:
The Salesforce Trust site offers insights into upcoming releases, scheduled maintenance, and
possible disruptions. It serves as a reliable source for staying informed.
Salesforce often announces new releases and features on its official blogs and social media
channels. Follow them to receive updates in your feed.
Identify sales team challenges and set clear objectives for CPQ implementation.
Keep your focus on CPQ’s primary role of generating dynamic quotes and proposals.
Avoid adding unnecessary processes that might complicate the sales cycle.
Review and adjust the pricing model, product catalog, and pricing rules for seamless
CPQ integration.
Consider a Waterfall approach during the design phase due to CPQ’s complexities.
4. Balance Customization:
Opt for a simpler solution that aligns with your needs and is easy to set up and use.
Identify necessary data for the CPQ process and ensure it’s imported before
implementation.
Seamlessly integrate CPQ with ERP, CRM, and other systems using API connectors.
Set up a well-configured CPQ environment that enables accurate pricing and rule
application.
Collaborate with specialists to define pricing rules that align with customer behavior
and business needs.
Evaluate user feedback and conduct surveys to assess the impact of CPQ
implementation.
Identify areas for improvement and optimize CPQ utilization for long-term success.
Implementing Salesforce CPQ effectively requires careful planning, clear goals, proper
training, and ongoing assessment. If you require professional assistance in navigating this
journey, consider partnering with established experts like Revsolutions, who can provide
comprehensive solutions tailored to your needs.