GUIDED SELLING STEP 3 - QUOTATION GENERATION

As you saw in our latest blogs, there are different challenges in the sales process. Each step leads to new questions. That’s why a sales rep should be guided through the sales process (Guided Selling). In this blog I would like to elaborate on the third step in the sales process: quotation generation. How do you quickly generate an error-free quotation?

Quotation generation

Companies that deliver customer-specific products and services do hardly ever receive orders without having first made one or more quotations. Making quotations is generally a time-consuming and labor-intensive task that is prone to errors. A task that often can only be realized with the help of experts, particularly in the case of custom products or services. How do you make sure that fewer experts are required in the quotation process, so that a quote is created fast and error-free?

Automatic document generation

By capturing all business knowledge, this information can be used by the sales team. It is no longer necessary to involve experts each time a new quotation is made. Searching in earlier quotations is also no longer needed. Quotations are no longer based on copied parts from old spreadsheets and word-processor files. Sales reps only answer a set of questions. The answers do not only lead to the necessary information to start production, but also to the content of a quotation. Of course all information and text needs to be kept up-to-date. But this now takes place in one place for the entire company. From that time on, every sales person will have access to correct and up-to-date information and mistakes will start to be a thing of the past. And that has positive effects:

• Your quotation (cycle) time reduces
  The faster you issue a quotation, the more likely it is that you will close the deal. The faster the quotation is produced, the higher the margin you make on it. Although quotation times often cannot be calculated, they do account for a substantial portion of your costs. Reduce the hours required and the cycle time needed for making quotations! Your scoring rates will increase and you will realize considerable savings in the area of sales costs.
• Your quotations are error-free
  Fewer errors in quotations are made when fewer parties are involved in the quotation process, a uniform working method is offered and knowledge is easily accessible. That is progress compared to the past, because errors are almost always to your disadvantage:
  • Your prospect gets confused
  • You cannot deliver what you promised
  • Your pricing is incorrect:
  - A quotation that is too expensive is rarely accepted
  - A quotation with a price that has been calculated too low is accepted more frequently, but might not yield a profit.

Predefined rules

Sofon quotation software ensures that each quotation is made in accordance with predefined rules. Quotations are only issued with an appropriate, competitive price. This increases your scoring rates and your margin and reduces the costs of failure. Sofon quotation software not only supports the generation of quotations, but also the quotation process. The appropriate individuals are informed automatically if they need to contribute to or approve the quotation. If several quotation versions must be produced, the various versions are captured in a central, easily accessible location.

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