Nowadays many companies are putting different sales strategies against each other. The immense question is: Should we invest in more salespeople or self-service applications? Both are important, but what gives the best results? I have great respect for the salesforce and what they can achieve. Even so, I maintain that self-service apps are necessary and here you will find out why.

Self-service product configuration is unsurpassed in that it makes it possible to inform and attract potential customers before a purchase / sale process is initiated. Since potential customers can explore solutions on their own, B2C and B2B Configure, Price and Quote (CPQ) self-service becomes a marketing tool that supports the buyer throughout the customer journey.

Self-service CPQ provides competitive advantages is confirmed in a new report from McKinsey & Company where it is documented that 3 out of 4 buyers prefer a self-service buying process and that this share is expected to increase. Thus, it becomes more and more difficult for salespeople to get in touch with potential customers and run the sales process in the traditional way.

The manufacturer that offers the best shopping experience wins

Visual configuration goes beyond providing a rich presentation of products. It enables customers to carry out a self-service configuration process completely on their own and thereby create a genuine and authorized shopping experience.

The fact that customers during the configuration can see the product take shape towards matching their exact needs stimulates the desire to buy. The fact that you as a manufacturer, if necessary, can handle unprepared configurations requirements further strengthens your brand in that it gives the customer a powerful message about your flexibility and delivery capacity.

To constantly offer a current product configurator, it is important that your company is independent of consultants or programming. The maintenance must of course take place through intuitive self-service performed by your own staff.

A modern CPQ solution is extremely profitable

It is said that numbers never lie. Let's look at cost / benefit of hiring another salesperson compared to renting a CPQ app. A salesperson quickly costs €100 000 per year, all inclusive. A modern and complete CPQ app costs €250 per month for employed users. The price for a dealer user is €7 per month, for everyone else it is free. 3 internal and 50 dealer users thus cost €13 500 per year.

Of course, some foundation work will be required, such as arranging photographs, drawings, text, 3D animations, structuring, training, and integration. Before it becomes part of the daily routine, it constitutes a one-time cost that may count €25 000. In addition, MS Azure operations cost must be added. This cost depends on whether it can be shared with other apps, if not it costs a maximum of €250 per month. Rounded off, the first year's cost, €41 500, is less than half of a salesperson’s annual cost. Year two and after, the app rent and operation cost amounts to less than 20% of a seller's cost.

Cost reduction is not the only ROI parameter. In addition to what has been mentioned above, you can expect a sharp increase of sales force efficiency. In addition CPQ provides increased sales and profitability as well as a starting point for adding more self-service solutions with the capacity to accelerate your business.

30. may 2021
Peter Björkman