CPQ (configure price quote) software is an essential tool that helps a sales team streamline their quote-to-cash process from the very start.

By using automation to accurately generate quotes, CPQ software replaces the time and energy salespeople spend manually configuring all aspects of a proposal or quote for leads or customers.


In this article, we will present you with the best practices related to CPQ software, CPQ rules, what is standard CPQ process, and how to implement them.

Key takeaways:

  • A CPQ software perfectly integrates with an enterprise CRM.
  • Best CPQ practices simplify and automate the sales process from quote creation to purchase completion.
  • Implementing the best practices in the company requires the involvement of your teams and following up regularly to ensure optimization.

What is the standard CPQ process?

Imagine you’re a salesperson tasked with selling a complex product or service to a potential customer.

With CPQ, you can quickly and accurately configure your offering to meet your customer’s needs, determine the perfect price, and create a stunning proposal that showcases your value.

Once you’ve created a quote, you can work with the customer to revise it until it’s just right and then finalize the sale with ease.

Since you’re now familiar with the CPQ process, let’s explore some of the commonly used CPQ solutions available on the market and identify which one is the best fit for your business needs.

  • Salesforce CPQ. An ideal solution for medium and large-sized companies working for Computer Software and IT Services.
  • PandaDoc CPQ. Perfect for small and mid-sized businesses working in Legal and Marketing.
  • QuoteWerks. This app is best suited for small businesses operating in IT and Computer Networking.

Want to know more about CPQ applications? Check out our article on the best CPQ software for a deep-dive.

How is CPQ different from Salesforce CRM?

Although they may seem alike at first glance, Salesforce and CPQ software (including Salesforce CPQ) fulfill different roles.

While Salesforce is a comprehensive CRM platform, CPQ is specifically designed to provide accurate and personalized quotes for complex products or services.

Combining the two can greatly benefit your business.

By streamlining the complete sales process, from generating leads to closing deals, it ultimately leads to improved efficiency and revenue.

Read more on what CPQ is here.

Best CPQ practices to leverage your business

Adoption of CPQ best practices is a game-changer. So, what is CPQ strategy, and what are CPQ rules?

From streamlining sales, to converting leads and making sure satisfied customers stay that way.

Your CPQ strategy will depend on the needs of your sales operations and KPIs, but no matter what your specifics are, these CPQ best practices will come in handy.

1. Configure products and pricing

When selecting a CPQ solution, it’s important to consider its ability to handle complex product configurations and pricing.

While many CPQ tools offer product catalog options with bundled offers, advanced software such as PandaDoc goes a step further with dynamic pricing features, allowing users to set prices based on a range of factors.

2. Align quoting and proposals

When it comes to your CPQ project, the second crucial factor is streamlining the quote and proposal creation process.

Saving time is key, so it’s important to look for CPQ solutions that come with pre-made templates and tracking options.

PandaDoc and HubSpot Quote both provide options for tracking the proposal progress all the way through to approval.

However, unlike PandaDoc, HubSpot does not offer a document editor for creating quotes, making it more time-consuming.

3. Adjust sales management and automation as needed

Remember that the sales process is ongoing, and you have the flexibility to recalibrate the implementation process as needed to enhance workflows.

Regularly update your CPQ solution to adapt to changes in your business, the market, and customer demands.

For a successful CPQ implementation, review your sales procedures on a regular basis and make any necessary adjustments to boost revenue and provide excellent customer service.

4. Utilize integrations

Last, another CPQ best practice is ensuring that the software you introduce integrates  seamlessly with your existing technology and your CRM.

PandaDoc’s functionality automatically imports data from your company’s CRM, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zapier, to generate precise quotes in a matter of minutes.

Your sales team saves time and reduces errors by eliminating the need to manually enter CPQ data, allowing you to get up and running faster.

How to implement CPQ best practices

Now that you know what the CPQ best practices are, it’s time to implement them in your sales processes.

Here are the specific steps to follow.

1. Define your project goals

Implementing CPQ software in your company is not a simple matter and will require effort from all your sales teams.

With that in mind, you need to create a clear CPQ strategy to get the most out of your CPQ solution.

  • Define sales pain points (identify bottlenecks, backlogs, and number of pricing errors on quote).
  • Know what your customer wants (research the best-selling products and create promotional offers).
  • Set goals to monitor progress (adoption rate, new leads).

2. CPQ training

Since your sales representatives will be the first users, you need to make sure that they know how to use the different options of the CPQ tool for maximum benefit.

With proper training, your sales teams will discover the power of a CPQ platform’s capabilities and gain a clear understanding of the system’s various features.

For instance, you can provide hands-on experience with Salesforce CPQ in a sandbox environment that will give your team time to become familiar with the tool.

For those seeking a user-friendly, highly-integrated CPQ solution, PandaDoc may be the ideal choice.

We offer both a simpler interface and 24/7 customer support on our platform to assist you with any potential issues or questions.

3. Track and measure progress with CPQ

The CPQ software ecosystem is sometimes complex, with a user experience that is not always simple and can delay user adoption.

First, we need to ask, what are the limitations of CPQ?

Setting some intermediate goals to ensure rapid progress and keeping track of the impact of the CPQ implementation is the best way to maintain project engagement.

You can measure the metrics by surveying the sales team about their satisfaction with various aspects of the tool.

The more you communicate and define your needs, the faster you’ll be up and running with your CPQ implementation and have your business’s best practices in place.

Launch your CPQ solution

By following these tips and best practices, incorporating your CPQ solution into your company’s daily sales routines will be a breeze.

PandaDoc CPQ empowers reps to quickly create a quote in minutes, not hours or days, with Guided Selling, which leads reps through an interactive form and uses answers to generate accurate quotes automatically.

Start your CPQ solution journey today with  PandaDoc, which will allow your team to manage the creation of quotations and commercial offers in a simple, fast, and efficient way.

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