Unlock revenue with CPQ: a better way for account executives to cross-sell and upsell

There’s extra revenue hiding in your existing accounts — you just need to figure out how to get it out.

But let’s be honest: most account executives (AEs), sales reps, and revenue operations (RevOps) leaders struggle to maximize cross-sell and upsell opportunities.

Why? Because you’re stuck with outdated tools that put pricing, customer data, and approvals on hard mode.

When you can’t tap into customer needs to spot where existing customers could benefit from additional solutions, you not only miss deals — you also miss chances to solve real problems for your clients.

CPQ for cross-selling and upselling

This is where modern configure, price, quote (CPQ) software changes the game.

CPQ for cross-selling and upselling gives you a clear path to package complementary products, price strategically, and present compelling offers.

The result? Your cross-selling and upselling strategy goes from awkward side quest to main character energy with the revenue growth to match. 

Why it’s hard to cross-sell and upsell without sales CPQ

Cross-selling and upselling should be the easiest deals to close. Your customers already know and trust you.

But without CPQ for account executives, these ready-made opportunities start to vanish.

Let’s explore what’s really happening:

Inconsistent pricing leads to missed opportunities

Without standardized pricing rules and product configurations, every deal turns into a custom project.

You create inconsistent quotes, apply random discounts, and miss revenue opportunities — or worse, totally price yourself out.

Product recommendations are guesswork

You know your accounts, but you can’t see which products would actually solve your customers’ problems when that information lives in lots of different systems like your CRM or other databases.

This affects customer satisfaction, creating a disconnect between what your customers need and what you can offer them.

Approvals fall into a black hole

Finding the perfect cross-sell opportunity means nothing if the deal sits waiting for approvals.

When legal and finance need to manually review every change to an existing contract, momentum wilts faster than a fiddle leaf, and customers start to wonder whether the add-on is worth the wait.

The cost goes way beyond missed revenue.

When your team can’t make timely, relevant recommendations, you not only lose potential deals, but hold open the door for competitors who can.

And customers who never hear about solutions that solve their problems miss out on value — and reasons to stick with your company.

How CPQ software increases revenue growth and improves retention

With the right CPQ solution for cross-selling and upselling, expanding customer accounts transforms from a challenge into an opportunity.

Here’s what changes when you bring CPQ into your sales strategy:

On-the-spot pricing and bundling

CPQ pricing automation lets you respond to customer interest immediately with consistent, transparent, and personalized pricing while you’re still on the call, rather than with a “let me circle back” that clearly means “I have no idea what this should cost.”

Email is where deals go to die, but real-time pricing turns casual interest into closed deals.

Just ask Autodesk, whose sales team saw dramatic improvements in sales effectiveness and customer response rates after replacing their email-based document workflows with PandaDoc’s CPQ sales software.

Discount guardrails that protect your bottom line

Every sales team knows the pressure to discount, but without boundaries, those discounts eat away at profitability.

CPQ lets you set clear guidelines on what you can offer, so you stay competitive without sacrificing long-term value.

Approvals that actually move deals forward

The traditional approval process — sending emails into the void and waiting hours or days for a response — takes forever.

Automated cross-selling CPQ transforms these reviews so legal and finance only get involved when absolutely necessary.

This helps to reduce the sales cycle with CPQ. For instance, Luigi’s Box had an approval process that took three to four hours a day, and had a 5% close rate improvement after switching to PandaDoc’s CPQ.

Quotes that build customer trust

When buyers receive fast, clear pricing that aligns with their specific needs, they’re not just more likely to say yes — they’re more likely to stick around.

Improve customer retention with CPQ by building credibility that extends beyond the current deal and creating a foundation for growth.

A clear path to the next level

CPQ makes it easier for you to sell and for customers to buy. By highlighting logical upgrade paths and relevant add-ons, you keep customers engaged with your product ecosystem and significantly reduce the risk of them ghosting you at renewal time.

This is how you maximize customer lifetime value with CPQ: by creating a smooth journey from initial purchase through multiple expansions.

Close bigger deals and keep customers longer

Expanding existing accounts shouldn’t feel like you’re trying to beat the final boss with starter gear.

With sales CPQ, you can redirect your energy toward understanding customer challenges and delivering solutions that hit different.

By streamlining pricing, bundling, and approvals, CPQ software eliminates the barriers that typically slow down expansions and renewals.

When you spend less time navigating internal systems and more time building actual relationships with customers, everything improves.

Your deal sizes grow, your customers stay longer, and your revenue growth becomes more predictable.

The best part? This transformation doesn’t require a complete overhaul of how you work. It simply gives you better tools to do what you already want to do: help customers solve problems while growing your business.

Ready to upgrade your everyday sales process?

See how PandaDoc CPQ makes cross-selling and upselling easier for growing teams without the complexity that slows everyone down.