Ask These Questions To Assess Your CPQ Implementation

All CPQ systems require implementation. Because businesses come in many shapes and can have complex configuration processes, no CPQ system works perfectly out of the box. But how do you know if your implementation is successful?

Here are five critical questions to evaluate your CPQ implementation:

1. Is my CPQ solution aligned with my business?
2. Is the CPQ system the only tool that salespeople need for quoting?
3. Are employees happy with the quoting process?
4. Can a renewal quote be generated within a few clicks?
5. Is the proposal document created automatically without any manual input?

Is My CPQ Solution Aligned with My Business?

Your CPQ system should reflect your current business processes and product offerings. Signs of misalignment include:

• Products that can’t be configured the way customers want them
• Workarounds required for common scenarios
• Frequent manual overrides of pricing or rules
• Sales team avoiding the system for certain deals

Action: Review your configuration rules quarterly to ensure they match current product offerings.

Is the CPQ System the Only Tool Salespeople Need for Quoting?

If your sales team still uses spreadsheets, Word documents, or other tools alongside CPQ, your implementation may be incomplete. A complete CPQ solution should be a one-stop shop for:

• Product selection and configuration
• Pricing and discounting
• Quote document generation
• Approval workflows
• Contract creation

Action: Identify all external tools used in the quoting process and evaluate if they can be consolidated.

Are Employees Happy with the Quoting Process?

User satisfaction is a key indicator of implementation success. Unhappy users often indicate:

• System is too slow or unresponsive
• User interface is confusing or unintuitive
• Too many steps required for simple quotes
• Inadequate training or documentation

Action: Conduct regular user surveys and review feedback to identify pain points.

Can a Renewal Quote Be Generated Within a Few Clicks?

Renewals should be the easiest quotes to create since you already have customer and product information. If renewals require significant effort, you’re missing out on:

• Faster renewal processing
• Reduced administrative overhead
• Opportunity to upsell and cross-sell
• Better customer experience

Action: Map the current renewal process and identify automation opportunities.

Is the Proposal Document Created Automatically?

Manual document creation is error-prone and time-consuming. Your CPQ should automatically generate:

• Professional branded proposals
• Accurate product and pricing details
• Appropriate terms and conditions
• Executive summaries and cover letters

If your sales team is copying and pasting information into Word documents, your document generation needs improvement.

Action: Audit your document templates and automate all manual data entry.

Moving Forward

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, it’s time to revisit your CPQ implementation. The good news is that most CPQ platforms can be enhanced and optimized over time. Consider engaging a CPQ consultant to conduct a comprehensive assessment and create an optimization roadmap.