The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: How to automate sales and Quotation proposals

The sales quotation process begins when your client shows interest in your products or services and requests a quote. This process includes generating a pricing table, writing a quotation document, and sending the section for internal approvals.

Also, your team has to follow up with the managers and wait for acceptance before you can send a follow-up with the buyers.

However, the traditional method has downsides like being prone to manual input error, reducing staff productivity, and delaying responses to consumers. If you continue to adopt this time-consuming and inaccurate process, you might minimize your chances of winning a deal. Fortunately, modern technologies allow you to streamline this procedure to boost your prospective customers’ experiences and increase your sales.

This article provides you with five ways to automate sales and quotation proposals in your business-to-business (B2B) company.

GENERATE ERROR-PROOF ESTIMATES

Most manufacturing businesses can’t work from a standard price list because orders from their prospects vary. If you can deliver precise estimates to your clients, they’re more likely to trust your expertise and consider ordering more supplies from your brand. As a result, you can strengthen your connections with them and give you a competitive edge in your industry.

With the help of configure, price, and quote (CPQ) software, you can automatically calculate labor and material costs for specific accounts. Using CPQ for manufacturing gives you the power to reduce time-consuming tasks like configuring quotation prices. Instead of resolving errors, your sales representatives can focus on closing the sale by actively communicating with your leads.

RECIEVE TIMELY ALERTS ABOUT THE QUOTE PROCESS

As your business grows, you’ll eventually send many quotations to qualified leads weekly. Unfortunately, one challenge is monitoring the progress of each proposal to give your sales reps some time to close the deal. Without technology, your team can’t handle a large volume of responses, leading to lost sales opportunities.

To manage your sales quotes, you must organize them by filtering them depending on their status (sent, pending, contracted, or received.) Next, you must use a quotation tracking platform where your team can follow up on cancellations, approvals, and other user comments. This tool enables your sales team to receive real-time updates whenever a recipient opens, reads, signs, and engages with the proposals. After that, your reps can immediately initiate a conversation once your prospects show interest in your offers.

CREATE PRODUCT CATALOGS

Your clients expect you to showcase your offerings through catalogs to help them compare your products with other vendors. This document includes product descriptions, features, dimensions, prices, colors, availability, and customer testimonials. When you create catalogs, your sales reps can influence the purchasing decision of your prospects, increasing your market share.

To automate catalog creation, you must store all product information in a single location and share the file links with your sales teams. Next, you should use a catalog design platform that allows you to develop professional brochures using built-in and customizable templates. After this step, you can upload your catalogs on your corporate website or send copies to your qualified leads.

SCHEDULE MEETINGS

Meetings are vital for your sales team. Sales meetings allow your team to discuss quotations and proposals with your buyers. In addition, this activity ensures all your sales reps are meeting their daily goals and enables the supervisors to guide them as they monitor their productivity. As a result, they can resolve sales-related issues to prevent them from affecting your reputation with your clients.

A meeting scheduler tool can help automate the sales funnel by assessing which dates and times work best for your clients. In turn, your reps can focus on generating more leads and responding to quotation proposals, helping your business grow. Aside from that, your team will never miss any meeting schedule, which can leave a positive impression on your clients.

LEVERAGE DIGITAL SIGNATURE TECHNOLOGY

Traditionally, clients have to legally sign proposal documents manually and send back the signed documents to your company. If your business still adopts this concept in this modern age, you’ll lose the interest of your prospects. Instead of sending the file back to you, they’ll ask for quotation proposals from other brands that allow them to sign the contract digitally.

With digital signature software, you can speed up the sales proposal process by getting rid of printing, faxing, and scanning. This technology enables your prospects to sign the vital paperwork on their mobile devices, which improves their total experience. Similarly, your sales team won’t have to worry about losing confidential information during transit, enabling data privacy protection.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As a business owner, you need to keep up with your competitors by improving your business processes with technology. Consider these five ways to help you automate sales and quotation proposals in your company. Once you do so, you’ll increase your leads, receive more orders, and boost your market share.

This article was published by Platform Executive, the home of the platform economy.

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