Accelerating Sales Cycles with Salesforce CPQ and CLM

Industry - Telecommunications and Cloud Communications

Tools Used - Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), Salesforce CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management), DocuSign, Salesforce CRM

Integrations - DocuSign 

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Client Requirements

The client required ongoing improvements to their existing Salesforce CPQ and CLM processes to ensure they could efficiently manage their product offerings, pricing strategies, contract management, and order-to-cash (O2C) cycles. Key requirements included:

• Streamlining the CPQ process to handle complex configurations and pricing models.
• Enhancing the CLM process to ensure smooth contract creation, negotiation, approval, and execution.
• Integrating CLM with DocuSign for seamless electronic signatures.
• Ensuring that the entire sales process, from quote generation to order fulfillment, was efficient and error-free.

Additional Details About the Process

The project involved several key activities:

• Configuration of CPQ:

o Product Setup: Configuring product catalogues, including complex product bundles, pricing models, and discount structures to support 8x8's diverse offerings.

o Pricing and Quotes: Implementing advanced pricing rules, discounting strategies, and automated quote generation to ensure accurate and competitive quotes.

o   Order Management: Streamlining the order-to-cash (O2C) cycle by automating order processing, including order validation, approvals, and fulfillment.

• Enhancement of CLM:

o   Contract Lifecycle Management: Configuring the CLM system to support the entire contract lifecycle, from contract creation and negotiation to approval and execution.

o   Integration with DocuSign: Integrating DocuSign with the CLM system to facilitate secure and efficient electronic signatures, ensuring contracts could be signed and executed quickly.

• Process Optimization:

o  Workflow Automation: Automating key workflows within the CPQ and CLM processes to reduce manual intervention and minimize errors.

o  Customization: Customizing Salesforce to meet the specific needs of 8x8’s sales processes, ensuring that the solution was aligned with their business goals.

Solution

The solution involved a comprehensive enhancement of 8x8’s existing CPQ and CLM processes within Salesforce:

• CPQ Configuration: The product catalog was meticulously configured, allowing for complex product bundles and flexible pricing models. The pricing engine was optimized to handle discounts, special offers, and volume-based pricing, ensuring accurate and timely quote generation.
• CLM Enhancement: The CLM process was re-engineered to ensure smooth contract management. Key milestones in the contract lifecycle, such as negotiation, approval, and execution, were automated, and integration with DocuSign was established to streamline the signing process.
• Automation and Integration: The O2C cycle was automated, reducing the time required for order processing. Integration with DocuSign ensured that contracts could be signed digitally, speeding up the sales process and reducing delays.

Challenges Faced

• Complex Product Configurations: 8x8’s diverse product offerings required handling of complex configurations and pricing rules. Ensuring that all product variations and pricing strategies were accurately reflected in the CPQ system was a significant challenge.
• Integration with DocuSign: Integrating DocuSign with the CLM process involved ensuring seamless data flow between the systems, which required careful planning and testing to avoid any disruptions in the contract signing process.
• User Adoption: Ensuring that the sales team fully adopted the enhanced CPQ and CLM processes was critical. This required targeted training sessions and ongoing support to address any issues that arose.

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Results

• Streamlined Sales Process: The enhancements led to a more streamlined sales process, with reduced manual intervention and fewer errors in quote generation and order processing.
• Faster Contract Execution: Integration with DocuSign significantly reduced the time required for contract signing, leading to faster deal closures and improved customer satisfaction.
• Improved Accuracy: The automation of CPQ and CLM processes ensured that quotes and contracts were generated accurately, reducing the risk of discrepancies and disputes.
• Increased Efficiency: The project resulted in increased efficiency across the sales cycle, enabling the sales team to handle more deals in less time.

Conclusion

The continuous enhancement of CPQ and CLM processes at 8x8 successfully addressed the company’s need for a more efficient and accurate sales process. By optimizing product configurations, pricing, quotes, and contracts, and integrating with DocuSign, the project delivered significant improvements in operational efficiency, accuracy, and speed. These enhancements not only supported 8x8’s growth but also positioned the company to better serve its customers with timely and precise communication solutions.

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