Why is so much energy is expended in the production, modification, and following up of key documents, such as, quotations, proposals, and agreements?
If we look at how quotations are produced we can go some way to identifying the problem and trying to rectify it.
The quotation generation scenarios I am about to describe are all ones that I have come across during my dealings with different businesses.
- At the most basic level, an email is sent to the client with pricing and other relevant data, and the client responds to the email.
- Excel or Word templates are used to create the quotation and this is sent onto the client for review and acceptance.
- Using a CRM system, information about a sales opportunity including product or service requirements, and a third party product is used to generate the quotation document to be sent to the client.
- In medium to large companies, an ERP or MRP system is used to enter the products or services the client requires, but can be very restrictive in data entry because this is not the main aim of the system.
As in my last blog 'CRM is more than contact details and transactions', we need a system that can manage products and services at the same level of functionality it handles client, prospect, contact, supplier, etc. information.
Each business must have the ability not only to enter basic information about a product or service, such as, unit price and unit cost, but also be able to bring the product to life, i.e. give it form. If we take the example of a product, we could be monitoring where it is going to be
Any system must have a product framework that can be used to fashion and modify products and services on a continual basis according to the needs of the business. The products associated to sales opportunities should carry much more than just financial information. Templates can then be used to automatically generate the relevant documents, quotes, specification, sales agreements, supplier orders, etc.
An immediate benefit is that any changes to what is being offered to the client would be made at the product level and the relevant template run again to generate the required document. Add the ability that the system should monitor and audit all changes within the opportunity, you can then go back in time and reproduce quotes.
A product framework within a system is key to you managing the process of creating documents with the minimum of fuss.
It’s much easier than looking in folders or emails to discover which is the latest quote, or what was sent two quotes back.