Delivering quotes to your prospects in a timely and professional format can be an important influencer in your sales process, even more than you may think. It can demonstrate your company’s ability to quickly deliver results, even before the sale is made, which can have significant impact when it comes to winning business over the competition. Offering premium services to prospects and customers alike is a key differentiator, especially when you combine those services with competitive pricing.

But your customers aren’t the only ones who benefit from quote automation. Automating the quoting process also means streamlining and simplifying your own workflow. The ability to generate and deliver quotes faster means you can manage more business opportunities, with less effort. Essentially, Mothernode Quotes help you increase your close ratio and win more business in less time.

Here are a few Mothernode Quote features that can help you produce and deliver powerful, profitable quotes in record time.

1. Products and Services

Products and Services is a ‘light’ inventory feature available in all Mothernode products that allows to quickly add items to new quotes. This will save you time when adding common line items to your quotes by automatically populating item names, descriptions, price, markup, and even lets you determine if it is taxable or not. You can also configure select products and services to be added in to all types of transactions, like Purchase Orders, Sales Orders as well as Quotes. Other modules will depend on your Mothernode Edition.

2. Advanced Inventory

If you want more features for your goods and services and pricing needs, Mothernode’s Advanced Inventory Module gives users the ability to add multiple items with ease. You can add related and upsell products, set multiple pricing levels for each product, keep track of stock levels, create sales bundles and more. Using Mothernode Inventory is a great way to save time when adding items you sell to quotes and other transactions.

3. Line Item Notes

Add notes to each of your line items with the option to communicate special information internally or to your customer. When reselling goods and services from vendors, you can also notate your original pricing source for your internal records.

4. Margin Watch

Mothernode helps users stay on task when it comes to pricing by giving them the tools they need to make sure markups and margins are carefully guarded, so your business can maintain the profitability you expect. This option feature let’s Sales Managers and Business Owners alike determine their baseline margin options.

5. Sub Items

Mothernode users have the ability to combine one or more line items together and roll them up into a single item and cost. This is ideal for complex pricing needs or in situations where you don’t want to reveal costs associated with particular products or services.

6. Electronic Delivery

Mothernode gives users the ability to submit quotes to their customers and prospects electronically via email and downloadable link. Mothernode automatically let’s you know via notifications each time the recipient receives and downloads their quote. This fantastic feature helps users gage their recipients’ interest and confirms their proposal was successfully transmitted and received. Electronic delivery is also available to communicate other transactions, such as Purchase Orders, Invoices and Work Orders, in applicable Mothernode Editions.

7. Electronic Signing

Simplify your approval process by giving your customers and prospects the ability to electronically sign their quotes. Mothernode gives you the option to send your prospects an electronic version of the quote they can approve on their desktop, tablet and mobile device. They even have the option to sign with their finger. All signed proposals are archived with the original quote for quick and easy reference, and all parties are notified when documents are approved.

8. Collaboration

Users can interact with their colleagues when creating quotes. Social media style collaboration lets users request pricing assistance and communicate important decisions to people on your team. Notifications communicate necessary actions and updates to everyone involved.

9. Discounting Options

Global discounts are neatly communicated to your customer at the bottom of every quote. Users can also offer discounts for each line item, when needing to provide more aggressive pricing.

10. Tax Exempt Quotes

Users who often deal with Tax Exempt situations can easily include Tax Exempt IDs into quotes, which will automatically remove any applicable tax charges from quote totals.

11. Resorting

Add line items quickly and resort them for proper presentation when they’re completed. This time-saving feature lets you complete your work quicker and worry about format at the very end.

12. Multi-Currency

Whether you have offices around the globe or have a client base around the world, Mothernode lets you assign currency settings to your customers and vendors, so payment information is clear on all your Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders and Purchase Orders.

Buying a CRM: Topics that will make CRM Vendors uncomfortable discussing and help you make the right decision in the process

Selecting the right CRM platform for your business is a critical decision, and one that most every company would agree; you won’t want to make more than once, at least not for a couple of years. Implementing a CRM into your business takes time, effort, commitment, resources and most importantly money, so at the end of the day it’s in your best interest to educate yourself when evaluating the right vendor for your long term CRM needs. Implementing the wrong CRM will bring unnecessary expense, create new challenges for your team and a host of new bad habits. There are hundreds of types of CRMs on the market today, the question is; which one is right for you?

You’re really the only person that can answer that question, but there are some useful criteria that you should consider to help you decide on a CRM vendor that will increase your ROI and provide you with a lasting solution that can grow your business and equally important grow with your business.

Once you narrow down your selection of CRM vendors who immediately meet your most pressing needs, these are 5 useful discussion points you should engage in that will help you shape your final decision.

Scalability

Right now you’re most likely shopping for your immediate needs, but what about your growth? Adding users licenses, extending solution requirements, or integrating with third-party applications are essential considerations that shouldn’t be overlooked, regardless of your CRM solution. Understanding the full breadth of your CRM’s capabilities, and the costs associated with your growing pains should be a fundamental criteria in your buying process, because regardless of the solution you choose, you should expect one time costs and efforts associated with setup and implementation. These are costs you don’t want to have to repeat because you’ve quickly outgrown your CRM and need to get into a new one sooner than later. When determining your growth needs it’s a good idea to segment your priorities from the must haves and nice to haves. If the CRM vendor cannot provide a complete solution ask for their suggestions for the vendor(s) who they recommend as compatible integration points with their software. Although there may not be an immediate need for third-party integration you should still consider including the price of the solution in your overall costs if you anticipate the need to include those capabilities at a later point, to make sure you are comparing apples to apples when pricing out your CRM options.

• How far can your CRM vendor take your business without adding additional costs?
• How flexible is your CRM vendor when it comes to application integration or APIs?
• What kind of customization is required for your specific needs?
• What are the additional costs associated with your growth expectation (i.e. adding users, etc.)
• Are there pricing breaks or discounts for volume licensing?

Total Cost

Are you sure you know how much this is going to cost you? Sounds easy, but there are enough CRM vendors out there who have muddied the waters when it comes to pricing. Beware of complicated pricing models, they’re complicated for a reason. You need to understand what all of your costs are upfront. Your monthly subscription rates are obvious, but what are the costs for services like implementation, training, support, integration, customization and so on. In many cases to win your business implementation services are often reduced or downplayed by CRM vendors that require total subscriptions paid in advance. Once they have your subscription dollars paid in full (number of users X monthly subscription X 12) they could care less what your experience is with their product and will be ready to swipe your credit card when you need any of the other aforementioned services. They know there is a 50/50 chance you’ll renew for another term, and for most vendors like Salesforce.com and Sugar CRM, that’s a good enough statistic form them, especially when there isn’t any effort required on their part to keep you as a customer if you depend on their product daily. Know what those costs are upfront and always be prepared to pay them, even if all may not apply.

If a vendor is eliminating implementation services from their pricing proposal to you, their not doing it to save you money, they’re doing it to win your business in a bid situation. Requiring these services after you begin using their software could increase your implementation costs significantly. 

Understanding all the costs will give you a better perspective when comparing vendors. Be sure to get an itemized list of all costs and potential costs.

Considerations

• When it comes to implementation services statistics will validate that companies who engage their CRM vendors for these services have a higher success rate in adoption and overall ROI with the CRM subscription. If you’re committing to term agreements and/or prepaying for a 12-month period, then start right, implement based on your vendor’s recommendation – they know something you don’t; their product and their customers’ experiences with and without implementation services. Customers who opt to follow implementation plans have a higher ROI on their CRM than those who attempt to do it themselves.
• Ask about pricing increases. All too often CRM vendors tend to increase their subscription plans with existing customers that force them to pony up or shop elsewhere. Salesforce.com is notorious for drastically increasing their subscription prices after year 1, especially on low cost incentive plans that were solely introduced to lure their customer in. Shopping for a new CRM one year after you purchased and implemented your existing CRM is a process nobody wants to engage in and something that could have been avoided had the buyer familiarized himself with the long term cost. If you want to maintain your pricing get it in writing. If the vendor won’t do that for you, then you know the answer.
• Make sure you are pricing apples to apples. Comparing services for services will give you the most accurate and honest pricing. If a service appears on one vendor’s estimate (and was and justly explained) ask your other vendors why they don’t include a similar line item in their pricing, and what the cost would be for the same service if not included. Remember, once you sign a 12-month agreement or pay for 12-months in advance, you’re stuck. So get familiar (and comfortable) with all the potential costs, even if you never use them.

If you’re looking at budget software then expect budget results.

Make sure that every CRM vendor can provide you with pricing and information for the following services and costs:

• Total cost of user subscriptions and if they’re required upfront or can they be paid monthly?
• Standard Implementation services, including costs, requirements and duration.
• Training services. What kind of training options are available and what are their costs?
• Customer Support. What kind of support plans do they offer and what are the benefits?
• Customization services. What can you do and what you will need the vendor to do?
• Third-party integration. What’s available now and what are typical costs associated with integrating to third-party applications?
• What are some of their pricing differentiators compared to the other vendors you are considering?

Support and Customer Service

What happens after the sale? Moving forward you’ll have questions about the features and functions as well as practical questions that help you understand how the CRM can be used in real-life scenarios, above and beyond your standard tech support services. Who’s going to be answering those questions? How qualified is the support team above and beyond tech related questions? Will you have a dedicated account manager who can assist you or are you calling and 800 tech support number each time and have to explain your problem from scratch when asking for an update? What kind of experience can you expect after the sale? The kind of customer services and support offered for your CRM will play an integral part in your adoption process and overall success, so know what’s available.

Get an understanding of your vendor’s support process upfront.

• Are there different support plans? If so what are the benefits and cost for each? What does basic support cover?
• What are their hours of operations for customer service? Will timezones be a contributing factor to your response time?
• Who will be supporting you? Is it a dedicated account manager or will each of your cases be assigned to general tech support?
• What are the response times? Every issue is different and may have unique resolutions, but what are the general response times from opening a new support case to resolving the issue?

References

Before you’re ready to buy you should always ask for references from existing customers to help you understand someone else’s overall experience with the vendor, from the buying process through implementation and after sales service. While it’s ideal to compare yourself to an customers with exact needs, within the same industry as you, it’s not always relevant, necessary or possible. What does matter is comparing yourself to existing customers that have similar requirements or challenges. That can include number of users, offices, and usability needs. Though implementation and setup are a one time service, existing customers with integration needs will provide tremendous insight as to whether or not the vendor was capable of meeting their customization requirements and doing it on budget. You can always research customer experiences online, but nothing is more insightful than calling existing customers with a list of questions you’ve prepared in advance.

Here are some questions you can ask your vendor’s references.

• What was your previous process or solution, prior to selecting the CRM vendor?
• Who else did you evaluate and why did you choose this vendor over the others?
• How long have they been a customer? In terms of annual agreements have they renewed before and/or do they intend to renew?
• What was the implementation experience like? How long did it take? How much effort did they have to commit to? Were there any additional costs incurred?
• Were there ever any price increases? if so, were they expected?
• Was the product easy to adopt? How much time did it take for users to become comfortable with using it? Was it difficult to learn?
• Did the implementation stay on budget?
• Are there any corners that you cut to save money that you regret?
• Has the vendor continued to provide you with quality service after the sale that your expect?
• Did you have to integrate with any third-party applications?
• What kind of customization did you elect to do, if any?
• In what ways do you use the vendor’s product?

Price (Get ALL the numbers)

When searching for the solution that is right for your business, try not to shop on price alone. Sure there needs to be a threshold for your CRM costs, but before you worry about price, focus on solving the problems your organization is suffering from. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for and when it comes to economy products, CRM is no exception. Buying a CRM is much like buying a car in the respect that it has a term life cycle. If you need a minivan for your household of 7 and buy a Mini Coop to cut corners you’re making a costly mistake that you will continue to pay for in both hard and soft costs for quite a while. It’s important that you understand your full range of needs (immediate and long-term), but be sure to first find a CRM solution that will solve the immediate problems and challenges your business is facing, with the ability to address long term requirements. If you cannot solve the most essential problems with a new CRM, then you’re paying money to create new problems, like in the Mini Coop example. Set honest expectations; it’s rare that you’ll find an affordable all in one CRM that will accomplish everything you want, but make sure it does the basics and does them well. Remember, you’re trying to improve your business processes, not trade existing dysfunctional workflows and problems for new obstacles and challenges of equivalent or greater proportion. If you’re looking at budget software (low cost CRMs) then expect budget results and it won’t be long before you’re back on the market again for a richer product.

When it comes to price, make it a consideration, not a distraction. Bottom line, be an educated buyer.

When looking at CRM buying decisions, I compare CRM buyers to home buyers, specifically first time buyers and previous home owners. Previous home owners (in this case CRM owners) make decisions based on their previous experience (in most cases with a previous organization). Veteran CRM users know what they need and cut to the chase with a short list of top requirements. First time CRM buyers are like first time home owners wishing for a fully loaded house; pool, media room, spa, etc. and a bunch of features they’ll rarely use.

Here’s the problem, in most cases, and as I see it from our own experience. When a good leadership team is involved in planning to implement technology like CRM or ERP, their first priority usually is based on what the ‘company needs’ in order to a) make them more efficient in their current processes, b) deliver additional value in areas they have minimal or no capabilities, and c) become an investment for the business that either helps increase revenue, provides a savings or does both. Of course there are other areas of consideration, but we’ll keep it basic.

The 4000 questions in the RFP process usually begins when you appoint the wrong person to lead the project, specifically someone who isn’t part of the leadership team and doesn’t have a holistic perspective of the company’s operations, workflow and ultimate requirements. Usually you end up with ‘Mikey’ (the person in the office who will eat anything) assigned to the project. Rather than identifying in detail what the company’s needs are, he walks around the office asking the users what ‘their ‘ needs are, just as if he was taking lunch orders. When you ask people what their opinion is on a company related matter, they often feel obligated to participate they’re going to provide information based on their personal experience and individual requirements, and disregard the overall company needs. Relevant or not, you’ll get an answer and your list. Not to mention that a lot of that list was created beginning with the words, “It would be nice if it…” rather than, “It absolutely must…”

While a CRM solution is designed to streamline workflow and ultimately make the jobs of the employees easier, the solution is really for the business. Between personnel needs and the company’s needs, the company is the only constant in the equation. Something leadership teams should remember when creating their RFPs.

Successful businesses often find themselves adapting for growth, having to evolve and adapt to their latest challenges that come with meeting client demands, while keeping up with competitors and the latest innovations within their market space. Most companies discover this means changing their technology infrastructure and upgrading the processes in which they handle workflow to make tasks simpler and address both client and market needs. To be effective and efficient in your service delivery model this means consolidating as many chapters of your workflow into as few application solutions as you can and hopefully just one application.

In short, these are your options:

1. Find a technology that can manage your business from end to end, meaning from sales to delivery (and in some cases after-the-sale support).

and/or

2. Find a technology that has the ability to integrate or connect with other services or applications you may need to include in your workflow.

Both methods are acceptable and can deliver the positive benefits equated with smooth(er) workflow. However, if you choose option one it should be able to incorporate option two. Whatever solution you determine a best fit, it has to be a model that can account for scalability and growth. You will need to consider productivity, processes, product expansion, staff and even geography at the very least. Imagine your best case scenario as a business and then plan accordingly.

When it comes to business processes most people only address matters when problems arise and need absolute attention. Often takes a ‘serious’ issue for them to take action, but until then they just cope. Complications that develop in operations are a direct result of neglect in the workflow and the result is an inefficient and poor service delivery model that usually begins at the department level or employee roles. People make operational decisions based on their experience and capabilities. The less technically inclined they are the more defective their workflow may be.

Let’s compare a dysfunctional workflow in a company to diabetes in the human body. There are millions of people who are pre-diabetic and a good many of them are due to neglecting their own health, specifically diet and exercise. As a result, a person’s body suffers from a variety of problems like high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, and enlarged organs just to name a few. Overtime if the health of the person continues to be ignored, these collective issues create more problems and can ultimately be fatal.

Inefficiency, lack of processes, dysfunctional workflow, however you wish to define it is diabetes for business. As with the body, both are caused by simple neglect and bad habits. Process problems that go on unattended create more issues throughout the company as time passes and can ultimately determine the fate of the company if not properly tended to. Depending on the business, ‘fate’ doesn’t necessarily mean death, depending on the industry it could simply mean the company finds itself struggling in areas that restrict growth.

Like the human body, resources would work harder than they should to achieve the same results, in the case of business; fulfilling an order. The process from taking a lead to an invoice can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Never underestimate that each will have an ultimate impact on your service delivery capabilities, which affects not just revenue, but employee attitude and morale.

Learn from this; there are some people who have diabetes that actually have put a positive spin on the disease. They claim that if it were for being diabetic they wouldn’t feel as healthy as they do, because of the lifestyle changes they’ve had to make. The point is, make the change in your business workflow lifestyle for the better, by choice and early on, rather than having to be forced to do it later. The sooner you change, the sooner you will reap the benefits.

Most SMBs make this mistake from the very beginning. They enter the market with a vision, a product or service and a plan to execute. The problem begins with hiring talent in key positions with a single purpose and responsibility like sales, accounting, warehouse manager and so on. Smaller organizations (less than 50 people) often never engage a single source solution to operate or at least facilitate workflow. They focus on optimizing and perfecting their piece of the puzzle and ignore the entire ecosystem that is the workflow of the business. When technology systems are introduced long after processes and procedures have been established it makes the integration and adoption of newer improved solutions an even greater challenge, primarily because employees can’t break away from the legacy workflow they’ve implemented and refined over time.

Younger businesses should consider adopting an integrated solution, scalable enough to ultimately meet the needs of the 3-5 year business plan. Make the investment in time and resources to adopt the right CRM or ERP solution early on and spend your future days building your business and not rebuilding your operations. Be proactive and change the way you do business internally, rather than being reactive and having your challenges make the decision for you.