Interactive Quotes in Salesforce: What They are and the Benefits for Your Business

The shift finally happened in the 1980s with the introduction of early software prototypes for configure price quote (CPQ) applications, like constraint satisfaction engines—software tools used to solve problems defined by a set of constraints or conditions that need to be met. This trend gained further momentum in the 2000s, marking a transformative era for sales teams.

Around 2010, proposal generation dramatically evolved from traditional methods to digital methods. This advancement has enhanced accuracy and speed and significantly elevated customer satisfaction and expectations.

This article will discuss how CPQ tools enrich the sales quotation process with interactive sales quotes in Salesforce CRM and how your sales team can use them.

In the old-school quoting process, sales representatives manually gathered product information, pricing details, and discounts, often relying on static templates or spreadsheets. This manual approach was prone to errors, resulting in inaccurate proposals and wasted time on revisions. Collaboration between teams and customers was limited, leading to delayed response times and a disjointed customer experience.

Typical steps in a traditional sales quoting process include:

This approach was inefficient and error-prone.

As companies grow, the need to close more deals faster while providing an excellent customer experience becomes critical. Old tools like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint couldn't support business growth and scalability in a competitive environment.

Sales reps aimed to offer their customers the right products and deals, but the main challenge was making the quoting process more automated, predictable, and effective. Modern solutions like guided selling, automated pricing rules, and interactive sales proposals emerged as essential features to address these issues and streamline the sales process.

One way to streamline quote approvals and make them convenient for all parties is by making your quotes interactive.

An interactive quote is a dynamic, engaging, and often customizable digital document provided to potential customers during the sales cycle. Unlike traditional static quotes, interactive quotes leverage technology to offer a richer experience, making it easier for prospects to understand the offer, engage with it, and make informed decisions.

Interactive quotes, also known as interactive sales proposals, usually offer the following features compared to static ones:

Here are the most sought-after features of interactive sales quotes in Salesforce, usually available in CPQ software:

Modern CPQ apps allow sales reps to configure products and services accurately based on customer requirements. The system presents only compatible options, eliminating errors and inconsistencies. For instance, Sculptor CPQ for Salesforce enhances this process with intuitive drag-and-drop capabilities, enabling reps to quickly add products to a quote or configure complex product bundles.

CPQ solutions automate pricing rules, discounts, and promotions. Sales managers can define and configure these parameters, which are automatically applied to the quote. This ensures consistency across all proposals and reduces the risk of pricing errors.

This feature allows sales reps to create visually appealing and engaging proposals. Reps can navigate, filter, and add products and bundles, incorporate media and additional files, and customize the quote's layout to match corporate branding, creating a compelling sales pitch.

Most CPQ solutions integrate with third-party electronic signature platforms or offer embedded e-sign functionality, enabling customers to sign quotes digitally. This eliminates the need for physical paperwork, accelerates the approval process, and speeds up deal closure.

Sculptor CPQ facilitates seamless collaboration between sales reps and other stakeholders in the quoting process. Sales reps can generate interactive web PDF quotes that adapt in real time based on customer interactions. Both sales reps and customers can modify pricing, add or remove products, and instantly update the quote.

Please note that a few types of quotes imply similar, but different functionlities—dynamic and interactive. A dynamic sales quote provides the ability to update in real time based on changes to pricing, product quantities, or discounts. This ensures that the quote always reflects the most current information, reducing errors and streamlining the quoting process.

On the other hand, an interactive sales quote allows customers to actively interact with the quote, typically through a web-based interface, enabling them to select products, adjust quantities, and configure options or bundles according to their specific needs.

Quotes can be interactive in Salesforce, but this typically requires leveraging additional tools beyond the standard Salesforce functionality. You may need to utilize specific applications or features, such as Salesforce CPQ or third-party applications from the Salesforce AppExchange.

Interactive quotes make the sales process more efficient, accurate, and customer-friendly, and this is how:

Interactive web PDF quotes offer active engagement. Customers can customize their quotes by adding or removing products and modifying quantities, creating a more dynamic and engaging experience than passive, static PDF quotes.

These quotes provide real-time updates, enabling customers to instantly see pricing adjustments and discounts without needing manual recalculations. Static PDF quotes, however, require manual revisions for any changes.

Interactive web PDF quotes facilitate real-time communication between sales reps and customers through embedded chat or comment sections. This feature allows immediate conversations, clarifications, and negotiations, enhancing the customer experience. In Sculptor CPQ, you can set up a Chatter add-on to enable a comment section between sales rep and a customer.

Customers can personalize their quotes by selecting specific products, quantities, and options that meet their needs. Static PDF quotes typically lack this level of customization and are often standardized.

Interactive quotes simplify the acceptance process with one-click electronic approval. Customers can accept the quote directly within the interface, eliminating the need for physical paperwork and expediting deal closure.

Interactive quotes allow sales reps to track customer interactions, including visit times, duration, current activity, and browser/OS version. This valuable data provides insights into customer engagement, which static PDF quotes cannot offer.

In Sculptor CPQ, sales reps can include multiple child quotes within one parent quote, enabling customers to compare options and choose the best proposal for their needs. This functionality enhances transparency and provides a tailored approach for each customer.

You can Сreate Interactive PDF web quotes and real-time collaboration with a customer in Sculptor CPQ.

Let's look at how Sculptor CPQ for Salesforce enables customers to interact directly with sales reps on the sales quote, expediting the sales process and enhancing the customer experience.

4. In the Quote Builder, click on the Preview PDF button. Alternatively, open the quote record and take quick action to preview the PDF.
5. Enter a value in the Number field on the Quote object.
6. The quote number will display on both the web and PDF versions, following the quote name and separated by a slash (/). You can save the quote as a PDF by selecting the Save PDF option.
7. You can share the quote as a private web page using the unique link provided, enabling editing and commenting as needed.

When a sales rep finishes creating a quote, they can send it to the customer as an interactive web quote link. The customer can view this link in any browser, including mobile ones.

The interactive web quote screen has three main elements:

1. Product sidebar: Located on the left, customers can view and add products to their quotes by double-clicking on any item.

2. Quote content: In the middle, this dynamic space automatically recalculates and updates the total when the customer edits product quantities or when the sales rep applies additional discounts.

3. Embedded chat: Found on the right, this feature facilitates real-time communication between sales reps and customers. It allows users to ask and answer urgent questions about deal details and promptly accept the sales proposal using the Accept and Decline buttons.

Accurate and interactive sales proposals make it easier for sales reps and customers to collaborate on a quote and accept a sales proposal in real time, and efficient quoting processes are the keys to the company's growth and efficiency.

Configure Price Quote tools like Sculptor CPQ offer sales managers a powerful toolset to streamline proposal creation, enhance customer interaction, and accelerate the sales process.

By leveraging the features of interactive sales quotes and facilitating real-time collaboration with customers, organizations can drive revenue growth, improve customer satisfaction, and gain a competitive edge in their respective markets.