Alon is the CMO of BIScience an Israeli digital and behavioral intelligence startup, a consultant for VCs and a mentor for Israeli Startups.
getty
For modern startups, every lead counts as they strive to meet their revenue KPIs with shrinking marketing budgets. In the face of this adversity, a new approach to sales-driven business has emerged: one that sees companies prioritize organic and process- and product-driven growth above marketing-led growth. This new approach changes how companies generate revenue and scale their operations and is powered by AI-driven solutions.
One trending tool in this area that my own team uses often is the CPQ (configure price quote). This is a type of software application that enables sales teams to produce faster, more accurate quotes for prospects by streamlining and automating administrative tasks.
But how exactly can startups offset the need for a high marketing budget using a CPQ platform? Let’s explore this question.
A New Paradigm
To facilitate the shift towards more process-driven growth and revenue, enterprises should adopt a new outlook on how they interact with customers. Rather than relying on the external influence of marketing to bring in new business, companies should strive to create the kind of magnetic experience that customers gravitate towards naturally. This kind of customer-centric approach begins with a highly optimized sales process.
Traditionally, we have used the funnel model to conceptualize sales processes from lead to cash, but the fact of the matter is that we can do better.
Yamini Rangan, CEO of HubSpot, touched on this in a recent podcast interview and even proposed an alternative model—the flywheel—which involves putting the customer at the center of activities.
“You want sustainable ways to drive growth and revenue,” Rangan said. “That’s what every organization, every sales organization, every go-to-market organization, every marketing organization, cares about one thing, which is driving sustainable growth with a great customer experience. And the reason is that, when you put the customer at the center and when you start aligning marketing, sales, customer success, operations, around the customer, a few things happen. First of all, your customers, after they sign up, if you continue to delight them, they become promoters.”
Rangan’s advocacy of the flywheel model speaks to the nature of optimization as a route to greater engagement. Optimizing client interactions builds momentum that businesses can leverage as a kind of organic marketing. This could enable them to maximize revenue potential and meet KPIs without needing additional marketing investment.
Technology like CPQs is core to this concept because it can help eliminate the issues associated with siloed functions, making it possible to create a more cohesive and magnetic sales experience for customers.
A Vision Supported By Tech
Through the automation of administrative tasks and approval-based workflows, CPQ tools can streamline sales pipelines. However, they have a role to play in customer retention as well as acquisition. This is because they give sales professionals the time and space to do what they do best—craft authentic and engaging customer experiences. When coupled with increased pipeline velocity, this improvement can create a positive feedback loop.
CX, a topic I wrote about previously, can be a driver for organic business expansion, and process optimization can elevate CX. In this regard, I believe CPQ software should be considered one of the most powerful tools available to startups.
Making A Key Transition
At the same time, driving revenue primarily through optimization is not a facile task. On the contrary, it requires that businesses carefully manage the transition to technologies like CPQs. This is where technology adoption and strategies come in.
Digital adoption platforms (DAPs) are software tools that integrate with other applications to provide overlays, walk-throughs and contextual feedback that helps employees to become proficient with new software. By expediting the onboarding process in this way, DAPs can provide support during technological transformations. For companies hoping to forgo marketing expenditure, DAPs could be a valuable difference-maker.
In my experience, successful digital transformations are always preceded by thoughtful adoption approaches. Forgoing a marketing budget necessitates that startups hit the ground running with new technologies. If they are to use tools like CPQs to meet their KPIs through optimization, then they should first embrace the principles of digital adoption.
There are many challenges that come with implementing a tool like a CPQ, and adoption platforms can’t solve them all. Most commonly, businesses fail to anticipate how steep the learning curve can be when teams are adapting to complex new software tools. Fortunately, it is possible to alleviate the pressure on staff by engaging in prior planning.
Before beginning the integration process, it would be wise to provide some essential training for staff to avoid dropping them in the deep end with the new tech. In conjunction with this, leadership can use internal networks to provide introductory learning resources to act as primers. Finally, it’s advisable to thoroughly brief staff before starting the integration process. This will help them to better understand how they should engage with the new tool and how the technology fits in with their day-to-day responsibilities. This will make integration a much smoother experience overall.
Summing up
Nowadays, many startups are working with progressively narrow margins during their initial stages, so a hefty marketing budget is a luxury that most simply can’t call on. Instead, they can strive to meet their KPIs and scale their operations through a more organic model: one that relies on the momentum of high-quality customer journeys and streamlined sales pipelines.
Technology offers one element of the route to success here in the form of software solutions like CPQs, and while using them may necessitate some initial adjustment, I believe the rewards are more than worth the effort.
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?