CPQ for Energy & Renewables: Closing Custom Sales

CPQ for energy and renewables is rapidly becoming an essential revenue-building tool for sales and management teams. By streamlining the quoting process, CPQ makes it easier to consistently close deals faster in a competitive market.

Because, let's be honest, quoting energy projects is not exactly a walk in the park. Between complex project configurations and diverse stakeholder needs, its more like navigating the jungle blindfolded. Here, every step demands skill, flexibility and resilience. 

Forget the dark paths and uncertain outcomes. This blog equips you with the intel and insights for streamlining the sales process and beating the competition. 

E&R Sales Challenges

Imagine your quarry; a high-value renewables project, shimmering like a rare orchid amongst the dense foliage. But the terrain is treacherous, riddled with policy changes, regulatory hurdles, and fluctuating interest rates. Cost-conscious corporations and community stakeholders have priorities as diverse as a bag of Skittles. Meanwhile a dozen hungry vendors circle the same opportunity - each armed with cutting-edge tech and aggressive pricing.

Standing out in this crowd requires a unique value proposition, lightning-fast flexibility and swift responses. But navigating this diverse terrain comes with its own set of obstacles:

• Complexity Puzzles. Every product or service project is a unique ecosystem, requiring bespoke solutions. From roof angles to wind patterns, understanding and tailoring solutions to specific needs is key. Integrating new solutions into existing infrastructure adds an uncertain level of complexity and risk.
• Pricing Structures. Fluctuating long and short-term costs, pricing structures and intricate incentive structures. It's easy to get lost in this complex web of variables and sales pipeline. Pricing variations in size, technology and location, as well as regulations and risks, make approvals far from guaranteed.
• Regulation Rigor. Environmental regulations shift like desert sands, adding another layer of complexity. Unexpected delays or additional requirements can increase costs. Non-compliance is the kiss of death for even the most promising project.
• Sales Cycle Slowdown. This level of complexity can lead to lengthy quote generation and missed opportunities. Siloed communications and lengthy approvals stall momentum, leaving hot leads to languish.

CPQ for Energy and Renewables

This jungle is teeming with complex decisions, and that takes time and expertise.
Enter CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote) software, your trusty machete in the E&R sales jungle. This digital game-changer cuts through configuration and pricing complexity faster than a hummingbird on a sugar rush.

• Effortless Configuration. Configure projects without the experts. Easily select and combine to create custom projects. All while automatically taking into account rules and constraints designed to govern margins and revenue.
• Dynamic Pricing Power. Calculate pricing without the spreadsheets. Create multiple pricing options, including estimated sales tax and pricing explanations. Handle multi-currency and adjustments with ease.
• Compliance Confidence. Control individual discounting and approvals. Built-in compliance and risk checks ensure quotes comply with regulations. Clearly define, and control, your business rules across the organization.
• Streamlined Sales Cycle. Ditch the lengthy email chains, expert back-and-forth, and delays. Role-based, parallel workflows cut your sales cycle time in half for accurate quotes that sail through approval. Eliminate the unknown and the data compilation of internal silos and improve visibility into your pipeline.

Benefits Extend Beyond Efficiency

Today's buyers in the energy and renewables sector are a different breed. They are well-informed, have access to a wider range of options, and expect a personalized sales approach. This shift requires a move away from generic quotes and towards a more consultative sales strategy. CPQ empowers you to meet these evolving buyer demands by streamlining the quoting process. 

So, CPQ offers more than just speed and accuracy. In the competitive energy and renewables landscape, it empowers you to:

• Differentiate Offerings. Configuring customized solutions with real-time pricing and transparent incentive breakdowns, demonstrates a deep understanding of your client's needs. This value sets you apart from competitors who might still rely on manual effort and generic quotes.
• Optimize Pricing Strategies. CPQ allows you to conduct multiple pricing options, analyzing how adjustments to project scope or financing options impact pricing. This empowers you to develop optimal pricing strategies that are both competitive and profitable.
• Focus on Sustainable Growth. By closing deals faster, and minimizing errors, CPQ frees up valuable time and resources. This empowers your team to focus on core business activities like innovation, and extending your sector reach.

The Industry Impact

The energy and renewables industry thrives on innovation. Unfortunately, manual sales processes often lag behind. CPQ empowers companies to close deals faster and focus on what they do best - building a sustainable future. For energy and renewables jungle, it can mean the difference between capturing your quarry or succumbing to the competition.

In fact, industry research reveals that:

• 68% of businesses already use or plan to use CPQ within the next two years (Forrester).
• CSO Insights identifies renewable energy and manufacturing as one of the key industries benefiting from CPQ solutions.
• Studies show a 20% increase in closing rates for customized quotes. (HubSpot)

How is XaitCPQ streamlining our customer’s sales processes? 

“We can rest assured that quotes include everything that should be included.

So when it goes into production, they know that this configuration is correct, for that particular region or country’s specific requirements.”

- Tony Serratore, Head of IT at Penlon

Ready to Win More Projects?

CPQ software is not just a sales tool - it's a strategic investment in the future of your company. It delivers a clear path to closing custom sales faster. Stop hacking your way through energy and renewable project sales. Embrace the power of CPQ and pave a clear path to:

• Expert configurability and pricing precision
• Faster, more accurate and more optimized quotes
• Reduced cost-per-quote, more quotes with your same team
• More up sell and cross sell and increased profitability
• More satisfied and loyal customers

Ready to conquer the E&R sales jungle? Let’s transform your sales reps into agile hunters who close deals with cheetah-like speed and eagle-like accuracy. And leave your competition lost in the jungle.

Read more: Learn more about Penlon's path to quoting efficiency and quality.