CPQ for Energy Services; Taming the Quoting Terrain

Services in the energy & renewable sector aren’t for the faint of heart. It’s a rugged landscape of cost pressures, sustainability concerns and geopolitical uncertainties. Every deal demands grinding tool grit and flow meter precision. In this dynamic, high-stakes world, petroleum services are not a walk in the park. They are a trudge through a wildcat oil field - challenging, unpredictable, and teeming with complex decisions.

How do you close more profitable deals despite this terrain? With highly cost-conscious decision-makers? Without the risks and delays?

This blog delves into the trenches to unearth fresh tactics for navigating this time-consuming terrain. And beating established players and new entrants to the black gold bonanza.

Energy & Renewables: Services

Imagine a marketplace humming with seismic surveys and towering drilling derrick rigs. Where services offerings are as complex as an offshore platform. Pricing shifts faster than the Texas two-step. And quoting feels like navigating a rabbit warren blindfolded. 

Here’s just a taste of the obstacles sales teams face when manually crafting these complex services quotes:

• Configuration Confusion. Every well is a geological enigma. Each project is a custom concoction
  requiring tailored approaches. Finding the right configuration is like panning for gold - time-consuming, frustrating and fraught with misleading information.
• Pricing Perils. Volatile oil prices and intricate contractual clauses can quickly turn a promising opportunity into a dry hole. Manually calculating competitive pricing without getting lost in the variables is like juggling nitroglycerin.
• Regulatory Risks. Regulations shift like sand. Environmental demands add yet another layer of complexity. Non-compliance is a deathblow for even the most promising well.
• Quoting Quagmires. From reservoir pressures to drilling depths, adapting offerings to specific needs quickly is key. Unfortunately, when quoting is manual it is also time-consuming. And riddled with overlooked details and miscalculations.
• Sales Slumps. Lengthy approval processes and siloed communication can stall momentum. Leaving hot leads to turn cold under the Texas sun. Speed and collaboration are the lifeblood of success in this high-pressure environment.
• Profit Plunges. Even with flat sales, many of your expenses remain fixed. This creates a cost structure that is increasingly unsustainable. 

CPQ: From Rig to Riches

So, how do you transform this oil services wilderness into a fertile ground for gushing deals? The answer lies in the hidden gem in your sales arsenal; Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) software. 

This oil and gas industry game-changer eliminates the manual effort and simplifies the complex - by seamlessly integrating equipment and services configuration, dynamic pricing algorithms, and quote generation into a single platform.

• Effortless Configuration. User-friendly interfaces guide pre-built, custom, component-based configurations, eliminating errors and saving valuable time. Easily select and combine components to create customized service and project configurations. All while taking into account applicable rules and constraints designed to govern permissible combinations. 
• Dynamic Pricing Precision. Real-time data integration pulls in costs, labor estimates, discounts, rebates, and regulations with speed and accuracy. Create multiple pricing options, such as cost-plus, margin-based, and one-time pricing. Include estimated sales tax and pricing explanations. Handle multi-currency and adjustments with ease. 
• Compliance Confidence. Built-in compliance and risk checks and seamless workflow ensure quotes comply with regulations. Saving you from costly non-compliance issues. Control individual user settings, like discounting and approvals. Ensure your organization can clearly define, control and administer rules and permissions.
• Streamlined Sales Cycle. Role-based, multi-step, and parallel workflow progresses through a series of predefined steps. Ensure discounts are subject to appropriate approvals. Eliminate under-quoting. Optimize opportunity value. Keep deals moving forward and competitors at bay.

CPQ's Profitability Impact

When combined with your expert knowledge and business rules, CPQ can be the catalyst that transforms you into agile prospectors. Imagine closing deals with safety valve accuracy and rotary drill speed. 

In fact, industry studies demonstrate significant benefits for services companies:

• Increase sales win rates by 18% with faster quoting and accurate pricing. (Aberdeen Group)
• Reduce sales cycle by 17% with streamlined quoting and automated approvals. (Aberdeen Group)
• Improve quote accuracy by 27% by eliminating manual effort and errors. (Aberdeen Group)

How is XaitCPQ revolutionizing our customer’s sales process?  

“The average time for completing quotations has reduced from half a day to twenty minutes, and quotation amendments from two hours to just a couple of minutes. The company’s capacity to grow sales has increased by a factor of twelve without adding to overheads.”

- Bert Thijssen, Sales & Marketing Director, Hepworth Group

Ready to Strike Gold?

Stop striking out with clunky processes and manual errors that stall sales. Equip your team with the potent power of CPQ and adapt faster than a chameleon on an oil slick. 

• Enhanced configurability and pricing precision
• Faster, more accurate quotes
• Reduced cost-per-quote
• Optimized value and increased profitability
• More satisfied and loyal customers

Swap manual effort and errors for precision and productivity. Emerge victorious as you dig for the golden promise of black gold. Learn more about XaitCPQ for complex services. 

Related Article: CPQ: Proven Business Value for Executives, Managers and Sales