Part two:\u00a0How hard is it to scale and use years after implementation?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThis is\u00a0the\u00a0part of\u00a0question your sales reps and your customers will answer, every day, for as long as the system is in place.\u00a0How often does performance break? And what is the real user\u00a0experience\u00a0when navigating two or more systems?<\/p>\n
Seams, Damn\u00a0Seams\u00a0and Customer Experience<\/h3>\n
A sales rep is sitting across the desk from a prospect.\u00a0They open the CPQ tool and start building the quote.<\/p>\n
The customer is watching.<\/p>\n
The configuration goes fine; the rep easily selects compatible options,\u00a0and the system automatically\u00a0validates\u00a0and prices everything.<\/p>\n
The rep moves to attach the quote to the customer’s record in the CRM so the deal can advance.\u00a0A pricing\u00a0field comes back blank. Then a customer field, and then a discount tier\u00a0that\u00a0the rep knows exists.<\/p>\n
“That’s weird, give me one second.”<\/p>\n
The rep refreshes. Same thing.<\/p>\n
The CPQ and the CRM are supposed to be talking to each other.\u00a0The integration was tested, signed\u00a0off\u00a0and\u00a0in production for months. However,\u00a0something between them\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0working. An API endpoint deprecated,\u00a0a\u00a0token expired\u00a0or\u00a0maybe\u00a0a\u00a0schema changed\u00a0on one\u00a0side and not the other.<\/p>\n
The rep reaches for the phone. “Hang on, I’m going to call our support team real quick.”<\/p>\n
The customer is no longer watching their quote materialize.\u00a0They’re\u00a0watching the rep\u00a0talking to support on the phone.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0now\u00a0the seams in your \u201cseamlessly integrated\u201d CPQ solution kill the deal.\u00a0Most CPQ buyers have heard about, or lived through, a version of this moment.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, you\u00a0can’t\u00a0have an API break between two systems if they share a data model and\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0rely on middleware.<\/p>\n
The Truth About CPQ Integration<\/h3>\n
There are\u00a0multiple\u00a0ways CPQ software can be “integrated” with your CRM or ERP.<\/p>\n
The first way:\u00a0the CPQ has its own database, its own UI, and its own logic. It connects to your CRM through middleware or APIs. Data\u00a0has to\u00a0be pushed, pulled, or\u00a0synced\u00a0across\u00a0systems. The two systems share information, but they\u00a0don’t\u00a0share\u00a0a data model. When you configure a quote,\u00a0you’re\u00a0working\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0quoting\u00a0system. When you save it to the CRM,\u00a0you’re\u00a0translating from one world to another.<\/p>\n
Just because a vendor paints over the seams\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0mean\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not there.<\/p>\n
The second way:\u00a0the CPQ writes directly to the CRM’s own data model. There is no separate database holding the quote. The rep never leaves their system, and every screen\u00a0looks\u00a0like the\u00a0CRM\/ERP\u00a0screens because the\u00a0systems\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0held together by a patchwork of APIs.<\/p>\n
The difference shows up in the configuration process. The customer never watches\u00a0\u00a0a sync wheel spin. The quote moves into the deal record because the system translates the quote automatically.<\/p>\n
How to Put \u201cSeamless Integration\u201d to the Test<\/h3>\n
Next time a CPQ vendor\u00a0(including us.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0not above throwing a \u201cseamless\u201d around here and there).<\/p>\n
Count the\u00a0rep’s\u00a0screens, number of\u00a0tabs, logins, and note differences in user interfaces.<\/p>\n
If the demo includes a “send to CRM” or “push to ERP” step, ask where the quote was living before that button got pressed. A second database means a second source of truth, which means the seam is real,\u00a0just hidden behind a button.<\/p>\n
Seamless integration\u00a0will keep getting used\u00a0in tech marketing.\u00a0It’s\u00a0free,\u00a0and\u00a0it sounds\u00a0good\u00a0on a bullet list.<\/p>\n
Just make sure\u00a0the vendor\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0hiding the seams.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seamless integration is one of business software\u2019s most overused claims. Learn the two critical questions buyers should ask about CPQ, CRM, and ERP integration.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":346513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[30,13],"xpl_cpq_related_topic":[],"xpl_da_related_topic":[],"class_list":["post-346499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-trends","tag-cpq-features","tag-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346499"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":346791,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346499\/revisions\/346791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346499"},{"taxonomy":"xpl_cpq_related_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/xpl_cpq_related_topic?post=346499"},{"taxonomy":"xpl_da_related_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experlogix.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/xpl_da_related_topic?post=346499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n