You might be using Microsoft Excel or Google Docs or some other spreadsheet tool to provide quotes. Why?
Well, for most MSPs, the answer to that is "because it's what we've always used."
Spreadsheets are great at tracking numbers, creating budgets and generating fancy graphs and charts. However, providing accurate sales quotes wasn’t their intended use. You might have a simple template for quoting, but I’m sure there’s still editing and a lot of back and forth between you and your customer until a final quote is settled. Then what? Can your customer sign and submit online? Probably not, it’s just another version of the same spreadsheet.
It’s time-consuming and frustrating for all parties involved. Here's why you need to ditch the spreadsheet quoting method for an online quoting tool.
➤ Related Content: The Negative Costs of DIY-ing Quotes for VoIP Resellers
1. Pricing
The Spreadsheet Way: Lack of real-time pricing
The Integrated Quote Way: No misquotes or lost revenue
Are your sales reps spending most of their time living in a spreadsheet – copying and pasting info into quotes? Have their ctrl-z/ctrl-c buttons disintegrated? While copy/pasting might prevent some grammatical errors, it may not prevent pricing errors. What if you grab a price from the wrong schedule? You could be quoting higher than normal. VoIP resellers can't take chances with these inaccuracies, as they could lead to lost opportunities.
With an integrated quote tool, like the one offered by RingLogix, your team has access to real-time information to prepare accurate quotes for your proposals – eliminating the potential for a misquote.
You’re in control of the quote and your customer signs and submits everything online with the click button. No need to wait for "customer-quote-V8.xls" anymore.
➤ Related Content: MSPs and VoIP Resellers - Disruptive Pricing Strategies For The SMB Market
2. Time Spent
The Spreadsheet Way: Extra time spent copy + pasting, formatting and emailing
The Integrated Quote Way: Easy quoting in seconds
In the words of Tony Stark from Endgame, “No amount of money ever bought a second of time.” If you are creating the quote yourself, or working with an account manager, your customers are playing a waiting game.
It can take longer to create a quote in a spreadsheet than to actually get the client to sign it. Plus, you have to deal with the quote format, turning on permissions to view or edit the quote.
In the time to create one quote spreadsheet, you could have fired off 20. Isn’t that a better use of your time?
3. Version Control and Number Adjustments
The Spreadsheet Way: Lack of version control and repeatability
The Integrated Quote Way: Control versions, pricing and calculations
Lack of version control can be a major issue. If you have numerous versions of the same sheet being emailed, your team could be issuing outdated information, or worse, accidentally sharing other customers’ data. Even with approved templates, it can become obsolete in months with updated pricing or promos. If a template becomes outdated, make sure it is deleted.
Similarly, you may not be able to prevent your team from going rogue and creating new rules or formulas. They might be able to change pricing terms and product data. Do you want them to have that control?
If they’re changing details, that could impact margins. To keep margins in line, lock down certain fields.
With the RingLogix quote tool, everything you need is in one centralized portal – updated in real-time. You can create a repeatable quoting process for your VoIP reseller business that still allows customization - without breaking formulas.
4. Interactivity
The Spreadsheet Way: Have to manually update and re-send quotes for any changes
The Integrated Quote Way: Processes changes on the fly
There's no interaction within a spreadsheet. If your customers need something changed or need an upgrade, they must reach back out to your rep for a new quote – thus another spreadsheet needs to be edited and sent out – slowing down your sales cycle.
In an online quote tool, once the quote is sent, it's accepted and signed online and you're on the way to collecting revenue in seconds.
An integrated quote tool, like the one offered through RingLogix's white label VoIP platform, allows you to create a new quote in seconds.
Your customer just picks up the phone, you create the quote and they accept and signup online in one portal. The quote is tracked online, so you don’t miss out on the opportunity.
How does using a spreadsheet sound now? These outdated quoting methods could be holding your sales team and their sales cycle back. Provide beautiful and accurate quotes – under your brand – using an integrated quoting tool through RingLogix.
Custom Quoting with RingLogix
➤ Request A Demo Of Our White Label VoIP Platform
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About us: RingLogix offers a white label VoIP platform - RingOS - that enables Partners to sell, provision, invoice, and support their own branded VoIP and UC services. We make becoming a VoIP provider easy with a managed VoIP switch, instant order activations, hassle-free number porting, multiple services, and a flexible billing system.
