Advanced Approvals in Salesforce CPQ: Streamlining Quote Approvals

In sales, turnaround time can make or break a deal and the process of quote approvals is of paramount importance. Efficiency, as always, is a driving force behind modern business operations. This blog explores how Advanced Approvals in Salesforce CPQ efficiently streamlines the quote approval process.

Overview of Advanced Approvals

Advanced Approvals in Salesforce CPQ is a feature designed to simplify and automate approval procedures. It allows users to create customized approval strategies that cater to their specific needs, making the process of requesting and granting approvals smoother and more efficient.

At its core, Advanced Approvals are about reducing the manual effort needed for approving requests. This not only saves valuable time and resources but also ensures accuracy in directing requests to the right individuals. It provides a detailed audit trail for review, ensuring transparency and accountability in the approval process.

The Significance of Streamlined Quote Approvals

Every moment counts in sales, especially since lengthy approval processes can lead to delays in closing deals, ultimately affecting the bottom line. By optimizing the approval workflow, businesses can significantly reduce the time it takes to move from a quote to a signed contract.

The Smart Approvals functionality within Advanced Approvals minimizes bottlenecks by ensuring that previously approved requests with similar attributes don't need to go through the approval process again. This is a game-changer for sales teams, allowing them to expedite the approval of routine quotes while preserving a thorough review of unique or exceptional cases.

Learn more about Advanced Use Cases for Smart Approvals

Advanced Approvals vs. Standard Salesforce Approvals

Sales teams relying solely on standard Salesforce approvals may encounter inefficiencies, especially when dealing with multifaceted quotes. Advanced Approvals empower businesses to implement customized, multi-tiered approval workflows tailored to their unique needs. This adaptability is crucial for companies with complex sales cycles and intricate hierarchical structures.

Now, let's dive into the nitty-gritty and compare Advanced Approvals with the basic Salesforce approval system. You see, standard Salesforce approvals are like a plain cup of coffee - it gets the job done, can it be something more?

Advanced Approvals bring complexity and customization to your approval workflows, impacting your sales process. It allows your team to work more efficiently, adapt to specific customer needs, and have the flexibility to handle even the most intricate approval scenarios.

Enhancing the Quote Approval Process

It is essential to understand how Advanced Approvals can enhance the quote approval process and offers specific benefits for the different teams involved in the sales cycle.

Sales: Sales teams can boost efficiency by utilizing this tool to expedite the approval process (by quickly routing records to the appropriate personnel), ultimately driving faster sales cycles.

Finance: Advanced Approvals offers control over price quotes through automated workflows—triggered when quotes surpass predefined price thresholds—ensuring that pricing remains in line with profitability goals. This feature enhances not only the accuracy of approvals but also the management of price-related aspects of sales.

Legal: Legal teams can also benefit from Advanced Approvals. They can rely on preset approval rules that provide clarity about the terms and conditions they approve when reviewing proposals. This eliminates confusion and ensures that legal considerations are always part of the decision-making process.

Setting up Advanced Approvals

Step 1: Define Approval Criteria 

Identify the specific conditions or criteria that should trigger an approval, such as deal size, discount percentage, specific product configurations or custom fields.

Step 2: Create Custom Fields (if needed)

If you need additional data to support your approval process, create custom fields to capture relevant information, like a discount reason.

Step 3: Set Up Approval Process

In Salesforce Setup, search for "Approval Processes" and create a new one.

Define entry criteria based on your identified criteria.

Specify the object (typically Quote) to which the approval process applies.

Configure approval steps, assign approvers, and set criteria for each step.

Define actions like email notifications and field updates for each step.

Activate the approval process.

Step 4: Test the Approval Process

Create test quotes that meet the approval criteria to ensure the process functions correctly before deploying it in your production environment.

Step 5: Deploy, Monitor, and Fine-Tune

Once you're satisfied with the testing, deploy the approval process in your production environment. Continuously monitor and make adjustments as needed, such as updating criteria, adding steps, or modifying actions based on changing business requirements and feedback.

Streamlining the Approval Workflow

Advanced Approvals have the ability to handle simultaneous approvals for different aspects of a sale, such as pricing, terms, and legal considerations, ensuring that the right people review the necessary requests promptly. This simplifies and expedites the approval process (which may at times utilize multiple separate approval threads), increasing overall productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Additionally, Advanced Approvals enhance visibility and transparency in the approval process, leading to a comprehensive audit trail and real-time status updates. Visualforce flowcharts empower sales representatives to monitor each request's progress efficiently.

Furthermore, Advanced Approvals enhance automation and visibility, reducing manual intervention. Automation is also utilized in communication through automated approval request emails, notifications, and reminders, enhancing collaboration between approvers and sales teams.

Sales Efficiency in Action: CUBE84 Success Stories

Cybersheath: Sales Process Optimization

Cybersheath streamlined their sales process, reducing manual interventions and improving the lead-to-quote cycle's speed and accuracy. They automated assessment forms with DocuSign, built a CPQ system for bundled products and discounts, and restructured their sales approach. This optimized their discounting strategy and enhanced employee satisfaction and productivity.

Quorum: CPQ Implementation Excellence

Quorum addressed YoY growth challenges by automating ARR and contract renewals. By synchronizing Salesforce and the accounting system and configuring detailed reports, they gained accurate insights into contract renewals and upsell opportunities. This automation reduced errors, saved time, and improved customer communication.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Advanced Approvals in Salesforce CPQ play a critical role in streamlining quote approvals. They enhance efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in the approval process, significantly reducing sales cycles. By automating workflows, providing detailed audit trails, and ensuring communication between teams, Advanced Approvals empower organizations to close deals faster and serve their customers better.

We encourage businesses to explore the potential of Advanced Approvals in Salesforce CPQ and consider its implementation as it can prove to be a game-changer. Implementing Advanced Approvals is not just about streamlining operations; it's about staying ahead of the competition and delivering the best possible service to your customers.