Why you have to check out today’s podcast:

• Learn about what a CPQ is and the value it gives to a company
• Find out how to bundle products together to cater to a customer’s specific needs
• Learn how to achieve price optimization through the use of CPQ

 

Steve Wilkins is the Head of Pricing Solutions at Standav Corp, a seasoned executive with many years of experience advising senior management teams on revenue growth, new business model development, pricing strategy, data preparation and cleaning, price and revenue management, commercial excellence, change management, profitability improvement, and business transformation.

In this episode, Steve talks about his experience working with pricing-focused CPQ companies, how CPQ helps in bundling products together, how pricing optimization is attained with the use of CPQ, and much more. 

 

“Pricing is a journey. It's not a sprint. So take it in steps. Don't think that you have to go for that end-goal right away.” 

- Steve Wilkin

 

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Topics Covered: 

 

01:37 - Dealing with a lawsuit is the last thing you want to have. But interestingly, it's how Steve started his pricing career.

 

03:06 - What is a CPQ and what is a pricing system? How do they differ from each other?

 

03:55 - What does a configured product look like? Steve gives an example.

 

05:26 - Manufacturers with customizable products can use CPQ. How can they bundle products? 

 

06:28 - What is so important about CPQ systems? What benefit do you get for buying a CPQ system for your company?

 

08:12 - What about time to quote? What big of a deal is it about? 

 

11:56 - Pricing systems consider different factors, and when you add this to different configurations of products it gets complicated. Let's hear Steve's thoughts about it.

 

13:13 - What is Standav and what does it do? What differentiates it from other implementer companies?

 

14:23 - Data cleaning is one of the tools Standav offers. What goes on in this process?

 

15:18 - Dealing with master data management. How does Standav solve the problem of bad data? 

 

Key Takeaways: 

 

“With CPQ you're providing a single source for putting multiple things together.” - Steve Wilkins 

 

“Right now they all integrate into a CPQ to provide the more relevant price or winning price that's going to help speed the process up. So that's where you're going to hear that story of, I can get this through quicker, win more deals at the best price. - Steve Wilkins 

 

“I believe in the idea of getting the data ready, fixing the problem that caused the data to be bad. And then building that integration into it, is it a pricing system, a CPQ system, a CRM system, we build that.” - Steve Wilkins 

  

 

 

People and Resources Mentioned: 

 

• Frank Sohn 
• PROS 
• Apttus 
• Salesforce 
• Zilliant 
• Price f(x) 
• Dell Computer 

 

Connect with Steve Wilkins: 

 

• LinkedIn 
• E: [email protected] 

 

Connect with Mark Stiving:    

 

• Email: [email protected]     
• LinkedIn     
• Twitter