A shorter sales cycle involves making a sale in a smaller amount of time (duh!). It requires fewer steps and allows businesses to reach more customers and make larger sales, resulting in higher revenues. A shorter sales cycle can also motivate your team in their efforts since they’ll be able to close deals faster.
Customers also tend to favor this type of cycle, given that you provide a quality product and not something rushed. Having a shorter sales cycle can help you have a competitive advantage, especially if the times-to-market in your industry take a bit longer.
How to have a shorter sales cycle with a 3D configurator
The essentials of 3D configuration with Expivi
A 3D configurator uses 3D models of products to showcase them in 360 degrees allowing the shopper to change their features and view them online as realistically as possible.
What do you need to have a 3D configurator with Expivi?
- 3D models of your product(s). If you don’t have them, Expivi’s artists can create them for you.
- Know what you want your clients to be able to configure and change.
- An eCommerce website to harbor the configurator.
That’s it. Once the configurator is ready and some tweaks are eventually made, your customers will be able to change your product(s) characteristics through your product page. For example, when buying a trailer, it could include modifying its size, color, and upholstery, upgrading the wheels, or adding internal features.
The personalization and customization depend entirely on what you want, so besides changing color, size, and materials, customers can also be able to engrave or accessorize the items, for example.
Other than that, the configurator creates a realistic representation of the products, that the shopper can inspect from every angle.
Shortening the sales cycle
Implementing a faster sales journey is something most companies strive for. Automation is one way to do it. But it comes with less personalization, which many times translates into fewer opportunities and wins.
A 3D configurator can help businesses shorten their sales cycle by providing more personalization whilst engaging the customer in the process. Great visuals of your products and all possible product variations in one place. Let’s go through some examples.
A retail supply design company decided to implement a 3D configurator internally to optimize their hanger sales. Now, their teams can easily create a visual representation of what the client says they want using the configurator, and send it directly to them, instead of having to create a design from scratch. This saves a lot of time in designing prototypes for each customer and also helps salespeople optimize their meetings.
It also works for complex solutions. Eduard, a trailer company, now showcases on their product page over 10.000 variations. After having 3D models of every part of their product and deciding what they wanted the clients to be able to configure, Eduard integrated the configurator into their website. Since then, they have tripled their sales while needing fewer sales power.
Eduard shortened their sales cycle by having all the possible product combinations available on their website. The client chooses the options that are available, a quote is automatically created considering the customizations, and an automatic Bill of Materials is sent to production with every component.
“It was a no-brainer to choose to work with Expivi. We have more than 10.000 variations of our product. Expivi’s 3D configurator enabled us to showcase all combinations while giving the customer the power to create their dream trailer. Standing still is going backward and Eduard is in constant motion.”
Niko Saris, eCommerce & Business Development Manager at Eduard.
Using Expivi’s CPQ (custom, price, quote) 3D configurator with an integrated ERP system brands, sales teams, customers, and manufacturers are connected through one platform. For a shorter sales cycle. For fewer product mistakes and higher revenue.
Did you like this article on how to have a shorter sales cycle? Then read about how Eduard did it, right here!