In November we held a fantastic webinar with DealHub going over the importance of transforming your quote-to-revenue process. This is important because one that’s filled with manual workflows, disjointed systems, and siloed teams slows sales cycles and creates friction in departments.
As you’d imagine, this has a direct impact on sales and revenue. Instead, one that’s optimized can be the tide that lifts all boats in the harbor, streamlining workflows, integrating systems, and fostering team collaboration.
What does this lead to? Accelerated deal cycles. Improved customer experiences. And enhanced accuracy on billing, pricing, and data sharing.
The webinar was led by our very own Chris DiPietro, Director of Solutions Architecture at Mole Street, and DealHub’s Samuel Bratsztein, Head of Partnerships and Strategic Alliances.
It was an incredibly insightful discussion, packed full of actionable strategies for businesses looking to overcome inefficiencies and scale effectively. So much so, that we thought it would be a great idea to summarize them in this article.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key takeaways from the webinar to help you transform your quote-to-revenue process and position your business for success.
Challenges in the Quote-to-Revenue Process
Chris highlighted that many of the obstacles businesses face regarding their quote-to-revenue process stem from their tech stack. Let’s have a look at these in more detail.
Disjointed Tech Stacks + Siloed Systems
These are arguably the biggest culprits. A fragmented tech stack can cause chaos by forcing teams to jump between multiple tools to chase scattered data, leading to delays, duplicate data entry, and a lack of clarity across departments. For example, a sales team might rely on a CRM, finance teams might use an ERP, and legal teams might have their own standalone document management tool. This creates data silos and makes it difficult for teams to share information.
Manual Processes Are Prone to Errors
Manually creating quotes, tracking contract versions, and managing approvals can be damaging in more ways than one. Firstly, it’s time-consuming, detracting from time that could be spent on higher-value tasks like closing deals. Secondly, humans are prone to error. Mistakes will occur which can be hugely consequential. This is what Chris had to say:
“You go through a motion of, I have to jump through three different software, three different platforms to be able to get a concept of what I am doing for a client. There are a lot of duplicate entries, and then I have to go through an outside quoting process."
A Lack of Alignment Across Teams Compounds Inefficiencies
Misaligned teams create bottlenecks. When sales, finance, legal, and operations are not working from the same source of truth, miscommunication and delays become inevitable. This can impact everything from the deal cycle speed to the customer experience.
The Importance of a Unified Tech Stack
A consolidated digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for an efficient quote-to-revenue process. Integrating your CRM, CPQ, and billing systems will eliminate data silos and create a more cohesive, unified tech stack. Teams will be able to collaborate seamlessly and access real-time information from a single source of truth.
This creates a cascade of benefits. No more manual data errors, faster deal cycles, and more general efficiency with less effort. Customers also benefit from this through faster, more accurate, and consistent interactions through the sales and revenue cycle.
How To Create An Accurate “Future State” Vision For A Quote-To-Revenue Process
Everything begins with a clear understanding of your current systems and workflows. Start by mapping out every step of your:
- Existing process
- Tools
- Platforms, and
- Teams involved
This allows you to visualize how information flows and identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, or areas that rely heavily on manual work. Once you've pinpointed the inefficiencies, align your technology and team goals with your company’s long-term growth strategy. Ask critical questions, such as:
- Are my tools scalable?
- Will they still support my business in 12, 18, or 24 months?
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is that they implement short-term fixes without acknowledging how their processes will evolve as their business grows.
It's essential to involve all key players early in the process, including sales, finance, legal, and operations.
Failing to include these voices can create misaligned systems that will force you to make costly adjustments further down the line.
"Taking those people into consideration is critical because if you just think and solve single-mindedly for the immediate need, six months down the road, your model changes, or you have CSMs or renewal managers or other people involved, it adds a new layer of complexity where you have to sort of go backward.” – Chris DiPietro, Director of Solutions Architecture at Mole Street
The Top 3 Actionable Steps To Transform Your Quote-To-Revenue Process
Strategy is at the heart of any quote-to-revenue process transformation. During the webinar, Samuel Bratsztejn and Chris DiPietro outlined three key action steps to get started:
1. Map the Journey
Begin by mapping out your entire quote-to-revenue process. Identify bottlenecks, such as manual approvals or disconnected systems, and prioritize areas for automation and integration. As Samuel pointed out, understanding these inefficiencies is critical to streamlining workflows and reducing delays.
2. Ensure Real-Time Data Flow
A single source of truth is essential for alignment across teams. This fosters cross-departmental collaboration and enables teams to work in unison towards common goals. Integrate your tools—CRM, CPQ, billing systems—so data flows seamlessly and updates in real time. This reduces errors, eliminates redundant data entry, and ensures that all departments work with accurate and consistent information.
3. Engage Stakeholders Early
Involve key players from sales, finance, legal, and operations early in the process to ensure alignment and smoother implementation. Chris emphasized the importance of collecting team feedback to uncover friction points and avoid surprises later.
Bringing It All Together
A business’ ambition to scale is somewhat dependent on their quote to revenue process. Failure to optimize it is regressive to growth, leading to inefficiencies, delays, and a poor customer experience. Therefore, such a transformation is necessary and the path to success begins with addressing the challenges surrounding:
- Disjointed tech stacks
- Manual workflows
- Misaligned teams
Adopting a unified tech stack is crucial to overcoming these challenges as it will eliminate data silos, create a universal source of truth, and improve collaborations across departments.
As Chris DiPietro and Samuel Bratsztejn highlighted, the three highest leverage moves are mapping the customer journey, ensuring real-time data flow across systems, and engaging stakeholders early to drive alignment and efficiency.
Whether your goal is to accelerate deal cycles, improve collaboration, or enhance customer satisfaction, these actionable steps can help you transform your quote-to-revenue process and position your business for success.
