The Top 10 CPQ Implementation Partners (2024)
Salesforce CPQ is easily the hardest Salesforce solution to implement properly and it comes down to one simple reason. The business processes and underlying strategy are more important than the configuration of the tool itself. It is absolutely critical to find the right Partner - one who straddles Rev Ops and CPQ Tooling equally.
Why CPQ is So Difficult to Implement
Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) is a powerful tool for streamlining the sales process by automating the creation of quotes, proposals, and orders. With a solid CPQ implementation, you can reap the benefits of increased sales efficiency, improved accuracy, and faster time to market—all of which mean more sales for your business.
But implementing Salesforce CPQ can be a daunting task, which is why we’ve created a list of the ten best Salesforce CPQ consulting partners to help you get set up.
There are a variety of factors that make Salesforce CPQ an especially complex tool to manage.
It’s Not a native Salesforce Product Offering
CPQ is a managed package (built on Salesforce) that was brought into the Salesforce platform ecosystem when they acquired SteelBrick in 2016.
While they have spent years integrating it more seamlessly with the core product offering, it has a long way to go, and it means changes to the tool are cumbersome.
Pricing Strategy & Business Process Need Flawless Definition and Documentation
Effectively using Salesforce CPQ requires incredibly well-established business processes before the tool is actually implemented.
Companies that lack a clear methodology in any aspect of their pricing, quoting / Deal Desk, Finance, or Billing workflows will hit issues with CPQ.
CPQ Logic Needs to be Crystal Clear - End-to-End
Conflicting rules in how you set up product bundles, apply discounts, or create pricing rules will create massive downstream headaches.
How to Choose a Salesforce CPQ Consulting Partner
Finding a Salesforce CPQ implementation consulting partner is stressful. Salesforce Consulting services are expensive and require a huge commitment on the customer’s end, so you want to make you’re choosing correctly.
No Consulting Firm is created equal, and those who claim unparalleled expertise on the entire Salesforce product suite should be looked at with skepticism.
That’s why we’ve simplified the selection process by concentrating on five primary elements...
Their focus on Salesforce CPQ - most Salesforce implementation partners dabble in a bit of everything, like Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Analytics Cloud, etc. But to get the best service and expertise, you should aim for partners that either solely specializes in CPQ implementation or have a focus in CPQ.
Their offered services: Your Salesforce CPQ consulting partner should offer the basics, such as opportunity and quote configuration of your CRM, product and pricing rules, approval processes, and order processing and renewals. Beyond setup and configuration, the best partners also provide continued support and maintenance long after your implementation is complete. Extras like eSignature integrations and contract management platforms are also advantages.
The level of customizations they provide: Whether you’re a small or a large business, your Salesforce CPQ implementation should be customized to fit your business’s unique needs and complexities. An excellent Salesforce CPQ Consulting partner should work with you to develop a CPQ system that hits all your touch points without any hiccups.
Their rating on the Salesforce AppExchange: Social proof is essential. A trustworthy CPQ consulting partner will have plenty of positive client experiences to back up their expertise.
The number of projects completed - Your Salesforce CPQ Consulting partner should have enough experience with Salesforce CPQ and Salesforce overall.
FoundHQ vs Consulting Partners
Companies are told that Salesforce Partners are the only place to go for quality guidance or reliable execution. But that’s simply not true. At least anymore.
There is absolutely a time and place to leverage Consulting Partners but that is primarily limited to projects that will require a Delivery team of 10+ Consultants engaged simultaneously. More often than not, stakeholders turn to Firms when a better option is hiring a small team of Independent Consultants.
FoundHQ was born out of a very real need: a way to engage the same Salesforce Consultants you get from a Partner at a fraction of the cost.
How Consulting Partners Work
There are a few key aspects to the way Salesforce Partners work with you to get the work done. This is a simple reality of their business model.
Deliver the Work and Leave
Their business runs on delivering projects efficiently so they can manage their workload and move on to the next project. Obviously, you're looking to get the work delivered quickly as well but you want to make sure it's done right before they leave - and if the Partner has another project lined up for their Consultants, the final stages can get rushed.
Not to mention, most Partners simply don't have a cost-effective model to support you after go-live. They will either charge astronomical rates for access to an individual Consultant or they will hand everything over and wish you luck.
All Deliverables are Scoped Upfront
In order to achieve the fastest possible deployment, the start of an engagement with a Partner involves scoping the entire project from start to finish and solidifying a timeline for when everything is scheduled to be completed.
Again, project planning is critical for success but it leaves very little room to maneuver. As you learn new things along the way, you might want to change some of the original plans and Partners make it very difficult to do so.
Partners Execute 100% of the Work
Perhaps you have a capable Salesforce Administrator or Developer in-house that would love to get their hands on this new project. It would give them experience and bring the cost of the project down but Consulting Partners don't want to do things that way.
They want to staff an entire team on the project and get as many Consultants billable as possible in order to maintain control. It means means that regardless of what expertise you have within your company - or who on your team you'd like to get some Salesforce exposure - the Partner will be push as many of their Consultants as possible, increasing the overall cost of the project and making knowledge transfer harder during go-live.
Partners are Very Expensive
The typical bill rate per Consultant from a Partner is $200/hour to $350/hour.
They will justify it by saying quality comes at a cost but it's really because Consulting Partners have a lot of overhead, which needs to accounted for in their price. In contrast, Independent Salesforce Consultants charge a significantly lower hourly rate - typically in the range of $100/hour to $175/hour.
And don't be fooled, their experience is identical to the Consultants you get from a Consulting Partner since many Independent Salesforce Consultants used to work for a Partner!
When To Hire Who: FoundHQ vs Consulting Partners
The Partner approach is ideal for larger transformation projects where the team being engaged across strategy, business process optimization, and systems work exceeds 10+ Consultants engaged simultaneously.
At this scale, it's beneficial to have a single vendor accountable for managing the all workstreams and keeping things organized.
But you should strongly consider engaging Independent Consultants for any initiative that requires fewer than 10 Consultants - and especially those that only need a team of 2-3.
In these scenarios, you can take a surgical approach to hiring only the experience needed, while also partnering with someone that remains available to you long after the project is delivered.
Why FoundHQ
Our approach gives you the best of both worlds.
The expertise of a Consulting Firm. The collaboration of an FTE.
And cost savings only a Freelancer can offer.
FoundHQ brings 10+ years of experience building Salesforce teams, including work with some of the top Partners globally. By partnering with us, you get access to a network of 8,000+ pre-vetted Salesforce Consultants, including talent from Slalom, Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Kicksaw, Coastal Cloud, Salesforce, and hundreds of other Consulting Firms.
We possess the single largest Salesforce knowledge base and the ability to help you identify the right team needed to deliver any scope of work.
Get Matched to the Right Salesforce Consultant
FoundHQ is the easiest way to get work done in Salesforce.
As we highlighted in our Guide to Selecting a Partner, finding a Consulting Firm with expertise in the specific Product you need is only one piece of the equation.
Don't overlook the importance of vetting Partners on the specific type of work they deliver and how they will engage with you throughout the engagement.
If you're looking for guidance or an outside opinion on vendor selection, book a call with our team any time.
FoundHQ
New York, NY
Consultants:
8,000+
FoundHQ - The Largest Network of Salesforce Support Experts
Quick Stats
500+ completed Salesforce projects
8,000+ pre-vetted Salesforce Freelance Consultants
No minimum project size
No rigid SOWs
No matching fees
Founded in 2020
Serves United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia with Salesforce Consultants in 30+ Countries
FoundHQ provides access to the single largest network of Salesforce support experts in the world. This unique positioning allows FoundHQ to serve startups, mid-market, and enterprise organizations with a wide range of Salesforce services. Our model supports customers looking to identify project-based Salesforce contractors that function as embedded members of their team.
Getting started with FoundHQ is easy:
You tell FoundHQ about your project needs.
Within 24 hours, we match you with 2-3 Salesforce support consultants specifically identified for your project.
You choose the consultant(s) to interview.
Kick off the project — and FoundHQ will support you every step of the way.
To learn more about if FoundHQ is the right fit for your project, you can Create an Account, List a Quick Project, or Book an Intro Call.
DoubleTrack
Minneapolis, MN
Consultants:
45+
DoubleTrack was formed by three hands-on Salesforce experts tired of seeing clients get sold the wrong project for their needs. Their delivery-first approach, coupled with in-depth scoping and Customer Success Guarantee, takes a lot of risk out of companies needing a trusted partner.
They provide setup and configuration of all products, discount schedules, native Salesforce approval, quote-to-cash solutions, proposal templates, and more around related modules (i.e. Billing, Revenue Lifecycle Management).
Cirrius Solutions
Minneapolis, MN
Consultants:
42
Cirrius Solutions is a Salesforce Partner with a range of service offerings—from Marketing Cloud to (you guessed it) Field Service Management.
Cirrius Solutions' Field Service Accelerator is a pre-configured Salesforce Sales Cloud, and Field Service managed application that cuts time to value by reducing implementation time by up to 75% (~3 weeks). The firm offers the Field Service Accelerator Package, which includes the implementation of their custom app along with ongoing support and optimization services.
Expertise:
Field Service (SFS) - We created a FIELD SERVICE ACCELERATOR package with a pre-configured Sales Cloud & Field Service functionality STARTING AT 20K! This supercharges time-to-value and reduces up-front implementation costs by 45%. Contact us for a demo!
CPQ & Billing - Quote process optimization for customers in industries such as; manufacturing, construction, telecom, consumer goods, clean energy, solar & wind, agribusiness, transportation, logistics, real estate, high-tech, HLS, and retail.
ERP Integrations - Post CPQ & Salesforce Billing we can help optimize your ERP and billing system integrations. We have helped hundreds of customers with integrations to NetSuite, Quickbooks, Oracle, Sage, SAP, and Data Warehouses.
DemandBlue
Irvine, CA
Consultants:
152
DemandBlue is a Salesforce Partner that specializes in the Field Service platform. The team has 100+ certifications and over 500 projects under its belt.
The firm offers an array of services to help companies get the most out of their FSL implementations, including training, custom development, system optimization, data migrations, analytics & reporting, and ongoing maintenance. DemandBlue also offers a full suite of services to support Salesforce Field Service Mobile (FSM), including mobile app development.
Ad Victoriam
Alpharetta, GA
Consultants:
124+
As a recognized Level One Salesforce CPQ Partner, Ad Victoriam prioritizes innovative, customer-centric solutions for its clients. During the implementation process, the company’s consultants promise to conduct a deep dive into their clients’ sales operations and target customer bases to create actionable data, help them spend more time selling, and communicate better. Their customer support service is mentioned a ton throughout their AppExchange rating, too—a really good indicator of their focus on customer experience.
Ad Victoriam’s clients have generally seen a 14% increase in upselling, 25% quicker quote generation, 29% reduction in errors in their sales quotes, and a 19% boost in sales productivity.
Carnac Group
Crows Nest, New South Wales
Consultants:
25+
While Carnac Group helps businesses with a multitude of Salesforce implementations, they have demonstrated experience implementing the Salesforce CPQ solution. Carnac Group delivers optimal customizations for clients, delivering specifications for any configuration, price, or discount while making the quoting process as simple as possible.
One of Carnac Group’s clients, Polymaster, is expecting to see $500,000 to $1 million in cost savings each year over the first 2-3 years following CPQ implementation.
Jade Global
San Jose, California
Consultants:
270+
Jade Global’s CPQ consulting services promise to connect the siloed systems between the front office, middle office, and back office with in-house consultants in various technologies. But Jade Global’s expertise goes beyond CPQ implementation—it also offers to implement a complete quote-to-cash process and lifecycle, which includes CPQ, billing, and ERP (enterprise resource planning).
Previous clients have praised Jade Global for enhancing processes with automated tax calculation on quotes, custom discounts with specific approval flows, and measured metrics at the contract level within the CPQ.
CloudMasonry
Chicago, Illinois
Consultants:
51
As a leading, full-service Salesforce consulting company, CloudMasonry has provided services for both small and enterprise-level businesses since 2018. Although for small businesses this might be a considerable Salesforce investment.
The company offers most of the typical CPQ implementation services, such as opportunity and quote configuration, product and pricing rules, custom approval processes, and order processing and renewals. But this consulting partner also shines when it comes to integrations—CloudMasonry can set up and connect systems for order fulfillment, ERP, eSignatures, and contract management services.
The company also offers marketing activity services to enable clients to see which campaigns are driving and closing sales and maximize return on investment.
Roycon
Austin, TX
Consultants:
21
Roycon’s Salesforce CPQ implementation involves creating product bundles with predefined product options, which allows users to easily select the appropriate products for their customers' needs. These dynamic product rules ensure users are presented with the right options at the right times, reducing confusion and errors while quoting. Roycon can also help standardize pricing models and enforce discounting permissions on overall quotes or on individual products.
On top of CPQ implementation, Roycon also offers ongoing support, training, end-user adoption measurement, and triage for businesses with prior CPQ implementation from other partners.
Silver Softworks
London, UK
Consultants:
30
Silver Softworks has focused its Salesforce services on small and medium-sized businesses, specifically those with less than 500 employees. The company provides CPQ-guided selling and simplifies the product selection process with selling options based on the client’s business rules and logic. Additional configurations include product bundling, proposals, subscription billing, and ease of reporting on quotes and orders.
Get Matched to the Right Salesforce Consultant
FoundHQ is the easiest way to get work done in Salesforce.
