QuoteWerks QuoteValet: MSPs Pursue $505 Million In Business
QuoteWerks, a quoting and sales proposal software platform used by many VARs and MSPs, has achieved several business milestones in recent months. Chief among them: Customers have used QuoteValet.com — a quote deliver and acceptance vehicle — to quote over $505 million in business opportunities since Q1 2011, according to Founder John Lewe. But that's not all.
In an email update Lewe sent me right before the IT Nation 2012 conference, he mentioned these developments:
1. User Base: QuoteWerks now has more than 66,000 users in more than 100 countries.
2. QuoteValet Mobile: It's being adopted at a steady pace and is included at no extra charge with our QuoteValet subscription. Also included in our QuoteValet subscription is the ability to accept credit card payments from your customers that then flow into QuickBooks, eliminating the need for a person to manually receive and record those payments, Lewe said.
3. QuoteWerks 4.8: Among the new features is an Order Status capability.
According to Lewe:
“This was born from a conversation at the last IT Nation. One of our customers came up to us and explained that their customers expect the same level of order status awareness as when their customer orders from an online supplier like CDW. Their customers would often would call the MSP and ask “Where is that server I ordered?”. This MSP had to employ a person full time just to keep up with the status and status requests of orders from the top 4 distributors. With the new version 4.8, our customers can now spend less time tracking their orders and more time building their business. In version 4.8 all the order status information from all 4 distributors is displayed on a single screen complete with tracking numbers, SERIAL numbers, warehouse fullfillment locations, etc. This also enables you to track your actual fulfillment of these orders, sure you ordered it. But has it shipped? Have you received it? All of those answers are now provided by QuoteWerks.
4. QuoteValet Shopping Cart: This is also included in the standard QuoteValet subscription. You can create an online order form for use with the QuoteValet shopping cart. Customers can use them to automate customer re-orders or receive paid orders from a promotional email blast, Lewe indicated.
5. Distribution Relationships: The company has negotiated deals with Tech Data, Ingram, SYNNEX, and D&H “to host their product data to provide our customers with the best experience possible,” said Lewe. “We call this our Part Locator service. Distributors add new SKUs daily and subscription services have a tough time keeping up with that pace. With QuoteWerks you are guaranteed to find the SKU if it is listed on the distributor website.”
6. Integrated Shipping: “We also have a new FedEx and UPS integration allowing for seamless integration of shipping costs and an easy way to offer your customers shipping options.
7. ConnectWise service ticket integration: Lewe says it is “is second to none. Ours allows you to create one-off service tickets related to the quote for doing site surveys, pricing research, etc, and then it also allows you to better control how you would liker service tickets created separately for products vs services, etc.” (Side note: I need to catch up with Quosal, another popular quoting and sales proposal platform, for their two cents on ConnectWise and PSA integration; ConnectWise Capital owns a stake in Quosal, but ConnectWise and QuoteWerks also continue to work together.)
8. Quote importer: Lewe said MSPs and VARs can “Easily import quotes and configurations from Dell, Cisco, HP (iQuote), and Netformx).” Those capabilities are “still a fan favorite and also our consumer pricing lookup for CDW, Dell, Newegg, and Amazon.”
9. Next Move: Lewe hinted that QuoteWerks will be releasing a “completely new offering” in the December 2012 or January 2013 timeframe. It will bring a “new way of doing procurement” that doesn't exist in the marketplace today, he claimed…
Bigger Picture
For MSPs that are automating their businesses, tools like QuoteWerks and Quosal are familiar names. Additional sales automation platforms include CNet's Channel Online and VARStreet (which has been quite silent since Autotask sold it off last year).
Most of the sales automation tools integrate with PSA (professional services automation) and business software platforms like Autotask, ConnectWise and Tigerpaw Software. ConnectWise Capital, as mentioned, has an investment in Quosal and earlier considered making an investment in QuoteWerks but an official financial deal between the companies never materialized.
QuoteWerks so do you come out with your own products and ideas or do you just sit around stealing product ideas from other vendors. Seems to be the latter.
Spot on Robert!
QuoteWerks may have not invented web based quote delivery but they implemented it better and it support it better. We used the competitors solution and only had 20% of our clients approve quotes via the web delivery system. When we started using QuoteValet that went to 95% (more intuitive for them) using their default quote form with minor tweaks. The bottom line is that QuoteWerks is a easier, faster and more stable solution then Quosal. We are a ConnectWise and LabTech shop and wanted Quosal to work for us, but its just too slow even after disabling its quirky visual effects.
Robert, Seth: Constructive criticism is welcome on MSPmentor. But we push people to (A) disclose whom they represent and (B) provide some background for their claims. What makes you allege that QuoteWerks “steals” product ideas? Can you back up that claim?
Jane: Thanks for your two cents. I’m not out to choose favorites here. Quosal vs. QuoteWerks is a little like Mac vs. Windows or Coke vs. Pepsi. There’s no convincing the entire world to choose one or the other. More importantly, it’s good to see customer choice in the MSP market.
-jp
Thank you Jane and Joe for your comments.
Our Quote delivery and acceptance vehicle incorporates components some of which have existed for over a decade like a website portals, online credit card payments, web shopping carts, Dell style option selections, and electronic signing. While QuoteValet is very successful, in truth, it is not rocket science or something the world has never seen before.
We simply brought our first web based product to the market and created our own implementation of all these various technologies in a cost effective, turn-key manner as Jane described.
Perhaps Robert and Seth's impression stems from the fact that they simply might not have been exposed to the value of electronic signing when they first saw the competition's solution, a technology that has existed for over a decade.
John C. Lewe IV
President, Founder, and Lead Developer – QuoteWerks
From this side on the pond (here in the UK!) I can tell you just how popular the QuoteWerks products and solutions are.
QuoteWerks can be used in a very simple way or in a complex situation with The QuoteValet and Real Time Integration capabilities.
The UK marketplace appreciates the QuoteWerks products and whilst some have highlighted that it is not new technology (QuoteValet) it does what it claims to do and conversion rates for users are high. Many small businesses investing in QuoteWerks and then QuoteValet have responded by confirming that their processes are more streamlined which in turn is driving business forward.
I have been using QuoteWerks since 2009 and am happy to report their support is top notch!
Some of my peers switched to (a competing quoting and proposal tool) when it came out, but have switched back to QuoteWerks within a year. Aside from the negative experience they had with (a competing quoting and proposal tool), they returned to QuoteWerks because of their excellent support, attention to partner requests, and a certain feeling that QuoteWerks is interested in helping their business succeed.
In fact, we recently had this discussion when one peer considered (a competing quoting and proposal tool). From those who have switched and returned to QuoteWerks came MANY positive (and passionate) comments in favor of QuoteWerks. (I'll leave out any negative comments regarding their experience with [a competing quoting and proposal tool]).
YMMV with other tools, but I am so pleased with the positive experience with QuoteWerks as a product and with the parent company that I would never consider switching to any (competing quoting and proposal tool).
We are a long time user of Quotewerks. It has been one of the best tools we have found to help us quote solutions and services. It has saved me countless hours. It is great to see the progress and new features that keep coming out. Keep up the great work!
IMHO, QuoteWerks is simply THE best cross-industry quoting solution available… the interface might not be 'sexy', but the functionality is rich, deep and robust. We've had plenty of clients try other solutions, but they've not met up to the expectations and they've come back to QuoteWerks for a 'for real' sales quoting and proposal piece of software.
Thumbs up, John! Keep up the good work.
QuoteWerks is a fantastic product! With QuoteWerks, businesses can install, customize and roll-out a quoting solution to their workforce in no time. QuoteWerks is an amazing value when you consider its out of the box features such as built-in links to popular accounting software packages, integration with online vendors, and the abillity to process online transactions. QuoteWerks' technical support and development teams are very efficiant in assisting customers and very quick to release updates with new features and patches.
Hey Folks,
Sorry I'm a little late jumping back into this conversation. I appreciate all the dialog here and I hope MSPs ultimately see the value of sales automation tools and proposal solutions. Bottom line: MSPs and VARs need to get off the fence and focused on finding the right tools to accelerate sales engagements.
-jp
We have used Quotewerks for the past couple of years. We like the product and have grown into it over time. There are so many features, it takes time to implement into a workflow. As with any vendor or partner however, it's the support that is important. Many of the questions I have had, and even implementation of the product itself has been handled by the Quotewerks team themselves, most of the time at no additional charge to us. I would definitely recommend it to other MSPs.
Scott: Just yesterday I was asked what creates vendor “sticky-ness.” Great products? Great features? My answer was personalized, engaged, responsive support. Sort of similar to your comment. Keep us posted as you make more biz moves in 2013.
-jp