Creating quotes and proposals manually can be a insanely time-consuming. It's often error-prone. And slows down deal velocity and creates a lot of unwatned headache acroos your entire sales process. If your sales team is spending hours formatting proposals or delivering quotes inconsistently via email or phone calls, you're not alone - and the good news is, there are effective automation solutions available directly within HubSpot and through integrations like Portant.
The Problem with Manual Quoting
According to recent research by Stuart Balcomb in a 2024 CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) report:
- 44% of deals are delayed due to quoting bottlenecks.
- 1 in 4 sales reps report losing deals due to proposal formatting issues.
- 65% of companies lack automation across quotes, proposals, and contracts.
These figures clearly demonstrate that manual quoting processes not only slow down sales cycles but also negatively impact conversion rates. The solution lies in automating and standardizing your quote and proposal generation.
Native Quoting in HubSpot
HubSpot offers a built-in quoting tool that allows you to generate quotes directly from deal records. Here's how to get started:
Step 1: Prepare Your Deal
Ensure that all relevant information has been added to the deal:
- Line items
- Discounts (if applicable)
- Any necessary deal properties
Step 2: Add a Quote
- Open the deal in HubSpot.
- Click "Create Quote."
- Review or add line items. You can apply discounts and adjust quantities as needed.
- Choose whether to include e-signature for approval.
Step 3: Customize and Finalize
- HubSpot will guide you through a simple UI to finalize the quote.
- A pre-designed template will be populated with your deal data.
- Once reviewed, click "Finish" to generate and share the quote.
Limitations:
- HubSpot’s default quote templates require developer assistance for advanced customization.
- Automation of quote generation is not natively supported based on deal stage triggers.
Enhanced Proposal Automation Using Portant
For teams requiring more flexibility, Portant offers an integration that allows automated proposal and quote generation using dynamic templates created in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Sheets, or PDFs.
Step 1: Create a Document Template
- Use Google Docs, Word, or other supported formats to create a template.
- Then in Portant, insert placeholders from HubSpot properties in the side bar (e.g., {{ deal.name }}, {{ deal.amount }}).
Step 2: Connect Portant to HubSpot
- Set up Portant to connect with your HubSpot account.
- Create a workflow template that links to your proposal or quote document.
Step 3: Generate Proposals from Deals
- Open a deal in HubSpot.
- Trigger the Portant template.
- Select the recipient and enable e-signature if needed.
- Portant will automatically pull deal data and populate the document.
Step 4: Automate with HubSpot Workflows
- Set up a HubSpot workflow to trigger Portant based on deal stage changes (e.g., when stage = "Contract Sent").
- The document is automatically generated and saved in Google Drive or OneDrive.
- Status updates are logged in the deal timeline, keeping your CRM fully in sync.
Key Benefits
- Standardized formatting across all quotes and proposals
- Significant time savings for your sales team
- Improved deal velocity by eliminating manual steps
- Seamless integration with HubSpot workflows for automation
Whether you stick with HubSpot's built-in quoting tool or use Portant for greater customization and automation, streamlining this process is essential to scaling your sales operations effectively.
Final Thoughts + Full Guide
Manual proposal and quote generation introduces delays, inconsistencies, and missed opportunities. By leveraging the tools already available in HubSpot - and extending their functionality with tools like Portant - you can transform a major sales bottleneck into a seamless, automated process.
If your organization is ready to improve quote consistency, reduce time-to-send, and accelerate deal closure, start by exploring these native and integrated automation solutions today.
For the full guide click here >
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