CPQ Podcast

Frank Sohn

The CPQ Podcast is your go-to source for all things Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ). Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry leaders, innovators, and practitioners who share real-world insights, strategies, and success stories. Whether you're in Sales Ops, RevOps, IT, or Product Management, this podcast helps you stay ahead in the evolving CPQ landscape — from CPQ tools and processes to digital selling, product configuration, pricing strategy, and Quote-to-Cash trends. Tune in to expand your CPQ knowledge, explore new solutions, and hear from the voices shaping the future of B2B sales automation.

  1. MAR 15

    What Conga Connect 2026 Revealed About Conga's CPQ Direction

    At Conga Connect 2026 in Orlando, Conga made one thing clear: it wants to be seen as more than a CPQ or CLM vendor. In this episode, Frank Sohn shares his high-level takeaways from the event, including Conga's new brand direction, what the company's "connected commerce" message means, and why the future of its three CPQ paths matters for customers and prospects alike. Frank also looks at the emerging split between Advantage and PROS CPQ, Conga's iFrame-based approach to surfacing Advantage capabilities inside its Salesforce-based product, and why price optimization and AiMe stood out as important parts of the story. The result is a balanced, practical debrief for anyone trying to understand where Conga appears to be heading — and what buyers should watch next. Note: We go on a short spring break and will be back by April 5

    11 min

  2. MAR 8

    The 6 Questions That Fix Most CPQ Shortlists (Before You Watch Another Demo)

    It's a solo episode this week — interview scheduling has been unusually tough this year, so I'm using the opportunity to talk about something that's top of mind for many teams early in the year: CPQ selection. In this episode, I share the six questions that fix most CPQ shortlists before demos start: business model, biggest challenge, CRM fit, ERP fit, go-live speed, and company complexity. The goal isn't to rank vendors — it's to get to a realistic shortlist faster, using a repeatable framework grounded in high-quality briefing research. I also tease a new way I'm building to help teams decide which CPQ briefings to read first — without showing the app. If you tell me your preferred tone (more neutral/analyst vs more conversational), I can tighten this into a single final description that matches your usual intro style exactly.

    14 min

  3. MAR 1

    Why CPQ is Vital for Intelligent Revenue ft. Sergey Jermakov

    In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Sergey Jermakov joins Frank Sohn to explore how CLARITY is moving beyond classic Quote-to-Cash into intelligent revenue operations management—a broader approach that connects CPQ with billing, revenue processes, and monetization models. Sergey explains how his role has shifted from "sales leader" to Revenue Architect, focused on designing scalable solution architectures and packaged delivery. They discuss CLARITY's focus on mid-market to enterprise organizations (now often $50M+ revenue) in high tech and hybrid product + services businesses, plus their expanded delivery footprint across Europe, North America, and Asia. A major theme is AI: not as magic, but as an accelerator. Sergey shares where AI adoption is strongest today (especially sales and marketing) and how AI can help with document-heavy work and data-driven pricing support—while also exposing weaknesses in process and data readiness. They also dig into why CPQ projects fail—reactive architecture, over-customization, and unclear ownership—and why CLARITY increasingly favors implementation packages over open-ended custom projects to drive faster time-to-value and more controlled releases. Finally, Sergey outlines why many SAP customers are moving from Quote 1.0 to SAP Quote 2.0, with performance and scalability as major drivers. Topics: CPQ, AI in CPQ, revenue operations, SAP Quote 2.0, CPQ implementation best practices, solution architecture, packaged delivery, hybrid selling. 🔗 Learn more about CLARITY at https://www.CLARITY.cx/  📬 Contact Sergey on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jermakov/

    33 min

  4. FEB 22

    PandaDoc CPQ for SMB: No-Code Quotes, CRM Integrations + AI

    In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, we sit down with Dustin Anglen, Strategic Partnerships Manager at PandaDoc, to discuss how PandaDoc CPQ supports faster quoting for SMB teams (roughly 5–500 employees). PandaDoc is widely known for proposals and eSignature, and Dustin explains why CPQ is a natural extension—especially for organizations that want a practical, easy-to-administer approach without heavy configuration overhead. We cover where PandaDoc CPQ fits best (including SaaS, software & technology, professional services, and education) and how customers typically use it alongside their CRM. Dustin outlines PandaDoc's API-forward SaaSapproach and its key integrations with HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce. We also discuss what's available today—and what's still evolving—such as ERP connectivity (currently not a standard integration, with MVP work underway) and common customer expectations around implementation, which is often 8–12 weeks. On the capability side, Dustin shares the top requests he sees from the market: product configuration, contract-based pricing, and CRM integration. We talk about product structure support (including bundles), pricing flexibility across segments and regions, usage-based pricing, and how PandaDoc positions its CPQ as a rules engine that is largely no-code (with options for more advanced logic when needed). We also dig into PandaDoc's AI direction—template generation, OCR and document intelligence, metadata-driven automation, and an admin-focused AI feature for helping set up product and pricing rules (currently in testing, with broader availability expected later this year). You'll also hear a few personal moments from Dustin—from his early career in the Salesforce ecosystem (including starting at Apttus in 2014), to an unexpected chapter running a beekeeping business in Santa Barbara, to his passion for freediving near San Diego. A PandaDoc CPQ free trial is available on PandaDoc's website. 🔗 Learn more about PandaDoc CPQ at https://www.pandadoc.com/lp/cpq-software/  📬 Contact Dustin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danglen/

    31 min

  5. FEB 15

    From CPQ to a Configurable Product Platform: Tacton's Nils Olsson

    In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank Sohn sits down with Nils Olsson, Chief Strategy, Product, and Customer Officer at Tacton, to discuss how Tacton is evolving beyond traditional CPQ into a broader platform for configurable products. Nils shares his unique perspective as a former Tacton customer who joined the company in 2015, and explains why staying close to manufacturing customers—through regular conversations across North America, Europe, and Japan—is central to Tacton's strategy. He outlines why 2026 will be a transformative year, with new offerings planned not only for CPQ, but also for engineering, order fulfillment, and services. The conversation also explores how customers are responding to Tacton's recent acquisitions of Variantum and Serenytics, and where AI is delivering real value today. Rather than replacing core CPQ logic, AI is primarily being used to support product modeling, helping customers turn unstructured data into usable configuration knowledge faster and with less effort. Additional topics include hybrid sales models in manufacturing, the shift from ETO to CTO, and why trust, security, and enterprise certifications matter more than ever. Topics covered: The shift from CPQ to end-to-end configurability AI adoption in real-world CPQ projects Manufacturing sales and automation trends What's next for Tacton in 2026 A must-listen for anyone tracking the future of CPQ, configurable products, and manufacturing transformation. 🔗 Learn more about Tacton at https://www.tacton.com/  📬 Contact Nils on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nils-olsson-400715/

    35 min

  6. FEB 8

    What CPQ Headlines Miss — and Why That Matters for 2026

    2025 was full of CPQ and Quote-to-Cash headlines: AI agents, platform transitions, consolidation, and promises of faster execution. Following those announcements is important — but it rarely tells the full story. In this episode, I look at what often gets lost between public messaging and real-world CPQ decisions. Drawing on patterns observed throughout 2025, I explore where market narratives diverged from evaluation and delivery reality — and why that gap becomes even more important as we head into 2026. The discussion covers AI and agent-based capabilities, platform transitions, consolidation, and delivery constraints — not to judge vendors or predict winners, but to explain how execution, readiness, and sequencing shape actual outcomes. If you're involved in CPQ as a buyer, vendor, system integrator, or investor, this episode offers a practical lens for reading headlines without mistaking them for reality. Contact Frank at Frank.Sohn@NovusCPQ.com for any questions LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/franksohn/

    17 min

  7. FEB 1

    New Year CPQ Search? Why CPQ Is So Hard | 125+ Vendors, Too Much Info & What Matters

    It's the beginning of the year — a common time when companies evaluate a new CPQ or Revenue Management solution, or consider replacing what they have. If you've started researching and feel more confused than before, you're not alone. In this solo episode, Frank Sohn explains why CPQ selection is uniquely challenging: there are 125+ CPQ vendors, plus analyst rankings, review sites, partner input, Reddit threads, and now AI tools — all creating information overload. In this episode, you'll learn: Why there are so many CPQ vendors (and what that really means) The difference between CPQ and Revenue Lifecycle Management Why CPQ is a system decision, not just a sales tool What a unified data model is — and why it matters for AI Why subscriptions, amendments, and usage-based pricing change requirements How to build a smarter shortlist without relying on demos or rankings alone If you're in the market for CPQ — first-time or replacement — this episode will help you cut through the noise and focus on what matters. Any questions: Send an email to Frank.Sohn@NovusCPQ.com  Check out our CPQ Briefing Subscription @ https://novuscpq.com/cpq-briefing-subscription/  Check out our CPQ Sales Report @ https://novuscpq.com/cpq-sales-report/

    13 min

  8. JAN 25

    Vinay Toomu on ScaleFluidly's Revenue Orchestration Platform, AI & Adoption

    In this CPQ Podcast episode, Frank Sohn sits down with Vinay Toomu, who leads both ScaleFluidly (CPQ / quote-to-order platform) and CommerceCX (a systems integrator working with Salesforce and Conga). Since Vinay's last appearance in 2023, ScaleFluidly has matured into a full quote-to-order revenue orchestration platform—built on a composable core engine that customers can extend with their own apps. Vinay shares what he sees across real implementations: the biggest wins come from improving adoption, reducing friction for sales teams, and putting the right governance in place. They discuss support for direct sales, partner sales, and ecommerce, ScaleFluidly's low-code/no-code approach, and how their architecture differs for SMB (multi-tenant)versus enterprise (environment separation). The episode also covers newer capabilities like role-based controls, security certifications (ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2), and a Chrome assistant designed to streamline CRM workflows. Finally, they unpack ScaleFluidly's practical view of AI in CPQ—where it works today, what's harder at enterprise scale, and how consolidation in the CPQ market could influence innovation. 🔗 Learn more about ScaleFluidly at https://scalefluidly.ai/  📬 Contact Vinay on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinaytoomu/

    32 min
See All (100)

4.9
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The CPQ Podcast is your go-to source for all things Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ). Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry leaders, innovators, and practitioners who share real-world insights, strategies, and success stories. Whether you're in Sales Ops, RevOps, IT, or Product Management, this podcast helps you stay ahead in the evolving CPQ landscape — from CPQ tools and processes to digital selling, product configuration, pricing strategy, and Quote-to-Cash trends. Tune in to expand your CPQ knowledge, explore new solutions, and hear from the voices shaping the future of B2B sales automation.

Information

  • Creator
    Frank Sohn
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Novus CPQ Consulting, Inc.
  • Show Website
    CPQ Podcast

You Might Also Like