Summary:
Intelligent Digital Assistant (IDA) is an AI-powered ranking helps prioritize the most valuable quotes. This article explains the FAQs behind this topic.
Table of Contents:
Foundations: Understanding Quotes and Hot Quote Logic
• What is a Quote?
• How does the logic behind the Hot Quote work?
• Why does the quote ranking change in My Insights?
• Why do I have high-ranked Hot Quotes that appear that have a low
dollar value?
• Why do I see draft quotes?
Taking Action: Prioritizing and Following Up on Quotes
• Can I call out on lower-ranked quotes?
• What do I do if I've already called out to all the quotes ranked as "Hot" on the X4A My Insights dashboard?
• I have a strategic partner who isn’t showing at all near the top/not of my Insights list, can I still focus on them?
Customer Engagement: Calls, Follow-Ups, and Documentation
• Why do I need to follow up with a phone call—can’t I just send an email?
• Why do I need to administrate a phone call record in CRM?
• What kind of notes can I include on my CRM phone call activities?
• I have visited my customer on site and have spoken in person about a hot quote—how do I log this?
• I have followed up and called my customer a second time—how do I document this?
Managing Quotes in CRM and My Insights
• Do I close my quote once it is won, lost, etc.?
• Should I close out my Quote Insight if I’m no longer working on it or do not want it to show up in my dashboard any longer?
Feedback and Continuous Improvement
• Why is my feedback important?
Foundations: Understanding Quotes and Hot Quote Logic
Question 1. What is a Quote?
Answer: A quote represents a formal offer to a customer created through the X4A/CRM. It outlines
pricing, terms, and deliverables, helping move the opportunity toward closure. Once a quote is
created through the platform, IDA can prioritize IT.
Question 2. How does the logic behind the Hot Quote work?
Answer: An AI-driven model prioritizes “Draft” and “Active” quotes with future effective dates, focusing on those with the greatest Expected Value (conversion probability revenue). It evaluates 30+ factors such as quote specifics, historical conversion rates, reseller behavior, and vendor
details.
Key Factors Analyzed include:
• Quote-Specific Data: Value, status, modification history, effective date, ownership (ISR/AM), etc.
• Quote History (BCN & Vendor): Number of quotes, total value, invoice history, and patterns over the past year.
• CRM Quotes: For a quote to be prioritized, it needs to be created and managed in CRM as a quote. (Any manual quotes residing outside of the platform will not be tracked or prioritized.)
Question 3. Why does the quote ranking change in My Insights?
Answer: The AI model refreshes daily; changes in underlying parameters will potentially cause a change in the rating. On top of the daily refresh, dynamic ranking is available to ensure that when a filter is applied, you can always view the re-ranked list of quotes (by Expected Value)
within that filter selection.
Question 4. Why do I have high-ranked Hot Quotes that appear that have a low dollar value?
Answer: The AI/ML model ranks Quotes based on Expected Value (conversion revenue). Some quotes may still appear with lower dollar values if their probability of conversion is high. To avoid seeing low dollar value quotes in My Insights, use the value filter to set a minimum threshold.
Question 5. Why do I see draft quotes?
Answer: The expectation is to call out to customers on Active quotes. Draft quotes are shown as a reminder of quotes that can still be converted to active.
Taking Action: Prioritizing and Following Up on Quotes
Question 6. Can I call out on lower-ranked quotes?
Answer: Yes! Any calls made, whether on higher- or lower-ranked quotes, that are tagged to the IDA Campaign count toward the Hot Quotes activity metric.
Question 7. I have a strategic partner who isn’t showing at all near the top/not of my Insights list, can I
still focus on them?
Answer: Yes. While the AI/ML model prioritizes quotes based on Expected Value (conversion revenue), you can still call on other quotes for your partners by applying filters to their accounts.
Customer Engagement: Calls, Follow-Ups, and Documentation
Question 8. Why do I need to follow up with a phone call—can’t I just send an email?
Answer: Tests have shown that a direct conversation is the most effective way to convert the quotes into an order, besides the additional information that can be picked up out of the conversation can be used to gain additional business with the customer. You heard Sanjib talking about moving from Transaction to Interaction: we want you to spend time interacting with the customer.
Question 9. Why do I need to administrate a phone call record in CRM?
Answer: Ensuring a phone call record is administrated and tagged to the IDA Campaign ensures that we are accurately tracking and documenting your progress and wins. It's a great way to capture and give visibility to YOUR Success!
Question 10. What kind of notes should I include on my CRM phone call activities?
Answer: Great question! Phone call records are a great opportunity to showcase your engagement with your partner and set reminders for yourself.
Here are some tips/reminders to ensure you're having and documenting high quality calls:
• Clear Purpose: Remember to include the activity type in your notes(e.g., Reach out,
Follow-Up, Discovery, etc.)
• Summary of Discussion: key points like customer needs, objections, next steps
• Outcome: Note if contact was made, voicemail left, or a follow-up is required
• Next Action (CTA): Set a clear follow-up task or meeting if applicable to ensure you have context the next time you follow up on a quote!
And most importantly, Success Stories! If you had a good interaction with a customer or received some valuable feedback, include it in the notes! Ex: "I called my customer and because of my timely follow-up, we closed the quote, and a net new opportunity was created."
Question 11. I have visited my customer on site and have spoken in person about a hot quote—how do I
log this?
Answer: Great! You can also document this on the hot quote as a phone call record.
Question 12. I have followed up and called my customer a second time—how do I document this?
Answer: Please create a second phone call record. Creating another call record in an excellent way of showing your diligence! Keep up the good work!
Managing Quotes in CRM and My Insights
Question 13. Do I close my quote once it is won, lost, etc.?
Answer: To ensure the quote remains "Hot", please avoid closing the quote in CRM until an order has been placed. Once an order has been placed for a hot-quote and/or you no longer want it to appear on your dashboard, you may close the quote in CRM.
Question 14. Should I close out my Quote Insight if I’m no longer working on it or do not want it to show
up in my dashboard any longer?
Answer: Yes, you may close out the insight in the Quotes Insights page of My Insights at any point. Once an order has been placed for a hot-quote and you no longer want it to appear on your dashboard, you may close the quote in CRM.
Question 15. I have a strategic partner who isn’t showing up with any Hot Quotes - they are lower on the
list. Can I focus on them?
Answer: Yes, while the AI/ML behind hot quotes does predict the propensity of the quote to an order, you may focus on other quotes for your partners and filter to their quotes as well.
Feedback and Continuous Improvement
Question 16. Why is my feedback important?
Answer: Your feedback is important because that is how we improve the insights and process. Through consistent feedback, we can continue to enhance and optimize the IDA process and flow!
Question 17. Where can I share my feedback?
Answer: Contact your manager or country Platform Success Manager (PSM) to share feedback.