500 Hours to Go Live: Why Prioritization Is Key

When implementing a CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) system, one of the biggest challenges is scope. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to solve every problem upfront — from complex product configurations to multiple pricing strategies and integrations with other business systems. But chasing perfection often leads to long timelines, inflated budgets, and a system that takes years to deliver.

What if the secret to CPQ success wasn’t in trying to do everything at once, but in focusing on delivering value as quickly as possible?

Limiting your initial implementation to 500 hours, or roughly 4-5 months, can ensure that your project stays on track, avoids unnecessary complexity, and gets your sales team up and running with new tools faster. Here's why prioritization is key.

The Myth of the Perfect Implementation

Many companies enter a CPQ implementation with a “go big or go home” mindset. They want to address every potential challenge, every edge case, and create a system that can handle any sales scenario imaginable. It’s an admirable goal, but it’s one that often leads to over-engineered solutions that take years to implement.

The reality is that trying to solve everything upfront leads to scope creep, delays, and endless revisions. The result? A system that’s bloated and too complex for its own good, and worse, your sales team is left waiting for months, even years, before they can begin using it.

The truth is, perfection doesn’t exist in CPQ implementation. Instead of aiming for an all-encompassing solution from the start, the smarter approach is to focus on what matters most — prioritizing the features and functionalities that deliver immediate value.

Why 500 Hours Is the Sweet Spot

So, how can companies ensure they don’t fall into the trap of endless implementations? By setting a strict time limit, typically 500 hours or 4-5 months, for the first phase of the CPQ project. This approach forces teams to focus on high-priority features, leaving more complex or lower-priority tasks for later phases.

Here’s why 500 hours is the sweet spot:

1. Focus on the Essentials: With a fixed timeframe, teams are forced to prioritize the core features that will deliver the most value. Instead of getting lost in edge cases, the focus stays on what’s most important — getting the sales team live with a system that can handle the majority of their use cases.

2. Avoid Scope Creep: One of the biggest risks in any implementation is scope creep — when new features and requests are added on mid-project, expanding the timeline and budget. With a strict 500-hour limit, there’s no room for unnecessary additions. The team stays laser-focused on delivering the essentials.

3. Get to Market Faster: The longer a CPQ system takes to implement, the longer your sales team is working with inefficient tools. A shorter implementation timeline means your team can start using the new system sooner, improving their efficiency and driving more sales.

4. Iterate and Improve: By focusing on quick wins in the first phase, companies can iterate and improve over time. Rather than waiting for a “perfect” system, they can begin using a functional solution and make improvements as they go. This phased approach allows for continuous feedback and adjustments.

Quick Wins: Focusing on What Matters Most

In a 500-hour project, it’s all about identifying the “quick wins” — the features that will provide the most immediate benefit to your sales team. This might include:

• Configuring your top-selling products: Start with the products or services that represent the bulk of your sales. Ensure that these products are fully configurable within the system so your sales team can quickly generate quotes and close deals.

• Basic pricing and quoting rules: Implement essential pricing structures and quoting rules that allow the team to create accurate quotes without having to manually adjust each detail.

• Streamlining document generation: Ensure that your CPQ system can generate the most commonly used sales documents, like proposals and contracts, to save time and reduce errors.

• User-friendly workflows: Set up workflows that guide your sales team through the quoting process without overwhelming them with unnecessary steps.

By focusing on these essential features, you’ll deliver immediate value to your sales team while keeping the project within the 500-hour limit.

Why Prioritization Matters More Than Ever

When you’re working within a limited timeframe, prioritization becomes critical. You need to decide what’s truly essential for the first phase of your CPQ implementation and what can wait. This might mean leaving out some advanced configurations or integrations in the initial rollout. But by focusing on delivering a functional system quickly, you can start driving value for your business sooner.

Advanced CPQ platforms like Tacton are built with this kind of flexibility in mind. Their modular design allows businesses to implement core features first and add more complex configurations and integrations over time. This phased approach means you’re not committing to a multi-year project from the start. Instead, you can start small, deliver value quickly, and scale as your needs evolve.

Avoiding the 10,000-Hour Trap

We’ve all heard the horror stories — CPQ implementations that were supposed to take a few months but end up stretching over multiple years, eating up thousands of hours in the process. The key to avoiding this trap is recognizing that not every feature needs to be implemented from day one.

By setting a realistic timeframe and focusing on what’s essential, you avoid the trap of trying to do everything at once. And as you start using the system, you’ll gain insights that will help you prioritize future phases more effectively.

Companies like Swift Lifts have seen the value of this approach firsthand. By focusing on a core set of features in their first 500 hours, they were able to go live with a functional CPQ system in under five months, saving time and money in the process. As their business scaled, they continued to add new features and integrations, but their sales team was already benefiting from the initial rollout.

Prioritize for Success

CPQ implementation doesn’t have to be a years-long project. By focusing on prioritization and limiting the initial implementation to 500 hours, you can deliver a functional, value-driven solution in just a few months. The key is to focus on quick wins, avoid scope creep, and iterate as you go. In doing so, you’ll not only get your sales team using the system faster, but you’ll also create a scalable foundation for future growth.

This is achievable because of our team of very senior consultants, who bring years of deep CPQ expertise to every project. We leverage pre-defined best practices that are already built into our CPQ solution, allowing us to hit the ground running with a proven approach. Combined with a razor-sharp focus on the customer’s needs, we ensure that every implementation is tailored for maximum impact from the very start.