CPQ Podcast

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Godard Abel, co-founder and CEO of G2, about how AI, software reviews, and answer engines are changing the way companies evaluate CPQ and enterprise software. Godard shares G2's key priorities for 2026, including AI transformation, the integration of Gartner Digital Markets, and the growing importance of trusted software review data. With the acquisition of Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp, G2 now works with more than 6 million reviews and a significantly larger buyer audience. This creates new opportunities for software buyers, CPQ vendors, and AI-driven recommendation engines. The conversation also explores how more CPQ buyers are starting their research journey in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude instead of relying only on Google searches, analyst reports, or traditional review sites. Godard explains why Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, is becoming increasingly important and how it relates to SEO. He also discusses how G2 is optimizing content for both human buyers and AI agents. Frank and Godard also talk about the role of AI in CPQ, including where AI can help with research, software comparison, and decision support, and why human judgment remains important for complex CPQ evaluations. Godard also shares G2's plans around AI blueprints, AI-enabled software identification, and the future of cross-system automation. Beyond technology, Godard discusses G2's PEAK values — Performance, Entrepreneurship, Authenticity, and Kindness — as well as Pledge 1%, entrepreneurship, and his personal experience completing the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. This episode is especially relevant for CPQ buyers, CPQ vendors, software evaluators, revenue leaders, and anyone interested in how AI is reshaping enterprise software selection. 🔗 Learn more about G2 at https://www.g2.com/ 📬 Contact Godard on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/godardabel/

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Rohit Chhabra, Chief Product Officer at Conga, about Conga's CPQ strategy, the role ofConga Smart CPQ, and how AI is becoming a broader part of the quote-to-cash and commercial operations landscape. Rohit shares insights from more than 25 years of business, engineering, and product leadership experience, including how his background shapes the way he works with teams, prioritizes product investments, and focuses on customer outcomes. He also discusses his involvement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation / Breakthrough T1D and how that personal connection has influenced his views on leadership, urgency, and mission-driven work. The conversation covers Conga's two CPQ product lines: Conga Advantage CPQ and Conga Smart CPQ. Rohit explains why the solutions address different customer segments and industry requirements, and why Conga plans to continue investing in both offerings rather than forcing them into a single product path. A key topic is the role of pricing optimization and pricing explainability, especially following Conga's acquisition of PROS. Rohit also discusses Conga's broader AI approach across CPQ, pricing, contract lifecycle management, and document automation, including sales agents, redline-related AI capabilities, admin AI for rule maintenance, and a unified AI technology stack. Listeners will also hear Rohit's perspective on integration strategy, including Conga's OEM relationship with Workato, expansion beyond Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, potential HubSpot CRM support, and how Conga prioritizes its roadmap using a business-outcome-based approach. This episode is especially relevant for anyone interested in CPQ software, pricing optimization, AI in quote-to-cash, revenue lifecycle management, CLM integration, and the future direction of Conga's CPQ portfolio. 🔗 Learn more about Conga at https://conga.com/ 📬 Contact Rohit on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohitchhabra1/

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Parag Jagdale, Co-Founder and CEO of Unific, about the continued evolution of Quotific, Unific's CPQ and quoting solution for eCommerce-driven businesses. Parag explains how Quotific has developed since his last appearance on the podcast, including deeper integration with Shopify, support for customer-specific price lists, location-based inventory visibility, and improved product catalog search capabilities. He also discusses why Shopify's recent B2B-related enhancements are creating new opportunities for companies that need a more connected quote-to-order process. A major theme of the conversation is the growing need to reduce fragmentation between eCommerce, CRM, quoting, pricing, approval, and order management processes. Parag shares why many customers want sales teams to work primarily inside HubSpot, while still connecting quoting and ordering activity with Shopify. He also explains why Unific has chosen to focus more deeply on Shopify and HubSpot before expanding its integration efforts with platforms such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics. The discussion also covers common challenges in B2B eCommerce and high-ticket B2C selling, including pricing complexity, discount approvals, fragmented workflows, and the difficulty of changing sales rep behavior. Parag shares examples from customer conversations and explains why time savings, easier quote management, and a smoother buyer experience are key adoption drivers. Toward the end of the episode, Frank and Parag discuss the role of AI in CPQ, including product recommendations, customer segmentation, and the potential for AI to improve the buying experience in eCommerce-focused CPQ scenarios. This episode is especially relevant for anyone interested in CPQ, eCommerce CPQ, Shopify CPQ, HubSpot quoting, B2B eCommerce, quote-to-order automation, and the future of AI in CPQ. 🔗 Learn more about Unific at https://www.unific.com/ 📬 Contact Parag on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paragjagdale/

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, host Frank Sohn sits down with Siva Rajamani, the Co-Founder and CEO of Everstage, to discuss the evolving landscape of Revenue Operations and the critical role of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software in modern business. Siva shares his journey from managing Revenue Operations at Freshworks—where he witnessed the company scale from $10M to $100M ARR—to founding Everstage in 2020. Having seen firsthand how pricing changes can disrupt downstream operations, Siva built Everstage to empower RevOps and Finance teams with a strategic, no-code platform. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The Evolution of Everstage: How a platform with 300+ enterprise customers for incentive compensation expanded into a cutting-edge CPQ solution in October 2024. AI & Agent-Led Innovation: How Everstage is leveraging AI and intelligent agents to automate code creation and simplify the user experience for sales reps. Market Focus & Growth: Why Everstage is prioritizing the tech industry for its CPQ rollout and its ambitious goal to add 150 new CPQ customers this year. Complex Pricing & Integrations: A deep dive into the platform's ability to handle subscription pricing, ramp deals, usage-based models, and 100+ out-of-the-box integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite, and Stripe. The Human Side of Tech: Siva talks about his life as a "Girl Dad" and the importance of staying grounded while scaling a global startup. Whether you are a RevOps professional, a finance leader, or a CPQ enthusiast, this conversation offers a masterclass in building scalable systems that drive revenue growth. 🔗 Learn more about Everstage at https://www.everstage.com/ 📬 Contact Siva on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasrajamani/ Don't forget to subscribe to the CPQ Podcast on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform for more insights into the world of Quote-to-Cash!

In this episode, Frank Sohn sits down with Erik Pilgrim, Founder and CEO of RenderDraw, to explore how 3D visualization is transforming the complex world of CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote). Erik shares his journey from leading pre-sales and product teams in the SAP and Salesforce ecosystems to founding RenderDraw just as the world changed in early 2020. We dive deep into how RenderDraw acts as a powerful visualization and interaction layer for some of the world's largest manufacturers and high-tech companies. They discuss: The "Visual Gap" in CPQ: Why standard configurations often fall short for heavy industrial manufacturing and complex CAD-heavy assemblies. Platform Agnosticism: While heavily rooted in the Salesforce ecosystem (including integrations with Agentforce), Erik explains how the market is shifting toward a CPQ-agnostic approach, with RenderDraw now supporting ServiceNow (Logik.ai) and Conga. The Manufacturing Lifecycle: Moving beyond the quote to explore product discovery, digital twins, and spare parts reordering. The AI Revolution: An inside look at Journeys, RenderDraw's new standalone 3D + AI application designed for both humans and AI agents. Implementation Realities: Why a "one-day setup" is a myth for enterprises, and how to build a visual solution that a standard Salesforce Admin can maintain. Whether you are a Mid-Market leader or an Enterprise architect in industrial manufacturing or data centers, this episode provides a roadmap for leveraging spatial reasoning to close deals faster and improve the post-purchase experience. 🔗 Learn more about RenderDraw at https://renderdraw.com/ 📬 Contact Erik on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikpilgrim/