10 Minutes with a Salesforce CPQ Architect: Tayo Chestnut
If you’re familiar with Salesforce CPQ, you know that it’s a very powerful solution for our customers, but mastering CPQ is a tough battle. So, for those of you who are working with Salesforce CPQ or those that are just starting out with the product, we thought we’d talk to our experts to share some tips!
For the final installment of our 3-part series, “10 Minutes with a Salesforce CPQ Architect”, we caught up with Tayo Chestnut, a Senior Architect at Salesforce.
About Tayo
A native of Columbia, Maryland, and a proud graduate of Morgan State University’s School of Engineering, Tayo has been in the Salesforce ecosystem for almost 15 years in roles ranging from development to architect. He spends his free time with his lovely wife and 2 daughters and enjoys coaching basketball and snowboarding.
You’ve done a lot of projects — in your experience, what are some key things that make a CPQ project successful?
Tayo: Setting expectations early on! And not only for what the customer wants from the product and project, but also the limitations of CPQ. Be sure to level set from a technical and business standpoint — I see a disconnect in many projects because CPQ can’t do XYZ, but the customer expects it from a business point of view.
It’s also important to get the right people in the meetings. A recurring theme in projects is that the business is never on the call — instead, the Product Owner is translating on behalf of the business, and the people actually using CPQ are not in the room. And when you’ve worked so hard on the build and they show up to the demo, it’s not what they want. Get end-users involved, and do so early!
Related to the above, what are some red flags in a CPQ project, that you may notice early on, and want to bring up early?
Tayo: An unhinged product catalog. Products are the foundation of a CPQ project, and a product means different things to different customers. Of your catalog, are you quoting every nut & bolt…and if so, why? Can we define that as1 product?
An (overly) complicated approval process. Why are there so many levels of approvals, and why are there 15 different hoops to jump through to get a quote out the door? Can we replace these with Product Rules, QCP logic, etc to help get the quote approved?
Messy bundle structures. I see bundles that are 10 levels deep, and all I can think is…why? Is that necessary? Who’s saying we have to do it?
What are some trends you’ve seen in your projects in the past year, in relation to customers and their needs?
Tayo: The biggest challenge is that all customers want to use the CPQ APIs at lightning speed, which isn’t possible. For example, customers want to use CPQ as a pricing engine — they want to create a nice interface using Experience Cloud, then use CPQ just to generate a price. The CPQ API takes about 45 seconds to return that price…add that to the calculate, approval, amendment APIs…that’s a lot of waiting time for the end user.
Another trend is in approvals — we have the capability to delegate approvers (usually for OOO), but these days customers want a ‘regular’ delegated approval process. I understand the need, but the product doesn’t do it naturally, and this is a good place to remind customers that business transformation is key, instead of customizing like crazy.
What’s the most challenging part of this role?
Tayo: Playing your position. Before Salesforce, I was always on “1-man projects”, meaning I did everything from documentation to testing! Now, I have to learn how to let go — my job is to architect, the other person’s is to configure, or test. I have to constantly remind myself to play my role as best as possible, and enable others as best as possible.
An important part of the role is taking ownership and responsibility. If something goes wrong, even if it’s not my fault, I take the blame as well as ownership of the correction to be made. It’s a priority to do what you gotta do!
Time management can also be a challenge . So many meetings and calls to deal with, sometimes for stuff that isn’t even in your scope — doing that, then turning around and having to actually do the work… there aren’t enough hours in the day.
Any message or wise words you’d like to pass on to an aspiring Salesforce Architect?
Tayo: Know as much about the platform as possible! Suck up bits of core and specialized knowledge, you’ll never know when it’ll come in handy. Makes you more viable, and you can dictate your own career path. Keep yourself flexible!
My biggest struggle is being locked into CPQ…I did Sales and Service in the past, and I have the choice to do them again.
My last piece of advice is to get your certifications and invest in yourself. Even an extra 30 minutes spent doing something Salesforce related every other day makes a difference, and it makes you a better architect. Doesn’t need to be hours and hours of time!
Just for fun: what’s a hidden talent/hobby of yours?
I got a Peloton recently….and I’m obsessed! I even quit riding bikes with my friends, but never miss a Peloton session. When I wake up, I open the garage door to make sure she’s still there in the morning. I can’t stop!! Sometimes up to 3 times a day.
Check out Salesforce CPQ & Billing on the AppExchange.
