An "Alternate Set" is a bundle of similar items you can create in your Cloud catalog. Items can be products, labor types, or even packages. When added to the quote, the customer will see all items under the alternate set in the proposal and can choose their preferred one.

Example 1: An alternate set for ENS Security camera, Luma, and Engenius cameras, and the customer can choose one of them.

Example 2: An alternate set for a Premium price Home Theater package, a Mid-range package, and an Economy package, and the customer can choose one of them..

You can add as many alternate sets as you wish to your catalog. To add an alternate set:

1/ Go to "Catalog > Alternate Sets" and click "Add alternate set" in the top-right. This will open the modal to add items from your catalog or D-Tools Library.

2/ Give the set an intuitive name and description, and add as many items as you want.

3/ Click "Create."

4/ Now, open the Edit view of the set by clicking its 3-dot menu and "Edit." In the modal, you have the following options to define the set.

Type of Set

Choose from the following options:

Item Label

You can provide intuitive item labels and descriptions for the items in the set to help customers make informed decisions.

Accessories and Labor

You have the option to let Cloud apply the exact accessories and labor of the recommended item to the customer-selected item when the customer selects a different item in the set.

5/ Once defined, click "Save" to save the updates.

Here are some of the benefits of using alternates in the proposal.

One of the main benefits of item alternates is the ability to upsell on your proposal without coming across as a sales pitch. This allows you to provide customers with options that are more expensive, enabling them to realize that upgrading might only cost them $X more.

By providing your customer with options, you allow them to customize on their own time and consider how they want to personalize their home. This provides them with a positive experience; your recommendations make them feel in control.

At D-Tools, we believe this is the most important reason. By engaging your customers in your proposal, they subconsciously become more invested in you than in the competitor who presented a printed document. It no longer becomes a question of who to work with, but rather what options they want to pursue, increasing your closing rate and selling more deals.

Iterating with the client can require multiple versions of the quote, which can be time-consuming due to the back-and-forth communication with the client. Allowing options to be at the clients' fingertips can save them time and help them make decisions faster.

You can add alternate items in the quote in two ways:

Add a predefined alternate set created in the catalog

Here, a predefined alternate set is added as an item to the quote from the catalog.

Check out this article for more details.

Add alternates for an item

Here, you will have to define a temporary alternate set just for the quote. You have the option to save the temporary set in the catalog along with the predefined alternate sets if you think you will need them in other quotes.

Check out this article for more details.