Microsoft Dynamics CRM Services and Solutions

Sales Process – Do you really have one?

9/15/2022

As we determine the deployment requirements for Dynamics CRM, one of our first discovery questions we ask for is a copy of the sales process. It is still quite surprising how many organizations do not have a documented process. We are often told that sales process is something that “all the account managers know”. Sometimes there might be an elaborate Visio diagram tucked away, out of sight, generated by a previous VP of Sales, which outlines an unusual number of steps, however, today no one on the sales team is aware of or following. Even when a sales process is unearthed, quite often there is no role for marketing in the process.

According to Objective Management Group http://www.objectivemanagement.com/ 92% of the companies whose sales force they evaluate have ineffective, incomplete, non-existent sales processes, or sales processes that their people don’t follow.

0 Comments

Achieving Expected Value

10/1/2021

Bob,

We deployed Dynamics CRM about four years ago, and frankly I don’t think we have moved the needle in the last few years to get enough value out of the tool. What should we be doing different?

- Jake

Dear Jake,

Deploying and using CRM is a moving through a maturity process. The first step is understanding that you need a phased plan – a roadmap. Your plan must have measurable milestones. With everyone in the organization having the ability to visualize the key KPIs en route, and make adjustments in the roadmap as needed.

5 Questions to Determine if Your Client Needs a CRM Tune-up

9/8/2021

What questions can you use to help determine if a client needs their CRM Refreshed?

A good starting point for a conversation is asking the CEO/Owner how well is their current CRM system telling them:

The average revenue generated per lead closed?
Their win/loss ratio on quotes?
Why and to whom do account managers lose sales?
Which account managers are not following up on marketing leads?
The length of time a key account has a service request open?

IT Providers: Partnering for Better Client CRM Support

12/15/2020

Dear Bob,

We are an IT Services company. I have a client who uses Dynamics 365 CRM - but they're really frustrated with the tool. I would like to help them but the whole CRM business model is not a good fit for us. I also don’t want to lose my relationship with the client by just passing them off to anyone. However, I know that if I don’t take action soon the client will go out on their own looking for help, which might cut me out altogether.

What options do I have?

-- John

Dear John,

A majority of CRM referrals that we get from our IT Managed Service partners are existing Dynamics 365 CRM users who are stuck and highly frustrated. They are not getting the results they expected, and your client’s problem can easily cause you grief.

The case for hiring external CRM experts

6/3/2019

Most customers who have, or are looking to purchase a Dynamics CRM system are looking to achieve basic results which boil down to two frequently stated objectives: retain current customers and acquire new customers to power growth. Both of these objectives rely on extensive understanding of customer relationships grounded in business data such as account details, sales history, end use information, industry assessment, response to campaigns, etc. If the business does not win through the transformation of time-sensitive management of this data to systems that provide not more data, but useful information and insights, they will lose to competition who are leading in this strategic approach. If your customers are not moving to this new business reality, then they are falling behind.