TIDBITS on Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft WPC

I am here at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference and started today at the Small Business Symposium Pre-conference day. A packed day of great information on growing small technology businesses and partnering with Microsoft.

What has been fascinating is that at breakfast today I have already had a couple of great conversations on Microsoft Dynamics CRM and how partners in this SBSC space are working with it.

What did we talk about? Selling Microsoft CRM!

Let's face it, the sale is different. Yes, it changes the entire culture of the firm, but this is something that can happen so slowly that the small business owner doesn't feel the pain of the process.

So what doesn't work in the sales process (or at least doesn't work the majority of the time)? It doesn't work to tell the CEO that every process and every person in his firm will have to change with adoption of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

The New MS CRM VPC

Sorry Ben but I need to blog about this one !  Today I watched a webcast on the new VPC for MS CRM from Microsoft and I was excited to see a number of new feature. What I wasn't thrilled about was that they were simply custom applications written using the MS CRM Framework. Custom as in they are not part of the software package MS CRM, but simply show the art of the possible!

Hello Team: As much as I think it is totally cool that you can design, architech and create the world using MS CRM I also want to mention that I am not a big fan of custom software for everything. You see when you write custom code you move away from "Standard" and into that what you create you must feed, water, tend, care for and forever update.

This is the world of software development! Code should never be written lightly. Releasing software code either as a stand alone package or as a customization needs serious thought and consideration! 

Here are a list of just a few of the questions:

What will be the long term ROI?

Who will maintain updates?

Who will do Q&A and testing every time a patch is applied to the operating system, to the software, to the hardware environment to insure these unique customizations don't break?

Will these changes become part of the core product over time or will they always need to be maintained?

Is the person making these items a good documenter?

Will someone else be able to easily take over and understand what was done?

After 10 years of eating/drinking/living and being in every roll at a small Software Development company writing core plumping code for medium size businesses.. my thoughts come right off the plate of "learning it all the hardway".. so

I would suggest we don't make the world of technolgoy harder by demonstrating things that don't exist, that are not available and that have to be "custom coded" for every client. 

Ok, ok you had some happy big player partners! A couple of quotes. Perhaps they love the show and tell, because the customer's appetite gets wet and the customer just wants it and will pay for it... They want what they see, but at what price? Sure the partners make money, Microsoft might even make money and for a little while the customer is happy.. but will the solution then also turn into the "Sales Logix" model.. A product with a strong reputation for being a black hole sink for money into customizations and development.. hurting business, hurting technology's reputation and hurting the success of the firm over the long haul?

I suspect many will disagree with me! In fact maybe some very strongly, but is a custom programmer, creating custom solutions for every client really the right answer?

 

Things to think about when selling MS CRM

Are you tasked with selling MS CRM? Will thinks of these major items when preparing for presenting to a new prospect –

• Dynamics CRM can work how your client wants to work and where your client wants to work
• You’re selling Business Process Management so listen for the customers “pain points”
• Stay focused on Relationship Management not Contact Management

I try and avoid these no win “pitfalls"

• Product feature wars with a peculiar product Selling just the software or a software installation
• Lingering on bells and whistles that us technologists think are neat at the expense of addressing business issues

Major wow factors that work for us:

• The right information at the right time to the right person – SharePoint integration with Dynamics CRM, Office 2003 Professional, SQL Reporting Services.
• User customizations to enable users direct impact on system adaptation and project success (customer involvement in the solution) Workflow, Integration, etc. that powers automation of critical business processes
• Dynamics CRM is like Microsoft Outlook on steroids” – a quote from one of our customers
• Ease of use - almost everyone knows how to use Outlook and a web browser

A major thanks to Will Hadly, Project Manager, TIP Technology Integration Providers, LLC for sharing!

why MICROSOFT CRM?

"Improved Microsoft Office Outlook integration: Work without leaving Outlook

The foremost design objective in creating Microsoft CRM 3.0 was tighter integration with Microsoft Office Outlook, the most used application in the Office suite. Tighter Outlook integration means less application-switching, faster adoption by users, and higher productivity for every customer-facing employee in your organization. Users can look up customer information, send and manage e-mail, set up appointments, and capture customer discussions, all without ever leaving Outlook."

Sometimes trying to resay the same thing is just not needed. Needless to say this little quote off the Microsoft Dynamics website pretty much sums it up!