TIDBITS on the Microsoft Power Platform

Scheduling

Do you know about Microsoft Dynamics CRM Scheduling? Many firms do not realize how powerful this feature of the product is. There are times when a firm wants something and it has to be created, and there are other times when the product has depth and functionality that just has not been discovered. This is the case when it comes to scheduling, the power is there, and it is not only for the scheduling of staff it also handles the scheduling of resources.

Take for instance the scheduling of your conference rooms, the shared projectors and/or the use of traveling laptops. Each of these resources can be tracked and scheduled using the power of Dynamics CRM. 

Interesting Dilemna

If a relationship is defined as the interaction of two people; how would a company track all the numerous relationships between perhaps a single person at a company and the various staff members within the servicing firm.

So John Smith works for ABC Corporation and ABC Corporation purchases services from PSI. PSI has 5 technical people who at any given time work with John Smith.

You want to document these relationships and perhaps unique notes from each PSI tech, but you also want want historical flow for John Smith.

This can be done with the opening and closing of activities and you can also use the Relationship feature of Dynamics CRM to build the relationship table.

What is in a Name?

MS CRM, Microsoft CRM, Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM......

Unfortunately you will find all of the above terms sprinkled around the web. I have been orienting on Dynamics CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM as the core product name. Yes, it can be a bit long at times, but the "Dynamics" branding sure makes for an easy discussion.

Dynamics SL

Dynamics GP

Dynamics NAV                                              Dynamics CRM

Dynamics AX

Bulk Editing

One of the best features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is Bulk Editing, but the option might not be enabled for your role by default. Certainly you do not want to give the power of bulk edit to everyone, but offering it for the right situation can be very powerful.

For instance if you want to reassign all the leads from a previous employee to a new employee or if you want to mark a selected set of contacts with a new category or classification.

Bulk Edit is a wonderful and yet sometimes unknown feature of Dynamics CRM v3.0

Partner Question of the Day

The question of the day is "As a guru, guru Microsoft Partner, is the training in Dynamics CRM necessary?"

The Answer: YES ... did I say that loud enough? There is so much in this product that is so awesome that investing a day or more to really focus and learn the potential is well worth it. After a day you will be amazed at what you can do (no you will not be discouraged) Even if you only retain 10% of what you see and hear, that knowledge will serve you well as you learn more and more about your client environments.

There are three areas of training and each comes with a great book..

• Installation and Configuration
• Application
• Customization

Definitely Get a Day of Training on your calendar today!

Who is a Prospect for Dynamics CRM?

As I accumulate to my new location (Houston, Texas) I am amazed at how many different businesses around this large city could benefit from Dynamics CRM. There are also business models that take a bit more effort if the only offering is the functionality and power of Dynamics CRM (without Great Plains or .Net integration). The trick is to focus on the perfect fits, communicate well on the great fits and offer the client the right solution. My style has always been about fitting the core of any specific application to it's natural environment.

So what type of businesses are a really good fit for Dynamics CRM?

They can range from large to small or even tiny - for even some of the smallest business can have some of the most complex workflow needs.

On the Large Side: Dynamics CRM fits well in firms doing and or all of the following:

Sales

Sales Analysis

Sales Managment

Sales Force Automation

Task Management

Project Management

Services

Customer Service

Complex Scheduling

Relationship tracking (this can be about things, animals, people and more)

and

complex marketing - such as multi-stepped marketing campaigns or numerous announcements and e-mail communications!

Did I miss any?