Consumer needs have changed rapidly in the last few years and continue to do so. As a result, the rubrics of selling have had to evolve too.
Customers naturally gravitate towards companies that put their needs first, ahead of those whose primary motivations are to hit sales targets. There is an increased emphasis on crafting personalised experiences for customers that take their preferences and pains into account.
To meet these pressing demands from customers, sales teams have put in place diverse methods and systems to continue to meet targets. However, it is notoriously difficult to know what the customer is thinking, meaning many sales approaches fall flat.
There are many obstacles that make modern day sales complicated. These include complex steps, lack of team-wide training, a need for manual data entry on sales opportunities, poor lead quality and long-winded client calls.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales combats these constraints.
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales?
Dynamics 365 Sales is a CRM (customer relationship management) application, engineered to accelerate the sales management process. This involves activities such as pre-sales, prospecting, building the pipeline, qualification of leads and ultimately transforming them into customers.
D365 Sales provides sales executives with a blueprint for building relationships with potential and existing clients. It also offers insight on the requirements needed to close new deals and for the building of new competencies.
As a result, it can support sales personnel throughout the sales process, including enable them to make decisions based on intelligence and data, work better as a team and streamline task completion.
With these features, D365 Sales boasts significant benefits for businesses. We delve into them next.
The benefits of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
User-friendly
Dynamics 365 Sales presents a user-friendly environment for individuals to navigate and perform tasks. It gives users access to interactive features that are easy to use, reducing barriers to adoption and allowing for swift completion of tasks.
The constant influx of work within sales departments means that catchy interfaces are needed to enhance interactivity, speed, collaboration and adhere to deadlines.
Efficiency and agility
Sales teams are often plagued with time-wasting procedures associated with outdated, manual processes. For example, spending hours searching for lead information or understanding past interactions.
The cloud-based nature of D365 Sales allows sales employees within a business to access sensitive files and documents from any location. They can search for information on the go, with everything stored in one place so they find the answers quicker.
This allows for better data flow and enhanced time management, empowering individuals to work faster for better outcomes.
Lead management
Leads are the wheels of any sales transaction. As the foremost stage of any sales operation, being able to attract and manage leads is crucial.
The technologies within D365 Sales drive change within the lead generation and management process. It helps in the efficient management of short and long-term leads throughout the entire sales process, making it easier to reach positive outcomes.
Furthermore, it empowers data analysis for a firmer grasp on prospect identification and development, allowing you to target more leads that fit your ideal prospect profile.
Productivity boost
Sales teams’ time is often absorbed by mundane administrative tasks like email writing, follow-ups, note taking, reporting and client calls.
D365 Sales streamlines these tasks. With automated workflows, reminders of upcoming actions and context in one location, manual data entry and admin work is reduced.
AI-powered functionality can also help sales people to generate emails, make notes and decide next steps in a fraction of the time. Productivity rises, with sales teams able to focus on more important tasks – like meeting customer expectations.
Automated follow-up
The engine of any sales transaction are the customers involved. Therefore, sales teams in any business should be motivated by client needs.
With D365 Sales, the individual requirements of prospects and existing customers are managed and nurtured fully with features such as automated follow-up messages, data analytics and intelligence.
It makes it easier than ever for sales teams to meet customer needs and create bespoke experiences for improved outcomes.
Integration
D365 Sales can be integrated with multiple other systems for improved value, including Microsoft and third-party solutions. This increases inter-connectivity and system networking.
Below, we’ve listed some examples of software that combine seamlessly with D365 Sales for customisation and improved results.
1. Microsoft 365 suite
D365 Sales can be easily integrated with core software within the Microsoft ecosystem, including Outlook, Teams and SharePoint. These are apps your sales teams are likely already using and comfortable with.
By connecting them to your D365 Sales deployment, you can streamline tasks. Rather than having to move between tools, you can send emails, store files and communicate from one place. It provides ease and quick access for sales teams to perform optimally.
It will also enable you to maintain context across your Microsoft suite. For example, in a Teams call with a lead, the sales person can get insight on past interactions and other data to better tailor the discussion.
2. Dynamics 365
Alongside Dynamics 365 Sales, there are multiple tools within the D365 platform, designed to serve different business needs.
This includes the likes of Business Central (an ERP system), Customer Service and Customer Insights. D365 Sales connects smoothly to these different modules, allowing teams to get access to a wealth of data.
It improves workflows between teams, with updates made in one module flowing through to the rest, so everyone works from the same real-time insights and manual data entry is reduced.
3. Power BI
Power BI dashboards can be enabled within D365 Sales for access to high-level reports that drive data-backed decisions. Comprising a collection of applications and connectors, Power BI promotes business intelligence, reporting and data visualisation.
Power BI and D365 Sales ensure data sources are properly documented and transformed into informative insights to assist with sales and customer relationships.
4. Copilot
AI is everywhere – and that includes within D365 Sales. The platform integrates with Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, allowing users to benefit from increased automation and support.
Using Copilot within the CRM, users can get:
- Quick summarises of lead records and sales opportunities within the system, including an update on any recent changes
- Instantly pulled data from across your files for easier meeting preparation and reduced time searching
- Simplified email communication by summarising longer messages, helping sellers quickly grasp content and identify follow-up actions
It saves valuable time, allowing sellers to focus on connecting with customers instead.
Get started with Dynamics 365 Sales
Dynamics 365 Sales offers significant advantages for any organisations. It enhances the sales outlook of a business for up-scaling, quicker closing of deals and sales revenue boosts.
With in-built advanced features, it can help you spot prospects, enhance value for existing clients and relationship building. Plus, the addition of Copilot, system integration and automation will reduce the workload faced by your sales people, freeing them up for high value work that wins deals.
Microsoft also offers a range of licences for D365 Sales, allowing you to find an option that suits your budget.
As specialist Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consultants, we can guide to discover, analyse, validate, build, deploy and launch a tailored Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales solution.
We can also provide ongoing support to ensure you secure long-term value from your deployment, relying on our years of experience helping sales teams.
