What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales?<\/h2>\n
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is a comprehensive customer relationship management<\/a> (CRM) solution designed to help businesses manage their sales processes effectively and enhance customer engagement. It is part of the larger Microsoft Dynamics 365<\/a> suite, which integrates various business applications such as marketing, customer service, field service, and more.<\/p>\n Companies can customize and scale Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales to meet their specific needs across various industries and sizes.<\/strong> It aims to empower sales teams with the tools and insights needed to build stronger customer relationships, increase sales productivity, and drive business growth.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some of the core features and capabilities of the Dynamics 365 Sales Application.<\/p>\n While Dynamics 365 Sales\u2019 core capabilities make it a robust sales automation tool, some of the lesser-known features are what really set the application apart as a powerhouse system in the sales automation space.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s hybrid world, it is important to connect with each customer and provide a personalized experience. Microsoft Dynamics is using AI to aid Dynamics Sales users in creating these experiences. Microsoft Sales Copilot<\/a> is a role-based copilot or seller companion. Microsoft designed it to empower D365 Sales users to reach maximum productivity while offering personalized customer interactions.<\/strong> Users can access it in Outlook, Teams, Dynamics for Sales, and other CRMs such as Salesforce or Monday.com.<\/p>\n Some ways that Sales Copilot will help save time and foster a personalized customer experience include task automation, email and meeting summaries; AI-powered real-time insights on top of opportunities; and AI-assisted follow-up recommendations.<\/p>\n Microsoft Viva Sales<\/a> launched in June 2022 and, as of July 2023, rebranded to D365 Sales Copilot. Viva Sales jump-started the seller experience transformation by using data from Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 while leveraging AI. Viva Sales could recommend the next steps for the customer journey, prioritize the seller work, analyze meetings, recommend follow-ups, and much more.<\/p>\n Since rebranding Viva Sales to D365 Sales Copilot, Microsoft made an announcement about additional capabilities in July 2023. You can do the following with these capabilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sales Copilot is a powerful tool that can foster productivity, customized experiences, and organization. Sales Copilot can aid in delivering the elevated experiences customers expect in today\u2019s hybrid world.<\/p>\n https:\/\/techcommunity.microsoft.com\/t5\/microsoft-sales-copilot-blog\/microsoft-viva-sales-is-now-part-of-microsoft-sales-copilot\/ba-p\/3876743<\/p><\/div>\n Sales accelerator uses AI to create an intelligent work list, which automatically prioritizes and sorts all outstanding customer-related sales tasks and future tasks in the pipeline. Sales accelerator also displays a high-priority customer list and overdue actions per customer, so sales representatives never miss a beat.<\/p>\n Using the power of Microsoft Sales Insights, you can create a dynamic opportunity and lead pipeline based on sales data provided in CE. If you want a more personalized view, sales accelerator allows the user to use sequence designer to create and manage user-specific sales cycle sequences.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=buh-r3WxZtA<\/p><\/div>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=buh-r3WxZtA<\/p><\/div>\n Using the lead score display box, sales accelerator automatically rates the lead and assigns a grade based on real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) to let the sales rep know what the chance of winning the sale is.<\/p>\n Finally, sales accelerator is seamlessly connected to Microsoft Teams<\/a>. This functionality allows sales representatives to draft personalized emails based on the context of a lead, call the lead directly from the lead page, or automatically record all key follow-up activities or points of interest based on natural-language processing.<\/strong><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=buh-r3WxZtA<\/p><\/div>\n To maintain competitive and optimal sales strategies, it is important to gain insight into the sales pipeline and dynamically allow users to track their results over time. To this end, Microsoft Sales employs a real-time customer data view that allows for accurate decision making at a moment\u2019s notice. Users can customize this opportunity view and sort the opportunities however they want.<\/p>\n https:\/\/promx.net\/en\/2023\/03\/new-features-for-microsoft-dynamics-365-sales-in-2023\/<\/p><\/div>\n Additionally, users can configure sales forecasts separately for multiple business units at a time, which allows the overall sales team to watch the progress of their sales unit. Comparing unit forecasts to individual forecasts can shed light on individual performance. You can make these into long-term annual and short-term weekly forecasts.<\/p>\n Now that we have explored the capabilities of D365 Sales let\u2019s dive into some of our top deployment tips to consider to guarantee a successful implementation.<\/p>\n When deploying Microsoft Dynamics for Sales, you will want to use out-of-the-box (OOTB) features when possible. This means using what is already available in the model-driven app. One thing to keep in mind is that the OOTB app includes hundreds of fields, forms, views, entities, and a site map. Note that your organization may not need all of these functions. In that case, less is more. It is better to remove (not delete) unneeded fields, forms, and views and clean up the site map to avoid distracting or confusing your users.<\/strong><\/p>\n Additionally, there is no limit to the number of features D365 Sales offers<\/a>, but you likely won\u2019t need most of them for the initial implementation. One of the key principles to keep in mind when implementing D365 Sales is to start with only what you need. After you establish the essentials, let the end users get comfortable and create habits in the system. These habits allow users to see their different processes and what works for them or what does not.<\/p>\n Finally, start planning which additional features you want to turn on, which will naturally add complexity and automation to the D365 Sales instance. You can read more about how to establish a roadmap and vision in your initial assessment activities prior to your system implementation as part of our D365 Never Stops Evolving series, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The \u201csystem of record\u201d is often not Dynamics 365 Sales. It may be an enterprise resource planning<\/a> (ERP) system such as Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. The type of data you need to store and the systems available will determine this. It is important to start the conversation early regarding which system will hold the \u201cmaster data\u201d to aid in design and security requirements.<\/p>\n\n
Lesser-Known Features of Dynamics 365 Sales<\/h2>\n
Microsoft Dynamics Sales Copilot<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Sales Accelerator and Sequence Builder<\/h3>\n
![\"Dynamics](\"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-11-28-at-9.28.04\u202fAM.png\")
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<\/a>Forecasting and Pipeline Intelligence<\/h3>\n
![\"All](\"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Opportunity-pipeline-D365-Sales.png\")
<\/a>Deployment Tips for a Successful Dynamics 365 Sales Implementation<\/h2>\n
1. Less is More<\/h3>\n
2. Determine the Source of Truth Early<\/h3>\n
3. Don\u2019t Underestimate the Power of Change Management<\/h3>\n