According to Laurie McCabe the new Salesforce.com Winter 2012 release will introduce 150 new features, all of which will work together to paint a new social enterprise structure for businesses. With several new database components, the new Chatter social service, a data analysis tool, and ongoing app development for multiple platforms, Salesforce has been busy building its new technology through development and acquisition. But all of that, McCabe explained, adds up to a lot of separate components to buy.

Salesforce claims it will offer an “all-you-can-eat” social enterprise buffet, allowing businesses to get all of the components for one price. The catch is that they have yet to reveal what that price is and have said they will deal with it on a “case-by-case basis”.

If you’re like us, you aren’t exactly rolling in cash like many of the big enterprises that have been largely unaffected by the recession. You have a limited budget, and one of the most attractive features of the cloud is the transparency in pricing. No company wants to feel like they are being had by a salesperson. Cloud services are supposed to eliminate the complex licensing schemes, additional hardware costs, and costly upgrades that traditional vendors often still cling to so vehemently.

Perhaps that is why so many of us are turning to Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM online. Unlike the competition, Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 provide a stable set of components that work just as well offline as they do online. Furthermore, the subscription pricing is published right on the Office 365 website for small, midsize, and enterprise businesses. Dynamics CRM Online pricing is boldly shown on the landing page for all to see. I don’t know about you, but up front pricing goes a lot farther than someone telling me they’ll consider it “case-by-case”.

Just some food for thought as you consider moving to the cloud. If you have questions about Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365, please call or email us today.

Donna Krizik / Crestwood Associates LLC, an Illinois Dynamics CRM Partner

Ph: 847-394-8820 x43 Email: dkrizik@crestwood.com

Salesforce.com Shows Signs of Outgrowing Small-to-Medium Businesses; Should You Opt for Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online? is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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CRM for Associations is a new concept that’s taking hold within the NFP marketplace.  It’s CRM, but CRM that is tailored to meet the requirements and speak the language of today’s associations.  As a membership-based organization, you have members, events, campaigns, sponsors, and other sources of revenue.  Your challenge is to manage and interact with all of your constituencies and audiences more effectively.   A CRM for Associations solution helps you do that while also boosting revenue.

Most AMS systems are lacking in sales, marketing, and service automation.  They do just fine with operational management such as event registrations and dues management, but many of the sales and marketing features and functions they offer are either afterthoughts, bolt-ons, or poorly integrated into the overall AMS system.  They fall well short for organizations with more sophisticated requirements.

With a CRM system that is designed and built for associations, you can break out of the limitations imposed by traditional AMS.  A CRM solution offers many sales, marketing, and service best practices:

• Constructing your membership team more like a traditional sales team.
• Developing ongoing nurture marketing programs to capture new revenue.
• Establishing a measureable lead management process.
• Utilizing integrated case management to establish a high-end membership service program.

Where a CRM for Associations solution shines is in centralizing your sales, marketing, and service efforts for your membership.  You can manage the details of recruiting and retaining sponsors, donors, supporters, and members.  Plan and manage marketing campaigns of any size and complexity including direct mail and email marketing.  When a revenue opportunity is identified, you can track and manage it through the revenue capture process.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the foundation for our CRM for Associations offering.  We have taken the base functionality and customized it to meet the specific needs of membership-based organizations.  It retains all of the extensive features found in the base product but is extended and tailored to work for associations.   Here is just a brief list of its features:

• Access the system from within Microsoft Outlook or use it from a web-browser.
• Use the solution as a stand-alone application or as an integrated component to your current AMS solution.
• Create and automate marketing campaigns.
• Deliver personalized campaigns for specific members.
• Develop nurture email marketing campaigns for training, newsletters, and events.
• Track and report on marketing and revenue generation activities.
• Manage comprehensive buying and demographic profiles for all important constituencies.
• Provide top-flight service to members through integrated case management.
• Easily deploy the solution either on premise or “in the cloud”.

A CRM for Associations solution is a great alternative for any membership-based organization looking to grow its revenue. This new concept is being adopted by many leading organizations today and forms the foundation for better, more effective sales, marketing, and service management.  And the best part is that organizations are seeing improved success in generating non-dues revenue.  You can too.

Contact Steve Kane (skane@broadpoint.net and 301-634-2404) at BroadPoint Technologies, the mid-Atlantic’s largest Dynamics reseller, for more information on our CRM offerings.

by BroadPoint

CRM for Associations: A New Era in Member Engagement and Revenue Generation is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Choose a Proven Vendor:

When it comes to Software as a Service(SaaS) or cloud solutions, it is important to know and trust and the creator of the software solution.  Therefore, selecting a tool like Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, which is an industry leading crm system being offered in the cloud by an organization with proven cloud capabilities.  I think Satya Nadella, president of the Servers and Tools Business at Microsoft, put it well in a recent interview when he said, “I think it’s also about the business relationship our customers have with Microsoft … So as we move to the cloud we are working both as trusted advisors on the technology and trusted business partners to our customers.”

Choose a Trusted Partner:

If you are at all on the fence about whether or not a cloud CRM system is the right choice for your business, working with a trusted partner to assess your needs and provide you with an objective opinion can help you ensure you are making the best possible decision.  By choosing a solution like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you can choose whether you want to deploy it in the cloud or on premise, and you have the flexibility to change deployment methods down the road if your needs change.  However, not all Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners can offer you this choice.  Select a partner, like Socius, who offers both deployment types and has experience helping clients transition between them to feel truly confident that your needs will be supported for the entire time you are using the solution.

Choose Predictable Services:

One of the great benefits of having your CRM deployed in the cloud is that you don’t have to worry about routine maintenance and software updates – those are all handled automatically and included in your subscription plan.  However, you still need to take into consideration your initial implementation and training.  In order for your system to be effective and adopted by your users, you need solid implementation services to get you up and running right.  Socius offers rapid implementation services with predictable, packaged pricing so that you know up front what you’ll need to spend to start using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.  Get an instant quote for your cloud software and services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with Socius!

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

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 Benefits for Company and Management

Above and beyond the product’s features and benefits, companies can take advantage of a well-designed CRM software deployment for:

• Quicker response for new leads, call scheduling, appointments and forecasting
• Automation of repeatable tasks, such as assignment of leads based on specific criteria, for improved productivity
• Better managed sales opportunities for increased revenue
• Improved sales effectiveness through best practices and standardized processes

 In addition to the company-wide benefits described above, the management team will be able to:

• Use real-time data to make better business decisions
• Produce more accurate sales forecasts by time period
• Use standardized processes and templates for improved training
• Help foster better communications between and among sales team members

 Confusion over the “Big Boys”

When searching for the CRM solution that best fits your organization, you may become frustrated when evaluating which product best addresses your requirements. The two leading CRM vendors are Microsoft and Salesforce.com.  To help
prospective buyers determine the difference in the offerings, Microsoft upped the ante by posting an open letter to Salesforce.com customers. The letter posed the the following questions and comments:

In this economy, how can you justify paying two to three times more than you need to for an enterprise CRM system?*

• Microsoft provides a financially backed 99.9 percent uptime commitment for every Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customer; why does Salesforce.com only provide you with “commercially reasonable efforts” to keep your business running?
• Having access to the most up-to-date information is critical to your business; why doesn’t Salesforce.com provide real-time access to data and dashboards, refreshed whenever you need it like Microsoft does?
• Microsoft works great with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office; why does Salesforce.com want you to start from scratch when it comes to productivity tools for your people?
• Microsoft provides the flexibility for your CRM system to work with other systems, whether they run in the cloud or on-premises; why does Salesforce.com lock you into one way of doing things?

 * Comparison based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online v. Salesforce.com Enterprise Edition

 Choosing the Right Partner

 Make no mistake:  the CRM solutions available now offer tremendous benefits to organizations, particularly in the sales, marketing, and customer service areas. One of the most important elements when performing a CRM system search
is identifying and articulating your organization’s key requirements so you can ultimately make an educated decision.

 Partnering with an experienced, proven CRM provider will ensure a smart implementation designed for your specific needs. BroadPoint Technologies is the largest Microsoft Dynamics partner in the mid-Atlantic.  Contact us at (301) 634-2478 or skane@broadpoint.net to discuss your CRM requirements and schedule a complimentary consultation.

by BroadPoint Technologies, Virginia Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Dynamics CRM Fits the Bill for Productivity, Security, and Reliability is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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As a CRM consultant with experience managing CRM projects and delivering CRM training, I have compiled seven (7) characteristics of an effective training plan.

1. Avoid overwhelming the users by teaching them every last feature of CRM right away (how many people even know every last feature?).  Focus on teaching them the tasks they will use to support their day-to-day activities.  Four to six-hour classes work well, with lots of time for breaks to rejuvenate.  When the classes get longer than that, fatigue and overload can set in and you might as well be training the wall.
2. Timing is everything; make sure the system is ready and installed on their computers so they can use it right away after training.  If you’ve ever received training for a tool that you weren’t able to use for a long time, you know how much you retained (or didn’t), and the challenges that you faced.
3. Do your best to get people away from their jobs for the training session, so they can stay focused and avoid distractions.  This is especially challenging with sales people as they depend on their communications media and are not used to sitting in a room all day.  An icebreaker that I often use in training class is to say, “I always love training sales and marketing people because they just love sitting in a room all day learning how to use computer software,”  to which I always receive a chuckled response.   Getting support for training from the leadership team is essential for making training time a priority.
4. Provide face-to-face training for the most effective delivery, especially when hands-on exercises are included.  Watching someone work in CRM makes it look very easy.   Still, performing the clicks yourself while someone is available to answer questions helps you to retain the knowledge.  When face-to-face training is impossible or impractical, training webinars can be a good second choice.  With this approach, it’s especially important to emphasize to attendees the need to turn off their e-mail and phones during the training session or the temptation to divert attention is too great.
5. Allow users to see the CRM system prior to the training day, if possible.  This gives them a basic understanding of the system so that it’s not a completely new concept that they have to adjust to during the training.  This adjustment can be a distraction during the early parts of the session.
6. Be sure to tell attendees how to get help after you leave them.  Is there a support helpline or resource that they can contact when they have questions or problems?  This start-up and ongoing support is part of a solid project plan. Having these resources available will provide comfort and security to the CRM users as they start using the new system.
7. Follow up with a short refresher course after people have used the system for a while.  This provides a platform for reviewing the basics and answering questions, and for teaching a few advanced features.  Telling people at the initial training that they will receive a refresher class provides additional confidence in a successful start-up.  Webinars can be very effective for refresher courses.

Consider these traits on your next CRM project.  I hope that I’ve outlined the importance of a well-thought-out CRM training plan, and provided you with things to consider as you develop your own training plans in the future.

As a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Certified Gold Partner we have helped over 100 customers successfully implement and utilize CRM for their organizations.   You can read about their CRM customer success stories on our website.

By Ledgeview Partners – Wisconsin based Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner serving the Midwest and Heartland regions

CRM Implementation: 7 Characteristics of a Good Training Plan is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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1. CRM feature comparison chart—A great high level overview of the differences between CRM offerings, this webpage gives an easy to read, head to head comparison of which key features are included in Oracle, Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
2. CRM price calculator—Fill out this simple form to find out how much your company could save by switching to Dynamics CRM Online from Oracle or Salesforce.com. The results may leave you wondering why you didn’t make the move sooner.

Note: Both the tools are hosted on the same page within the Microsoft site and the system defaults to taking users to the price calculator. To see the feature comparison chart, click the link above and look for a yellow button near the top of the page labeled, “See Feature Comparison.”

Need even more incentive to switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online? Did you know that right now new Dynamics CRM Online customers can get $150 cash back from Microsoft for every seat that they buy? Better yet, there are no restrictions on how you use the money, the choice is yours! Learn more about this amazing offer in last month’s blog post, “Think You Can’t Afford a Great CRM system? You Can With Microsoft’s Cloud CRM for Less offer!”

After looking over all of the evidence presented here, I’m confident that many of you will agree the time is right to liberate your business from your legacy CRM system and move to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, a cost effective and user friendly choice.

Contact Inetlligent Technologies   today to get started!

by Intelligent Technologies, Inc. North Carolina Microsoft CRM Partner

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 I know what you’re thinking, this sounds great, but there must be a catch. There’s no catch, as long as you honor your two-year agreement, the $150 per license that you receive from Microsoft is yours to do with as you wish. Many organizations choose to put the money towards speeding up their CRM implementation, but if your organization would rather use the money for another purchase, that is completely up to you.

Other FAQs:

Q: In what countries is this offer available?

A: This offer is available to customers in the United States and Canada.

Q: My company would like to buy more than 500 licenses for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Are we still eligible for this offer?

A: Yes you are. Here’s how it would work. Let’s say for example you are interested in buying 600 licenses for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. You would receive the incentive for the first 500 licenses you purchase. The additional 100 licenses would not be eligible for cash back.

Q: When and how will I be able to claim the money I’m owed?

A: Once you have signed a purchase agreement and are a paying subscriber for at least 30 days you will be able to claim your funds through the “Claim funds” link on the Cloud CRM for Less webpage. This will take you to a secure portal where Microsoft will verify your subscription and ask where you would like payment to be made.

Q: How long will it take for my organization to receive payment?

A: You can expect payment in 12 weeks or less from the time you sign up for Dynamics CRM Online.

Q: Can I take advantage of this offer more than once between now and March 31, 2012?

A: Certainly, as long as the number of seats you requesting fall within the guidelines for this offer. For example, in November you decide that you would like to begin by purchasing 50 licenses, but because you like the service so much, you decide to buy another 450 licenses in March. In that case, all of your purchases would be covered under this offer.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the Cloud CRM for Less offer, but would like to see Microsoft Dynamics CRM in action first, we can help. We have two informative Dynamics CRM webinar recordings available for download on our website; Get Personal with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 System Modification.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like to take advantage of this amazing, limited time offer.

By: Laura Heinbockel; Intelligent Technologies, Inc., a Greensboro, NC Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Think You Can’t Afford a Great CRM system? You Can With Microsoft’s Cloud CRM for Less offer! is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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With the support of your CRM partner, your CRM Online users and administrators can benefit from having some clear-cut information that will help you have the best possible experience with your new solution, even before you start using it.

To help your organization prepare for a successful implementation of CRM Online and maintain a positive functional experience with your solution, Microsoft has prepared a “Go-Live Checklist.”  This document features a compilation of common configuration settings and tasks along with important online resources that your entire business can leverage over and over again.

This is a great resource, especially for organizations interested in taking advantage of the complimentary 30-day trial of Dynamics CRM Online.  Go through the checklist before you kick off your trial to get the most out of the solution and to get a better understanding of how it will truly work for your organization.

Download the Dynamics CRM Online Go-Live Checklist now!

By Socius, a Dynamics CRM Online partner in Ohio, Kansas City, and California

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 When deciding which of the two approaches to proceed with, it’s important to understand the terminology and pros and cons of each strategy. Below, I’ve laid out the pros and cons of the traditional options and the unique strategy behind the xRM platform.

 Pros:

• Solution will promote business process reengineering
• No customization makes for easier upgrade path
• Timeline and budget won’t fluctuate dramatically due to xRM being out of the box

 Cons:

• Requires modification of business processes in order to meet your desired goals
• Significant initial software investment, in addition to software maintenance costs
• If the out of the box functionality doesn’t meet the evolving needs, organizations are faced with product maintenance and expensive customization to meet the requirements

 COTS solutions work well  for departmental applications like accounting, human resources etc. Yet, their use and effectiveness can diminish as it is spread across your entire company apparatus. Enterprise applications that utilize COTS typically will require organizations to adjust their business processes to meet the confines of the solution. Purchasing a solution with complex capabilities that your company won’t utilize will just increase your financial cost in both the near and long term.

 Additionally, if the out of the box functionality isn’t up to par for your organization, you’ll have a product that will require ongoing maintenance and expensive customization. This can significantly increase the project budget and/or limit the organization’s strategic initiatives.

 Custom Development:

Companies that identify their unique characteristics often see the value in custom development.  It’s meant to foster the organization’s strategic advantage and conform to the business processes, not vice versa as is required with COTS.

 In theory, custom development will align your strategic objectives with your newfound technological capabilities. Unfortunately, the unpredictable nature of the timeline and budget, limited upgrade path, and reliance on specific programmers creates a level of uncertainty that few organizations are willing to undertake. Custom development has proven to be such a painful process for so many organizations that the word ’custom’ has become a four letter word.

 Microsoft xRM:

Microsoft xRM is not a product; rather it is a strategy or concept. The ‘x’ denotes that you can utilize this strategy to develop anything-any relationship, process or data element. xRM is an application platform that offers the best of both worlds between commercial off the shelf solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM and custom development. The xRM platform provides core business features, security, authentication, business process modeling and business intelligence based on both on-premise and in the cloud offerings. This platform is an excellent foundation for organizations to facilitate business their way without the risk and cost of custom development. Organizations realize the benefits of an out of the box portfolio toolkit that can be supported by non-technical staff and maintained through a consistent upgrade path. xRM provides low upfront costs, low maintenance and ultimately a more strategic solution to drive the business.

 Contact Steve Kane at 301-634-2404 or skane@broadpoint.net to find out how BroadPoint Technologies, the mid-Atlantic’s largest Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner, can help you determine the best solution for your organization.

 by BroadPoint Technologies, Virginia, Maryland, DC  Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

xRM: Your Guidebook to Finding the Right CRM Solution is a post from: CRM Software Blog

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Microsoft commissioned Forrester to complete a study on The Total Economic Impact Of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.   The study is impressive and provides a whole host of benefits that can be directly related to reduced costs, increased sales, and improved user productivity.  Below is what I took away from the study.  You’ll find my Top 5 list of benefits and what we’ve found to be key considerations to help companies recognize these benefits.   I hope that you find it useful.

1.  Improved Sales Productivity – accessing Microsoft Dynamics CRM through Outlook increases adoption rates with salespeople.  Their familiarity with Outlook for organizing their communications makes it extremely easy to use Microsoft CRM from within Outlook.  Instant real-time access to customer information and tracking their activities makes sales pipeline management easier and more accurate.  

Bottom line: Ledgeview’s initial goal for our customers is user adoption.  We focus our sales training on the key aspects of CRM that will make their jobs more effective.

2.  Improved Customer Service – using a centralized database for all customer activities provides an efficient way of servicing customers throughout the company.  Sales, marketing and service activities are all visible to the customer service representative enabling them to more directly and rapidly address customer questions.

Bottom line: We encourage our clients to look at their customers from a 360 degree view by making sure that all departments that touch a customer have access to key information.   Meeting a customer’s needs comes first and you need a tool that supports customer service across the organization.

3. Reduced Cost Of Sales – During implementation of Microsoft CRM, companies benefit from taking the time to evaluate current sales processes that can be streamlined and automated to help reduce the overall cost of sales.  Using Workflow tools can help ensure that all steps in a sales cycle are being followed in a timely manner.  Better pipeline management enables all resources to spend their efforts on the most timely and probable opportunities.

 Bottom line: A thorough design process prior to CRM implementation is essential for determining how work flows and how sales processes can become more effective using CRM.

4.  Faster Revenue Recognition from Improved Deal Conversion – using Microsoft CRM for communications and information sharing throughout the organization helps companies fine tune their sales cycle resulting in a reduction of the overall time it takes to close a sale.

 Bottom Line: Lead generation management and organized sales processes help the sales people focus on the most promising opportunities, and potentially shortening the sales cycle.

5.  Marketing Cost Avoidance –the ability to build targeted marketing lists from relevant customer data enables companies to generate targeted messaging.  Analytics tools for evaluating historical sales and win/loss data will enable a company to target areas they already excel at, and focus on areas where they are looking for more sales growth.  Marketing dollars can be more effectively used and analyzed for effectiveness.

Bottom line: Marketing needs to be top consideration when designing the data elements within CRM.  This enables targeted messaging and tracking to measure the effectiveness of marketing dollars.

As a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Certified Gold Partner we have helped over 100 customers recognize these benefits by taking a structured approach to design and implementation of Dynamics CRM.  You can read about their CRM customer success stories on our website.

By Ledgeview Partners – Wisconsin based Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner serving the Midwest and Heartland regions

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