In our Microsoft Dynamics training center at the TM Group in Farmington Hills, Michigan, our Microsoft Dynamics CRM trainers also devote a lot of time showing how Dynamics CRM works natively with Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word.  Students catch on very quickly because they are already so familiar with Microsoft Outlook and the Microsoft Office suite.  They are eager to start using Dynamics CRM “as-is” and over time they want to build in customizations with their own unique business needs and processes, even automated workflows. (Some people come back to us for advanced Microsoft Dynamics CRM technical classes as well – see the available classes below as well as a list of our CRM consulting and development services.)

Now with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online becoming so popular and so affordable – it costs just $44 a month per user– we developed a fast, easy program called ReadySetGO: CRM.  Our new 3-step program  is for companies who want a basic web-based CRM system up and running quickly with their sales and marketing team trained and “owning” their own system.  All without new computers, servers, or an expensive technology upgrade.  With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, users have access anytime, anywhere from a browser.

Here are the simple steps in ReadySetGO: CRM from The TM Group:

1. Sign up for $44/month per user for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

(5 seat minimum subscription of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online applies.) 

2.  Power-user training for Dynamics CRM – estimated $2500

(Power- user training assumes one “power” user for a day of user setup and security configuration, two days of classroom training for Dynamics CRM Sales & Marketing Application and one day of classroom training for Dynamics CRM Customer Service Application – Microsoft course # 8913.  Group training discount options are available as well.)

3. Data migration – estimated $1200 to $1700 

(Data migration estimate assumes use of CRM migration tool for leads, accounts, and contact records only.)

As an example,here are some of the topics covered for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Application training:

• Deployment options for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server, CRM for Outlook, and CRM web client
• Sales Management Overview including leads tracking, account and contact management, setting up a sales process, opportunity tracking, pipeline management, and competitor tracking
• Sales Order Processing Overview, including creating and maintaining a products catalogue , quotes, orders, and invoices
• Marketing Management overview, including marketing lists, campaigns management, quick campaigns, managing campaign responses
• Service Management Overview including case management, issue tracking and resolution, contracts and process flow
• Setting up and creating a knowledge base, including subject trees, KB articles, working with public queues

And here is a list of our additional Microsoft Dynamics CRM training classes:

Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Microsoft course # 8912)

Topics include setting up business management functions such as business units, users, teams, security privileges and roles, system settings, and multiple organizations. Also focuses on using the customization tools for CRM forms, views, entities, attributes, relationships, and entity mappings.

Workflow in Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Microsoft course # 80003)

Topics include how to create, run, and monitor workflows to automate CRM business processes, including automating the sales process, lead promotion and probable revenue. Learn out-of-the-box workflow functionality for creating a basic workflow, the design process, updating triggers, conditional branching, advanced and multi-stage workflows, monitoring workflows and workflow security.

Extending Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Microsoft Course # 8969)

Topics include design and system architecture, using Microsoft web services API, data queries, filtered views, setting up and creating custom workflow activities, plug-ins, application event programming, IFrames and URL addressable forms, creating custom buttons and menus, and SQL Reporting Services .

In training people on how to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM “out-of-the-box” we’ve learned that for some companies, this is just the starting point.  As users get comfortable with Dynamics CRM they realize the power of its flexibility and ability to be easily customized.  Sometimes the power user or someone on their IT staff will sign up for our technical Dynamics CRM classes for customization and configuration.  But often, we are asked to help with those customizations and integration.   Our consulting services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM include: business process review,  documentation, customization and development, integration to other applications and SharePoint.

If you are interested in talking with us about we can help you with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, please contact me at andreed@tmgroupinc.com or call 888-482-2864.  Or if you need other Dynamics training courses, we also offer a complete line of classroom training for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, FRx and Microsoft Management Reporter.  For more information on pricing, discounts and to download our upcoming training calendar, visit our website at http://www.tmgroupinc.com/training.asp.

 By The TM Group, a Michigan Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner with core competencies in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server

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When he learned that I represented a CRM package from Microsoft he was surprised. “I didn’t know they do that,” he said.  He explained that he wanted a CRM solution for his new hire to use and that he had been talking to Salesforce.com.  As I described Microsoft Dynamics CRM, he was impressed that it worked native to Microsoft Office Outlook, making it easy to use.   (I’m the director of sales and marketing for The TM Group, a Michigan partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.)

He loved Microsoft Outlook and his whole staff was familiar with it already. I explained that Outlook is a great personal productivity tool that allows you to track your contacts, emails, tasks, and calendars, but it is limiting if you have a team of folks working on leads, opportunities, or orders together.  When using Microsoft Outlook only, each person has his own emails, tasks, and appointments which makes it hard to get an overall picture of what is happening with a customer or prospect.

We get asked about the differences between Microsoft Office Business Contact Manager vs. Microsoft Dynamics CRM quite frequently.  Once I had talked to a company that didn’t have a CRM solution, but did have a very complex sales process involving a team of individuals.  Their vendors would require them to prove an involvement in a deal before they would authorize any discounts.  This required their team of 6 or more to save their emails related to this opportunity to a place on their network where an admin would wade through it all and put together a report for the vendor.  This was extremely time-consuming and Microsoft Dynamics CRM would have automated this.

Back to my friend with whom I volunteer – while the capabilities of Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM are impressive, I explained to him that with only one user, he should really look at Microsoft Outlook with Business Contact Manager.  

Like Dynamics CRM, Business Contact Manager allows users to organize their Outlook information by companies instead of contacts, manage sales leads and business opportunities, and track direct marketing campaigns. If he then decides get his whole team involved in the project, he could then migrate the database easily to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  We’ve converted other Business Contact Manager users to Dynamics CRM already. Microsoft Office Business Contact Manager is designed for single user installations.

He took my advice and didn’t purchase Salesforce.com.  In fact, he discovered he already owned Microsoft Office Business Contact Manager and wasn’t even using it yet. For “The Lowdown on Business Contact Manager” visit http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/lowdown-on-business-contact-manager-HA001150524.aspx.

At The TM Group, we have over 26 years experience helping companies of all sizes make the right business software choices for their budget, needs, and future growth plans.  Many of our clients have started out with 1 or 2-user CRM or ERP systems and then carefully “grown” into the larger solution (and the Microsoft Dynamics solutions make this very easy to do).  Our Microsoft Dynamics CRM training classes are ideal for small companies, and an excellent starting point for getting up and running quickly.

 For more information about the benefits of Microsoft Office Business Contact Manager vs. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, please feel free to contact me at kenj@tmgroupinc.com or call 888-482-2864.  You can visit our website at http://www.tmgroupinc.com for more background on Microsoft Dynamics and The TM Group’s complete range of consulting services.

About Angel Food:

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. Angel Food is available in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month’s menu is different from the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60. Angel Food Ministries also participates in the U.S. Food Stamp program, using the Off-Line Food Stamp Voucher system.  For more information, visit www.angelfoodministries.com  .

By Ken Jacobsen of The TM Group, a Michigan partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics NAV

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We expect over 250 clients and guests to join us at Vision 2010 for a day filled with five educational tracks – Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Advanced IT, and Executive –   and over 25 breakout sessions spotlighting new product releases, tips and tricks for users, even a leadership skills workshop.

This year, launching Vision has been made much easier bcause of ExactTarget – one of The TM Group’s strategic ISV partners for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.    I have saved tons of time and effort in communicating with our clients and prospects through email campaigns using ExactTarget integrated to our CRM system.  It’s been great! No importing lists, no looking up separate reports to see who has opened our emails and downloaded our conference agenda – and best, all this critical marketing  information is automatically tracked in my leads, contacts and campaign in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

ExactTarget will be presenting at one of our CRM sessions and I asked them to share some useful advice to marketers like me who want to do a better job with online marketing in 2010.  Perfect timing, because my year is off and running and I can use all the help I can get!

Check out the insightful ExactTarget article and whitepaper link below:

Need a few New Year’s resolutions to jump-start your marketing in 2010?

At ExactTarget we are always looking for new ways to help our customers improve their online marketing programs.  This year, we thought we’d start the year off as most people do, with a set of New Year’s Resolutions.  These 5 Resolutions can help keep your marketing program fit and in shape!

ExactTarget’s new whitepaper, Five Resolutions Every Marketer Must Make in 2010, outlines the plan simply and succinctly:

1. Be helpful, not just social.
2. Engage your subscribers.
3. Treat subscribers like friends.
4. Design for your subscribers.
5. Get back to basics.

Build richer subscriber data through the integration of Email and CRM

The Five Resolutions Every Marketer Must Make in 2010 whitepaper emphasizes the importance of understanding, engaging and educating your subscribers. The more you know about your customers and prospects, the more effectively you can communicate with them.

ExactTarget’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you manage and automate a wide variety of marketing campaigns that leverage information about your leads, contacts and accounts. The integration between ExactTarget and Microsoft Dynamics CRM lets you:

• Automate.  Use Email Marketing Automation capabilities and templates to create date and event-based scenarios that execute automatically.
• Extend. Extend personalized, relevant, one-to-one communications from email to the web with ExactTarget’s Landing Page functionality.
• Personalize.  Reinforce subscriber relationships with personalized emails on behalf of your Lead, Contact, and Account owners.
• Analyze. Use real-time tracking results to send follow-up messages to an engaged group of subscribers.

ExactTarget and The TM Group partnership

We’re proud to partner with The TM Group to deliver this integrated offering. To learn more about the integration of ExactTarget for Microsoft Dynamics CRM you will want to read the ExactTarget and Microsoft Dynamics data sheet, please email andreed@tmgroupinc.com to request a copy.   The TM Group is a great resource for helping you understand how to leverage ExactTarget in your specific Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment. 

(We wish you successful marketing in 2010 and look forward to participating in The TM Group Vision 2010 event on March 23^rd!  – Karen Gragg, Marketing Programs Manager, ExactTarget)

###

Thanks, Karen!  I’ll be sharing more insight and news from our Vision 2010 strategic sponsors – all designed to help organizations looking for new CRM and ERP solutions to make their businesses be more profitable and their personal lives easier and more productive.  For more information about Vision 2010, the TM Group’s 12^th Annual Microsoft Dynamics Conference taking place March 23^rd at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy, Michigan, visit or Vision homepage at http://www.tmgroupinc.com/2010VisionInvite.asp

By Andree Dolan, Marketing Manager of The TM Group, Leading Michigan Partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

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(And FYI  – sales of Microsoft Dynamics CRM have been hot, up 75% over the previous year, making Microsoft the fastest growing CRM player in the market.  This includes both versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM — Online and on-premise.)

#1 Switch from Salesforce.com or Oracle CRM On Demand and Get 6 Free Months of Microsoft CRM Online.  Eligible customers who switch will get six free months of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online in addition to their 30-day trial: a complete sales, service, and marketing suite within a native Microsoft Office Outlook experience, supported with robust functionality like mobile access, offline data usage, powerful workflow, 5GB of storage, and a 99.9% financially-backed service level agreement (SLA).

Also welcome news – Microsoft simplified and reduced its pricing for all customers with just one price point for Dynamics CRM Online of $44/per user, per month which includes free mobile access, enhanced data import, and customizable views.  (Originally, Microsoft offered two-tier pricing and feature structure of Dynamics CRM Online, with the base version was $44/per user, per month with 5 GB  of storage and a more feature-rich version was $59/per user, per month with 20GB of storage.)

#2 The Big Easy Offer 3.0 from Microsoft:  Earn money back on your Microsoft Dynamics CRM purchase in the form of a partner subsidy to help with your implementation costs. When you purchase from multiple product groups, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, Exchange, SQL Server, Office, Windows Server and other Microsoft desktop and platform products, you can increase the amount of the partner subsidy you earn.  Partner subsidies can be used for the implementation of your Microsoft solution including software, hardware and services.

How does the Big Easy Offer work?  Here is a good explanation from Microsoft:

What is a Subsidy?
A subsidy is a check made payable to the Microsoft partner of your choice. This subsidy can be used to enrich and implement your Microsoft solution. The subsidy allows you to purchase additional products or services from the Microsoft partner of your choice thus lowering your Total Cost of Ownership.

Want More?
You can increase your subsidy by choosing:

• Products from more than one product group.
• Licenses with Software Assurance.
• Advanced or Enterprise Editions.

How do I take advantage of the Big Easy Offer 3.0?

• Make a qualifying purchase between November 1, 2009 and January 2, 2010.
• Redeem your purchase within 30 days of purchase date.
• Receive your partner subsidy check from Microsoft.
• Spend your subsidy funds with your Microsoft partner upon receipt. Please note that subsidy funds expire after 90 days of the check issue date.

For complete details on these Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers, including eligibility requirements you can contact us at The TM Group, Ken Jacobsen at kenj@tmgroupinc.com or call 888-482-2864.

By Andree Dolan, Marketing Manager, at  The TM Group, a Michigan Gold Certified Partner for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and XRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

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As the Marketing Manager for The TM Group, a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner in Michigan, I participated in two marketing events recently, and on separate occasions the expert speakers shared identical advice about making sure that your marketing efforts pay off:

#1  Always establish concrete revenue and specific customer goals with your marketing plan.

#2  The most successful marketing campaigns include rigorous data management and testing.

#3  If you don’t measure your results, you’ll never know what worked.  Or how you wasted resources, including time and money.

In the past, small and midmarket companies often thought these basic rules of marketing didn’t apply to them – only to bigger organizations with a large marketing staff and budget.   Marketing is often treated like a necessary evil, a cost center, for creating nice-looking brochures and websites.    But in today’s lean environment, every dollar has to count twice, and savvy companies–small, medium and large–know that the right marketing mix can have a big impact on growth, profitability, and competitive advantage.

The versatile, easily customized marketing modules and free accelerators in Microsoft Dynamics CRM have helped many of our clients, especially those with a limited budget and staff.  Marketers have long relied on their indispensable Microsoft Office tools — Outlook, Word, and Excel – and they quickly learn how to leverage Dynamics CRM, with its intimate integration to Office, powerful Microsoft SQL Server database, and flexible workflow wizards.  The learning curve is fast for marketing pros to start using the solution and to tap into CRM’s rich potential.

Here’s an overview of how the Microsoft Dynamics CRM marketing suite provides the essential elements for managing a lucrative marketing plan:

Strategy & Budget: Campaign project planning and timelines; ROI goal setting; expected milestones and metrics; estimated expenses and cost calculations

Tactics & Deployment: Activity management for scheduling and executing integrated, multi-touch campaigns, including: email marketing, telemarketing, events, tradeshows, direct mail, advertising, affiliated programs, surveys, and social media integration

Measurement & Results:  Campaign responses; closed-loop analysis reports for leads, opportunities, and revenue; sponsor and vendor results; customizable SRS reports and dashboards; integration to sales, custom service and accounting reports

We’re always interested in how other marketing teams are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and welcome any ideas or innovative suggestions you might have to share.  Post a comment to this blog, or feel free to reach me at andreed@tmgroupinc.com .

By Andree Dolan, Marketing Manager, The TM Group, Microsoft Dynamics XRM Provider and the most accomplished Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner in Michigan.

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