As I’ve blogged in the past, one of the things I like most about my job is that each customer discussion is a wonderful opportunity to learn something new about Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Every day I hear about creative ways to use standard features to accomplish something that makes a user’s job easier.
Typical scenarios that I discuss with prospects every day deal with Accounts and Contacts and Opportunities. And while I enjoy working through the and helping customers to be more productive, it’s a little more interesting when the challenges are unique. CRM veterans may say “been there, done that” but for me they are fun.
Here’s a recent example. I have been talking with a manufacturing prospect that needs to track its Opportunities and all the related parties. That sounds pretty basic, but a little further discussion uncovered that the opportunity was a building. In this manufacturer’s sales process, it needs to track owners, architects, engineers, and contractors that are involved. Opportunities are usually related to a contact or an account but using the power of Connections we can relate all these types of Contacts to the building. Here is where it started to get a little more interesting. Because this manufacturer’s opportunities are buildings, these Opportunities have multiple values. Why? With multiple contractors submitting different configurations and bid numbers for each configuration, the total value can change dramatically. As a result, the Opportunity value reporting needs to reflect not just a number or even the sum of the contractor bids but a high and low range.
By configuring this set of Opportunities and Connections and Reports we can save the manufacturer hours of time tracking, consolidating, and reconciling the real values of the Opportunities as well as the values of their contractor partners so they can spend their time on the best opportunities and the most important contractors.
Whether you are just or are ready to purchase, choose the one that fits and can solve real business issues, not the one that is forced. Look for and hear what matters most. With Microsoft CRM, it’s all there. And that’s why I like it.
By Ledgeview Partners – Wisconsin based Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner serving the Midwest and Heartland regions
