Microsoft CRM Implementation fundamental CRM principles revision

Microsoft CRM is relatively new player on the now becoming traditional CRM software applications market. We would like just to mention shift in the technical conception Microsoft CRM is committed to Windows and Microsoft components: Exchange, Active Directory, SQL Server, etc (while traditional CRM applications, such as Siebel were biased toward multiplatform compatibility: Unix, Oracle, Windows, SQL Server) and move up to business logic paradigm shift.

There is high-tech wisdom and it is always applicable to traditional industries, such as auto makers. Dont try to be too innovative on the market, rather have your competitors build the market niche and then move in. It is rather safe not to purchase the car of the new line, just introduced this year, even if it comes from such a respectable manufacturer as Toyota. The same in software industry we have unlimited trust and greatest respect to such CRM makers as Seibel but I guess we have to admit companies like this had to be pioneers on the market and had to create the market, being a little bit premature, however savvy in the long term market prediction..

Microsoft seems to be allowing the enthusiasts to create the market niche and then move in with its own or purchased and beefed up solution. In the case of MS CRM it seems to be from ground up MS development and very excellent fit to Microsoft Business Solutions business strategy.

Microsoft CRM application conception in our opinion was substantial simplification in CRM functionality and making IT group to support it, by deploying all the recent Microsoft technologies.

Bullets to emphasize:

1. Microsoft CRM is for MCSE / Microsoft oriented IT departments Microsoft CRM would be be-loved system for IT specialists. If you are MCSE+I - CRM will recruit all your MS Exchange, Active Directory, MS SQL Server, Windows domain security, Windows 2003 Server, Web publishing and HTML knowledge and experience. This is completely opposite to earlier Apple Computer believe - that computer systems should be easy in service and completely intuitive. MS CRM is kind of intuitive for end user, but not for its administrator.

2. Microsoft CRM - is not CRM - but rather simplified CRM - if you do remember old days whitepapers about CRM in general, or even it's predecessor - Lotus Notes/Domino - these papers were full of predictions about the future and were written for top level company executives, not for regular computer specialists. This was probably why so high percentage of CRM sales failed in implementations. Microsoft CRM has the highest ever rate of successful implementations, because it is not a CRM, but rather popularized version of it - it just does the job - as cheap and reliable car.

3. Transportation Companies - about 30% of our clients in the States are transportation and freight forwarding companies. This actually proves the hypothesis that MS CRM is very simple solution - these companies usually do not have extra money to spend on their computer system, but need the solution for its sales people to instantly see the cargos, plus have simple customization, allowing them to integrate with legacy system.

4. Movement down to small and tiny companies this is completely new trend for CRM market. We know the examples when 5 employees companies make a decision to implement and have surprising success in Microsoft CRM implementation.

Happy implementing!

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Colorado, Texas, New York, Georgia and Florida, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com) You can reach Andrew at 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577. He is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

help@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: Share

Boris Makushkin

MS CRM is very close to document workflow automation, including Microsoft Office documents: Words, Excel, etc. The document workflow was perfectly automated about 10 years ago in Lotus Notes Domino. In this small article we describe the solution based on MS CRM integration with MS SharePoint.

Microsoft CRM is new player on CRM applications market and it is gaining its market share. Having different paradigm in its design (it stakes on Microsoft OS and technologies and completely disregards alternative platform, such as UNIX, Linux, Oracle, etc. based). Microsoft CRM market is very diversified: from small (5 users) to large (several hundred MS CRM User licenses) and it serves variety of industries: Transportation, Logistics, Lawyers, Pension Funds, High-Tech, and many others. Deploying technologies, like Windows Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange 2003/2000, SQL Server, Crystal Reports Enterprise, Biztalk, Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Great Plains and Navision in close future - makes CRM a beloved system for Microsoft oriented IT departments.

Let's go right to the topic.

Major issue with storing documents in MS CRM in the form of attachments to Activity is inability to work on these attached files in cooperation with other colleagues, who do not have to use CRM. When several service people serve requests from the same client this is required. Currently you can use alternative way when you store office documents in the folders of your file system and when modifying document, you save it and reattach to CRM. This is inconvenient, because first it requires all your editing users to have CRM licenses, which delays CRM implementation.

We seem increasing popularity of document storage systems, like Microsoft SharePoint, Oracle Files, etc. Such systems, being implemented gives you time savings, related to documents revisions and versioning, approval cycles and workflows, web access through web-portals systems and the like.

The target of our product is Microsoft SharePoint integration with MS CRM for document storage. Let's take a look at the high level technical realization details:

• Main modification from the MS CRM side is standard system behavior change when you open attachment in Activity. Standard unmodified CRM suggests you to store documents in the file system. Modified version sores document in SharePoint Document Library (the required library is subject for setup by MS CRM system administrator) or keep it in MS CRM as is (for documents of minor importance). From the moment of saving the document in SharePoint Document Library it is not stored in MS CRM CRM will now store only the link/reference to the document. Also you are given the ability to open and modify the document at the place of opening, which speeds up MS CRM user performance substantially.

• Table, storing the links to the documents sits in separate database and doesn't deal with MS CRM tables (you know that you are banned to do structure changes in MS CRM db)

• Document saving into MS SharePoint process occurs in MS CRM and with its assistance SharePoint bridge, which does addition and update for the existing document into destination Document Library with MS SharePoint Web Services calls

• Upon the addition into Document Library, MS CRM SharePoint bridge registers the document in the special table for the future data extraction or notification mechanism registration

• Then, interested users can work with the documents just using MS Office 2003 or other programs/editing tools, assuming these tools have access to MS SharePoint

• Feedback is provided by MS SharePoint Event Handler component. This is special handler, inspecting document change status, transferred from MS CRM to document storage (SharePoint), and report Activity owner on the changes with home page notifications (User home page in MS CRM). User in turn can review the history of the document editing - who, when and where is the change

• Opening Activity, where document is "attached", and in fact placed into MS SharePoint Document Library, and pressing opening button, MS CRM user gets live version of the data

• This approach allows you seamless work with MS CRM document in the whole informational space of your company

• Additional enhancements to this product might be document library management directly from MS CRM (web interface - meaning remotely), administrative interface for MS Sharepoint documents revision, ability to create reports on the document storage status, rights/access management (Author, Reader, Contributor etc) from MS CRM, portal pages integration into MS CRM to name a few.

Happy programming, implementation, customization and modification! If you want us to do the job call use 1-630-961-5918, 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Boris Makushkin is Lead Software Developer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Oracle, Navision, Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Florida, New York, Canada, Australia, UK, Russia, Europe and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Oracle, Unix, Microsoft CRM SDK, Navision, C#, VB.Net, SQL developer.

BorisM@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft CRM Typical Customizations

Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM Software Development Kit (MS CRM SDK) which you can download from Microsoft website contains descriptions of the objects or classes, exposed for customization. It has sample code in C# and partially in VB.Net. In Visual Studio.Net you can analyze all the classes, used by Microsoft developers to create MS CRM - you will discover that most of them are not documented in MS CRM SDK. Microsoft will not support your customization if you use undocumented class or do direct SQL access to CRM database.

Let us describe you - programmer, software developer typical cases of MS CRM Customizations.

1. Integration with SQL Server application. If you have legacy system on MS SQL Server - let's say you are transportation company and have in-house developed cargo tracking database. Now in MS CRM you want lookup the shipments for the customer (or account in CRM). This is SDK programming and calling SQL stored proc to retrieve cargo info. Instead of SQL Server you can have other database (ORACLE, MS Access, PervasiveSQL to name a few) - you can access multiple Database platforms via ADO.Net connection from your .Net application, which is easily integrated into MS CRM Account screen.

2. Email capturing in MS CRM. You have customer with email Bill@customer.com. Now you want all the emails that you receive from customer.com domain to be attached to Bill who is account in CRM. This is more difficult customization - you have to create MS CRM SDK web service, that one will be creating email activity and call it from COM+ application - Microsoft Exchange event handler (ONSYNCSAVE database event sink). This example maybe complicated with the following requirement. Imagine that Bill, instead of answering to your email (sent from CRM and processed by CRM-Exchange connector) sends you new message from MS Outlook. Then this email will not follow into MS CRM (because it doesn't have GUID in the header and so is ignored by CRM Exchange connector). If you want to capture these emails - you have to do it in Microsoft Exchange event sink. There maybe scenario when you want to capture and analyze in the sink all the outgoing emails - this is even more complex - y!

ou have to place the sink on transport event.

3. ASP Application integration. You have legacy ASP application, where you capture orders from your customers and you want these orders be transferred to the CRM as activity. Here you understand that ASP doesn't deploy Active Directory security - and the best way is to create HTTP handler and call it from your ASP page. This HTTP handler in turn will call MS CRM SDK web service with predefined (web.config) Active Directory credentials.

Some cautions. Never create your custom SQL objects (like stored procedure, SQL view, table) in MS CRM database. Instead, create your own database and place your objects there. When you see the first caution - you will never try to alter existing CRM objects, like adding new field to the table.

Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Microsoft CRM SDK, Great Plains Dexterity, SQL, C#/VB.Net and Crystal Reports developer.
akarasev@albaspectrum.com

Customer Relationship Management With Microsoft

Successful companies recognize the importance of customer service and although that can be accomplished the old fashion way with pen and paper which is very ineffective or the new, effective method using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software.

Stats show that customer service and thus customer satisfaction has taken a real drop in the last decade, When it comes to customer relationship management more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon and beginning to work towards bringing customer services back into the forefront. But raising those levels requires a comprehensive plan.

That company slogan you?ve got about the great customer service ? well it?s time to live up to it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM software can be an integral part of your plan. Here are some simple steps to get you started.

1. Understand the vision, mission, and goals of your company.
2. Define what it is you want to provide for customer service and which direction you want to head.
3. Ensure that customer service is defined as a key element of your business and ensure all levels of the company know where they stand with customer service.
4. Invest in your CRM software and get things rolling.
5. Hire the right people to carry out your vision

When you implement a Customer Relationship Management solution for your company you make everyone that works for the company accountable. Everybody understands that anybody can handle the problem. No excuse, no passing it off with the hope that somebody else will pick it up. Suddenly entire workforce is on the same page.

You need to establish an effective delivery process so that you are providing smooth, uninterrupted service to your clients. Your service delivery system should be transparent from beginning to end. That?s what CRM software does just that and it?s so flexible that as your company grows or changes with they times your CRM solutions can easily change never missing a beat and creating no interruption in customer service.

Microsoft Dynamic CRM is empowering. There?s no need for somebody to go digging for information before they can help the customer. There?s no need to be looking at old information and then trying to make a decision.

Today?s market is extremely tough. With so much new competition making it to market keeping the revenue becomes even tougher. Using CRM is an excellent way to maintain your revenue and increase it by building customer loyalty. The company that get?s on the customer service and loyalty bandwagon is going to reap the benefits long-term.

Microsoft Dynamic CRM will save your company time and money and it will provide instant answers to your customers from start to finish and beyond allowing for excellent follow up servicing.

The result is that customer service improves dramatically and thus so does the profit line. In order to deliver outstanding service it is essential that you build long term customer relationships and the way to do that is by utilizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM software.

Sayed Ally, is the lead CRM Analyst. His company provides, MS CRM. Sayed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email: aSayed@cqsolutions.com.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM V3.0 ? Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management software effectively implemented, provides business owners and management with an extremely powerful tool for bringing the front-office functions of sales, marketing and customer support together and working far more effectively as a combined team.

Many businesses think wrongly that a CRM solution is only for enterprise class concerns with large check books when in fact software providers such as Microsoft offer scaleable versions for all company sizes. Microsoft Dynamics Software has evolved from their enterprise class Great Plains software however versions have been developed and aimed specifically at the small and mid-range business market.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 allows businesses to respond to the growing challenges in the modern business environment by bringing client and prospect information into a central repository, organizing the information and allowing users throughout the business to access the data when they need it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 delivers the ability to manage the customer relationship throughout the entire sales cycle from initial enquiry in response to a marketing or sales campaign, through to pre-sales meetings, the actual sale and post sale issues such as delivery and repeat ordering.

Microsoft Dynamics software empowers every decision maker in your business to satisfy customer demands by providing the most up-to-date and accurate client information they need when they need it and ensure that the history of the relationship is encapsulated for all to share. Decision makers in this context need not necessarily be management but a customer service representative with a customer on the telephone asking about an order or information on your other products. All staff in contact with prospects and customers will be able to see at a glance what is happening with a particular account and in customer relations, knowledge is power. Customer relationship software provides everyone in your business with the ability to demonstrate an outstanding level of customer service not possible by traditional reporting methods.

The ability to integrate a customer relationship software solution with existing applications already employed by your business allows for the transfer of information between your word processor and spreadsheet applications and the CRM. Microsoft CRM software has been specifically designed with Microsoft Outlook and Office in mind, and allows a seamless user experience. Mobile workers reliant upon email are able to access Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 via their Outlook client, while marketing and sales campaigns can use data imported from the Dynamics Suite directly into Microsoft Word and Excel applications for marketing campaigns and mail shots.

If your business has several office and site locations, it is still possible to implement a customer relationship software solution across the whole company. Microsoft Dynamics v3.0 is well adapted to be delivered to remote locations via Microsoft Terminal Services, Citrix and other ?thin client? solutions. An example is where a business has a central warehousing facility in Detroit with sales offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago and they all are able to utilise the customer relationship software solution almost in real-time.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 benefits your business by saving time and costs, minimizing non-productive activity while maximizing sales revenue by ensuring that sales leads are followed up and do not get lost or ?fall between the cracks?, while customer retention is improved by enhancing customer relations and service.

Syed Ali, is the lead CRM consultant for a Toronto based company. His company offers, Microsoft CRM Software Syed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email :asyed@cqsolutions.com

How Empathic Listening Can Help Build Long Lasting Customer Relationships

I first heard the term Empathic Listening many years ago at a Stephen Covey workshop. He was talking about the principal and how it had helped several sales people make more sales. I was intrigued. Having been a sales trainer in several organizations, I knew effective listening was one of the hardest skills for many sales people. Myself included.

We all leave training armed with product knowledge? amazing features and benefits? and enough information to be dangerous. But no one teaches you how to listen. What helps you understand what?s going on in your customer?s world? Certainly not product knowledge. Listening is one of the most important, and least utilized skills, in most sales training programs.

Empathic listening takes listening to a completely different level. Most people listen to be understood by the person they?re talking to. Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand the person you?re talking to. See the difference? If you are trying to understand what your customer is telling you, they know you?re listening. If you keep speaking trying to get them bought into your agenda, it?s because the call isn?t about them?it?s about you and your agenda. The customer certainly knows who listens to their concerns.

It?s about finding a way to get in a person?s frame of reference. There are some simple ways to use this in you everyday business. For example, if you do a lot of customer interaction on the telephone, always ask, ?Is this a good time for you to talk?? You never want to try and have a conversation with someone who is distracted. This simple question tells your prospect you respect their time and have empathy for their situation. It?s much easier to reschedule than to try and have an ?information gathering? conversation with someone who isn?t listening.

If you do a lot of face to face customer meetings, a good way to open the conversation is with the question, ?Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?? This is a non-threatening way to open a meeting. It also signals that you?re ready to listen.

The better you get at listening, the easier customer relationships will become. A recent conversation I had with a friend illustrates this point. He is a VP of Sales in a large corporation. He was on a customer visit with a member of his sales team.

The customer had a lot of complaints and wanted to voice them to someone in authority. After the meeting, the customer pulled the VP aside and thanked him for coming. He also commented, ?I really feel like you listened to me. I can?t tell you how much I appreciate that. Your sales rep, by the way, doesn?t listen. Which is why I wanted to speak with you.?

The customer just wanted someone to listen. By listening, he validated the customer?s concerns. Even if the ultimate answer was that the problems would take a while to solve, it?s the fact that he listened that was important to the customer. Unfortunately, his sales rep wasn?t up to the task.

Ask yourself, how do you ever understand the needs of your customer if you aren?t listening? Imagine the relationship you can develop with a customer who believes you have listened to his concerns and acted accordingly!

In all of the sales training I?ve taken through the years, I don?t believe listening was ever mentioned. Most sales seminars are focused on some new process, and never get around to such a basic idea. Is anyone teaching you how to put yourself in your customers? shoes? I doubt it. If you?re losing a deal, and don?t know why, how can it hurt to ask, ?I would like to understand your current concerns regarding the recommendations I?ve made. When you feel I understand your situation, then we?ll review the proposal I made. Do you have a few minutes to discuss this with me??

We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason. Spend more time listening and less time talking and your sales calls will go a lot more smoothly. Maybe you?ll discover some hidden needs, and be able to provide solutions that involve your product or service.

It?s always important to remember that empathy is not the same as sympathy. Empathy allows you to ?walk in your customer?s shoes?. Sympathy is the expression of an emotion. Just because you empathize with someone, doesn?t mean you are agreeing with their position. Remember, your goal is to understand their position. Once you understand, you can move forward with addressing any objections. You?ve taken a customer who was ready to walk away, and have brought them back to the negotiation phase of the sale. Instead of having to discount price or give something away, you?ve created more value for yourself. All by listening.

It always sounds corny to say, ?People buy from people they like?. It?s true. I?ve always believed that if I had a good product that was competitively priced then what tips the scale in the deal would be likeability.

And listening is something that makes you likeable. Listening can create rapport with a customer in a way that nothing else can. I can?t imagine someone disliking a sales rep that took the time to really listen to his or her concerns.

If you?re looking for a way to improve your skills as a sales professional, I suggest making an effort to use empathic listening. Listen to your customers and really try to understand what they might be trying to tell you. Don?t end up being the person who has to have a VP come visit, just so your customer feels ?heard?. It?s your job to hear your customers. You just need to start listening.

Former Learjet Sales Star, Susan Adams, has sold products and services for some of the world?s most respected companies?..General Electric, Pitney Bowes and Bombardier Aerospace.

She takes a ?real world? approach to all sales topics. ?Successful sales people are experts at having conversations with customers. If you can empathize with people, create an environment of trust and really listen to their concerns, you?ll be a top sales performer.? More importantly, you?ll be able to develop long term relationships with your customers.

Susan has successfully sold to CEO?s, High Net Worth Individuals and celebrities. Twenty one years of talking to customers has give Susan a unique perspective on how to build a sales presentation that connects with your customers, and compels them to buy.

Susan has golfed with David Duval, raced cars with Bobby Rahal and dined with CEO?s from Fortune 100 companies. There is no sales situation she hasn?t seen?.

http://www.susanadamshome.com

Sales People are NOT Immune to Bionic Automation

If you look up the definition of the word - bionic, here is what you will find:

A machine that is patterned after principles found in humans or nature; for example, robots. It also refers to artificial devices implanted into humans replacing or extending normal human functions.

In the printing industry, automation of many processes has dramatically changed the production of printing. The new digital printing systems take the traditional lithography functions of putting ink on paper and replace it with automated digital technology. In many cases, the untrained eye and even some very well trained eyes can't distinguish the difference. The quality and clarity of the images produced are excellent. This is one reason quick printers have adopted digital print technology.

However, quality is just one of the reasons. The primary reason for new technology adoption is the automated benefits of machines replacing the talented craft of a journeyman printer. Today, journeyman printers are difficult to find and traditional printing is becoming a lost craft like the blacksmith was in the horse and buggy era. The marvel of the automobile revolutionized the transportation industry just as technology and automated communications are revolutionizing the printing industry today.

If Sales Is a Process, It Can Be Automated When you ask a sales professional about what they do, they will tell you that selling is a craft and a process. When you take away the firm handshake, the voice of reason and convincing assurance you are making the right decision, the selling process can be automated. With today's technology and communication tools, 80% of what leads up to the closing sale can be diagramed and processed. This is bionic selling because these functions can be patterned after principles of humans.

If the bionic patterns of the selling process are designed to follow the best practices of selling and automated with the push of a button by a human, you have a great system.

Sales are NOT immune from automation and businesses can either take advantage of automating the selling process or fight the technology. Where does this leave a business that doesn't adopt the automation of a selling process? In a few years, you will find them listed in the white pages next to the blacksmith or you won't find them around at all.

How to Get Started If you are in a manufacturing business like printing, the production system is mapped out for efficiency and speed. Just look at some of today's digital printing systems and you will know what we mean. If you get a chance to ask a printing business owner to layout their production process, they can list this quickly and clearly. Processes in the manufacturing and printing business are foundational and printers are always looking for ways to make the production process more efficient. A perfect example of this is the Six Sigma trend towards quality and precision because it places a focus on the process of manufacturing.

If you ask most business owners to map out their selling process, you will get a blank stare and a questioned look that leads to fear. Most salespeople can't recite the selling process and some, so called experts, don't understand the process well enough to teach it. Here are a few things you can expect from a sales automation system. These are the functions I build into my sales automation solutions.

• Automation of 80% or more of routine sales activities
• On-line features that make selling and selling management a virtual process.
• Automated sales management notification of good and bad performance activities.
• Adoption and execution of the four primary methods of communications.
• A system that salespeople and sales management will enjoy implementing.
• A system that can be adopted quickly and is affordable with guaranteed results.

One of the important factors is the ability to embrace technology and NOT be afraid of change. Every industry uses a slightly different pattern of success and requires a customized sales process. This is where an expert in mapping out your selling process is required. Look for someone who understands your business. Once you have this mapped out, execute the automation with a passion and you will quickly reap the rewards of bionic selling.

by Steve Martinez, President of Selling Magic and a Mastermind Sales Process Automation Guru http://www.impactivator.com.