Dynamics 365 for Sales helps you zero in on the right leads, contacts, and opportunities as you build out your team’s sales pipeline. Built-in processes guide you from one stage of the sales process to the next, and easy-to-use dashboards help you set goals and provide actionable insights to help you close more deals.
In this Blog Series, we’ll look at how Microsoft Dynamics for Sales helps to Manage the Sales Process from Lead through to Invoice and beyond.
The sales process in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales can help you close more sales and achieve higher customer satisfaction. You can achieve more consistent sales interactions by following the sales process as it takes you through each stage, from creating a lead to closing the sale. You also end up with a more complete history, which you can refer to later on if you plan to work with your customer again in the future, or if your customer needs support.
Your sales process begins with a lead – someone who is interested in the products or services you provide. Your leads might be automatically generated by Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, or they might come from other sources, such as website opt-in pages, email queries, or business cards you gather at trade shows.
Great job! You’ve got your lead…now what? If your lead isn’t already in Dynamics 365, you’ll start by creating your lead in the system.
After you’ve determined that your lead is interested in your solution and has the appropriate purchasing power, qualify your lead. Qualifying a lead in Dynamics 365 converts it to an opportunity.
In Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, you use leads to keep track of business prospects that you haven’t yet qualified through your sales process. A lead can be someone you’ve never done business with before, or it could be an existing client. You might get leads from different sources, such as advertising, networking, or email campaigns.
Does your lead have what you’re looking for – and vice versa? Once you’ve identified the time frame, budget, purchase process, and decision makers for the sale, it’s time to qualify your lead. Qualifying a lead in Microsoft Dynamics 365 converts it to an opportunity.
Ideally, your leads or prospects should have a need that you can provide a solution for, and have the budget and influence necessary for making the purchasing decision. In addition, you should be able to provide their solution within the time frame they need it.
In this stage, you identify stakeholders, competitors, and sales team members and come up with a proposed solution.
An opportunity is a lead who is now almost ready to buy – in other words, it’s a deal that you’re ready to win. If you’re following the sales process from start to finish, you qualify a lead to turn it into an opportunity but you can also create an opportunity without having created a lead.
If your customer has accepted your proposal, congratulations! Whether your customer accepted or declined your proposal, however, it’s now time to close that opportunity.
Now it’s time to present your proposal to your potential customer.
One way you might increase your sales is to add all products that your customer might need to your quote. Your Microsoft Dynamics 365 system might offer product bundles or product families to make it easier for you to choose products for upsell and cross-sell.
Most sales begin with a price quote, which eventually becomes an order.
You’ll probably edit a quote multiple times as a sale progresses. Initially, you create a draft, and then you need to activate it when it’s ready to go to a customer.
When the customer accepts the quote, you create an order. Otherwise, you close the quote as revised, cancelled, or lost.
Did your opportunity accept or reject your proposal? Hopefully, congratulations are in order! Either way, at this stage you need to close your opportunity.
This can include filling orders, preparing invoices, and sending follow-up messages, depending on how your organisation handles the end game.
Congratulations! Your hard work nurturing your customer has paid off and they’re ready to place an order for your products or services. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, an order can originate from a customer’s acceptance of a quote, or you can place an order without an accepted quote, depending on the situation.
One way that can help you increase your sales is to add all products that your customer might need to your order. Your Dynamics 365 system might offer product bundles or product families to make it easier for you to choose products for upsell and cross-sell. If you’ve already prepared a quote for your customer, you can create an order from that quote.
Typically, you convert a quote that you have won into an order. Start with an active quote. Note that once a quote is accepted, you won’t be able to revise it.
You can also create an order that is based on your communication with a customer, instead of an accepted quote.
When a customer places an order, you can create an invoice to bill them for the upcoming sale.
Typically, you convert an order into an invoice. However, you can also create an invoice that does not originate from an order.
For more information and to speak to one of our Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales consultants. Contact us at marketing@sysco-software.com
The post Manage the Sales Process : Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales Blog Series appeared first on Sysco Software Solutions.
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