The effectiveness of a Dynamics 365 CRM system relies on strong leadership. Without strategic oversight and advocacy, the technology’s potential can waste budgets and frustrate teams.
Realising transformation with CRM leadership
Effective leadership is at the heart of customer loyalty, service quality, efficiency gains, and employee engagement.
Your CRM system can elevate customer lifetime value and fuel sustainable growth when aligned with purpose and vision. But that starts with leadership – here’s how to demonstrate it.
Demonstrate Tangible CRM Benefits
Don’t assume others will share your enthusiasm for Dynamics 365 CRM technology as an efficiency driver.
Take sales teams as an example. Sellers care about their commissions. Demonstrate how Dynamics can personally benefit them through improved productivity, increased win rates, shortened sales cycles, and less admin. Highlight how the system can make their working life easier.
Related: Best Practices for CRM Adoption
Adopt a Phased Rollout Approach
Where will Dynamics 365 have the most significant impact?
Start with one or two priority teams to lower costs and achieve quick wins. This will get the technology into users’ hands quickly, so they can build confidence and see benefits faster. As advantages become apparent, participation will grow organically.
This is consistent with an agile methodology, which is fundamental to our approach.
Assemble an Empowered Project Team
Your project team should include executive sponsors to champion the initiative. It should consist of managers who understand your processes and current challenges, administrators who manage the system, and influential users who provide insights into workflows.
Getting respected team leaders enthusiastically on board is crucial for user adoption.
Create and Communicate Ongoing Training Plans
One-off training sessions are inadequate as people cannot instantly become proficient users.
Develop role-based training that includes follow-up courses to support continued learning. Allocate dedicated time for uninterrupted training and provide ample advance notice.
Mandate Management Usage and Data-Driven Meetings
When leaders actively use Dynamics 365, it accelerates organisation-wide adoption.
Additionally, ensure these metrics and reports are frequently referenced in meetings to demonstrate the value of the system and the trust in data.
For example, service teams can track case volumes, response times, and productivity. Publicise recent achievements to reinforce benefits and instil confidence in the technology and your data.
Next Steps
At ServerSys, we can help you address organisational hurdles with guidance and insights to equip leaders with Dynamics 365 and connected Microsoft solutions to succeed. Please get in touch to find out more.
