General Consultant Discussion

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

Mark - I was thinking about this more last night and I'm wondering: do you have any actual experience with Salesforce.com when you make your statements comparing Microsoft Dynamics?

Honestly curious - not trying to be inflammatory.

I have many friends in sales and most (not all) of the ones who use Salesforce absolutely hate it. I think management teams love it because "it's Salesforce" and they are the 800 lb Gorilla.

I don't think that those comments are anything to do with the actual benefits of Salesforce. Most likely - for many organizations - they have slammed in the software without proper configuration and guidance and it results in a horrible user experience.

We routinely run in to businesses who "just want the licenses" and then scream bloody murder six months down the road that the software was too difficult to use. There is this false perception that CRM can solve all the world's problems just by giving your credit card to a software publisher. 

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

So my exposure with Salesforce is as a partner for Epicor & RingCentral who both use it to manage joint leads.
It's by no means cutting edge to me, but its responsive and fairly intuitive from an end users standpoint.  That being said, I can't say I use it day in and out to manage leads.
BTW, we aren't yet running the Unified <g class="gr_ gr_170 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="170" data-gr-id="170">inteface</g>. It's my understanding that Microsoft pushed it out before it had all the functionality of the prior UI and is recommending people use it '<g class="gr_ gr_311 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="311" data-gr-id="311">hybid</g>'.  Reminds me of MAS90 in 1996 when it moved to windows.  Sounds like in a few months it will be ready for prime time and we'll move <g class="gr_ gr_492 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="492" data-gr-id="492">then</g>.

I guess it partly goes back to pure <g class="gr_ gr_522 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="522" data-gr-id="522">browser based</g> interfaces (which salesforce suffers from as well).  Every time you do something you wait for a new page to render.

I have to admit, even the CRM that is built into Connectwise which is <g class="gr_ gr_630 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="630" data-gr-id="630">browser based</g>, has a more fluid and usable UI.  Maybe Unified fixes all that, so I'll have to <g class="gr_ gr_704 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="704" data-gr-id="704">wait</g> a little and see.

When you create a lead, notes from the lead don't even get transferred to an account/opportunity without custom scripting.

Notes you add to an opportunity don't <g class="gr_ gr_789 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="789" data-gr-id="789">rollup</g> into the notes for the account (<g class="gr_ gr_818 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="818" data-gr-id="818">saleslogix</g> does that and then you can quickly filter them on or off)

You add an activity like a phone call, and once you save you can't change the notes.  Notes you can edit, but you can't assign them with followup dates & times...

Mark - I was thinking about this more last night and I'm wondering: do you have any actual experience with Salesforce.com when you make your statements comparing Microsoft Dynamics?

Honestly curious - not trying to be inflammatory.

I have many friends in sales and most (not all) of the ones who use Salesforce absolutely hate it. I think management teams love it because "it's Salesforce" and they are the 800 lb Gorilla.

I don't think that those comments are anything to do with the actual benefits of Salesforce. Most likely - for many organizations - they have slammed in the software without proper configuration and guidance and it results in a horrible user experience.

We routinely run in to businesses who "just want the licenses" and then scream bloody murder six months down the road that the software was too difficult to use. There is this false perception that CRM can solve all the world's problems just by giving your credit card to a software publisher. 

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams

I can't change anyone's minds and if you think it sucks, it's going to suck. Real quick points though:

1. The new Unified Interface works for 85% of people but not everyone yet. The keyword is "yet" and MSFT is moving quickly on this.
2. Hardly anyone uses Notes in D365 these days except legacy customers who have been on it for a while. Preferred approach is to shift to a combination of Activity (which feeds to the main screen) and Documents. Most customers ask us to hide the notes completely as it's one more place to go.
3. You are correct that there are gaps for sure. Our approach is to create add-ons to fill in these gaps. We include these at no additional charge to customers who are on our service plans. One example is an add-on to better control activities and historical activities.
4. If you guys have been using it awhile, you might benefit from a refresh - look at it with new eyes and update usage patterns. It might help with satisfaction.

Good luck and thanks for sharing your perspectives. MSFT is moving fast so definitely keep apprised of what they are up to. They are focused on delivering a stellar User Experience and they are getting there.

So my exposure with Salesforce is as a partner for Epicor & RingCentral who both use it to manage joint leads.
It's by no means cutting edge to me, but its responsive and fairly intuitive from an end users standpoint.  That being said, I can't say I use it day in and out to manage leads.
BTW, we aren't yet running the Unified <g class="gr_ gr_170 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="170" data-gr-id="170">inteface</g>. It's my understanding that Microsoft pushed it out before it had all the functionality of the prior UI and is recommending people use it '<g class="gr_ gr_311 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="311" data-gr-id="311">hybid</g>'.  Reminds me of MAS90 in 1996 when it moved to windows.  Sounds like in a few months it will be ready for prime time and we'll move <g class="gr_ gr_492 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="492" data-gr-id="492">then</g>.

I guess it partly goes back to pure <g class="gr_ gr_522 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="522" data-gr-id="522">browser based</g> interfaces (which salesforce suffers from as well).  Every time you do something you wait for a new page to render.

I have to admit, even the CRM that is built into Connectwise which is <g class="gr_ gr_630 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="630" data-gr-id="630">browser based</g>, has a more fluid and usable UI.  Maybe Unified fixes all that, so I'll have to <g class="gr_ gr_704 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="704" data-gr-id="704">wait</g> a little and see.

When you create a lead, notes from the lead don't even get transferred to an account/opportunity without custom scripting.

Notes you add to an opportunity don't <g class="gr_ gr_789 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="789" data-gr-id="789">rollup</g> into the notes for the account (<g class="gr_ gr_818 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="818" data-gr-id="818">saleslogix</g> does that and then you can quickly filter them on or off)

You add an activity like a phone call, and once you save you can't change the notes.  Notes you can edit, but you can't assign them with followup dates & times...

Mark - I was thinking about this more last night and I'm wondering: do you have any actual experience with Salesforce.com when you make your statements comparing Microsoft Dynamics?

Honestly curious - not trying to be inflammatory.

I have many friends in sales and most (not all) of the ones who use Salesforce absolutely hate it. I think management teams love it because "it's Salesforce" and they are the 800 lb Gorilla.

I don't think that those comments are anything to do with the actual benefits of Salesforce. Most likely - for many organizations - they have slammed in the software without proper configuration and guidance and it results in a horrible user experience.

We routinely run in to businesses who "just want the licenses" and then scream bloody murder six months down the road that the software was too difficult to use. There is this false perception that CRM can solve all the world's problems just by giving your credit card to a software publisher. 

Yea, I'm referring to MS CRM.  I don't really have any Sage CRM experience other than playing around with it during the early days and it seemed pretty clean.
MS CRM just feels 'unpolished'.  Up until fairly recently, the UI was really ancient looking and now still doesn't compare to Microsoft Teams or OneNote.  It's also 'sluggish'.  It takes a lot more clicks and keystrokes to enter data than the PIM aspects of it should.

The 'one note' integration does nothing more than <g class="gr_ gr_379 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="379" data-gr-id="379">put</g> a link with no preview to your notebook which is kinda useless to the next consumer.  The regular 'notes' has no rich text formatting or HTML support.  The way Microsoft Teams embeds OneNote is a whole different world.

If Microsoft doesn't want to be the 'cheap' "me too" player against Salesforce they are going to have to up their game the same way they did with Power BI vs. Tableau.

Are you saying those things about Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (Customer Engagement) or Sage CRM?

In regards to Sage CRM, I think the audience is much simpler usually and a simpler CRM is a great fit. We have done some crazy cool customizations for Sage CRM customers and we have some massive installs (over 1,000 users for one). 

For the most part though, the customers are limited in needs and ability to take advantage of the finer details of CRM.

Most of our Sage CRM customers don't have marketing people for example. So the lack of sophistication really doesn't harm them and the price is right for their budgets.

Microsoft Dynamics is a whole 'nother story. Four years back, the Microsoft CRM was clunky in my opinion. Really difficult to get around and non-intuitive. 

Since Nadella came aboard, it has transformed into an amazing user experience - plus the connectivity with Office and other Microsoft technologies is impressive. I wrote an article on LinkedIn a few weeks back about "Citizen Developers" that spells out what they are doing. It's pretty amazing to see what a talented team can do with the right direction. Nadella is certainly providing the direction and they clearly have the talent.

Microsoft Dynamics requires a bigger investment though. There really isn't a "low budget" option. The more I get into it though, the more I realize that there really shouldn't be a low budget option. 

If customers appreciate it for the investment it is, it can dramatically change their business. And the bots and machine learning that MSFT is starting to release is wicked sick. It is going to change things dramatically for many people. 

Not everyone sees it as an investment and ... that's fine. I move along because there are plenty of smart business leaders who do understand what they can accomplish when it's "done right."

Right now, I'm slowly and steadily overhauling my own systems to improve our own customer experiences, lower our stress, and become a showcase where we can let our clients see what we've done - instead of just telling them how cool it will be.

I'm happy to share with 90 Minds as we roll some of this stuff out. If I and my team can do it, most of the smart people in 90 Minds can do it too.

We use Microsoft CRM and I know you support that as well.

Is it me or is it fairly mediocre?  It seems like <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">alot</g> of things that should just be there or work out of the box, requires customization/development.  

<g class="gr_ gr_180 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="180" data-gr-id="180">Saleslogix</g> felt like a much more 'finished' solution to 'traditional' CRM functionality.  It just doesn't seem as polished as other Microsoft solutions like say Teams