Jeff Chamberlain

Dynamics CRM: Not your grandparent’s tool!

Think back to your last little project you had to do around your house or with your car.  Maybe you were gardening, doing some landscaping, building a deck, or painting a room.  Whatever the project was, you probably had to use some sort of tool, and most likely multiple tools, to accomplish the job.  And if you are like me, you probably didn’t have the right tool at your fingertips causing you to stop and either go find the tool in the garage, go buy a tool, or worse yet, use a work around.  Let’s face it, we’ve all been in similar situations and it gets frustrating when momentum is moving forward and the project comes to a standstill because you don’t have what you need when you need it.

Now over the years, our tools have gotten better and some are even designed for very specific jobs.  We have enhanced and created tools to make our projects or jobs, easier.  Our grandparents had hand saws. We have gas powered chainsaws. They had push powered lawn mowers, we have “lawn tractors”.  They had more of a manual process with a lot less tools available.  But they, as their grandparents did before them, were determined to make their lives “easier” by enhancing and creating a tool for the job.

Well, for my professional life, my Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, is the tool that makes my job easier.  Over the years CRM has become enriched and continues to be enhanced.  Established vendors are enhancing theirs while new vendors are developing their own.  I use Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM 2013 and this is definitely “Not my Grandparents tool!”  This bad boy is made to be used “as is out of the box” or as a platform for which customers or partners can completely redesign it to meet their specific business need.  Any industry, and I mean ANY industry, can use this tool.   It is one tool that provides many features.  I compare it to a Swiss Army Knife in my tool chest.  How many of you had one of those growing up?  I loved mine.  With Dynamics CRM you have a Swiss Army Knife not only in your tool chest, but in your office.  It provides Account Management, Contact Management, Opportunity Management, Sales Process Management, Customer Service Management, and Marketing Automation all at your fingertips.  As I said earlier though, any industry can use it.  You may not have “Accounts or Contacts” but have “Members”, “Constituents”, “Donors”, “Patients”, or “Agents”. Whatever you call your “customers”, Dynamics CRM will as well.

At KTL Solutions, we use Dynamics CRM 2013 primarily as a sales and marketing tool.  80% of our company uses Dynamics CRM giving us a view into each account like never before.  Sales, Consulting, Marketing, and Administration all use CRM daily.  And since everyone uses it, it allows the company visibility into what is happening with each customer and prospect.Sales uses it to:

  • Prospect
  • Opportunity Forecasting and Tracking
  • Account Management (activity logging, planning)
  • Contacts Management (activity logging, planning)
  • Assist in the Sales Process
  • Create Work Orders and Quotes

Marketing uses it to:

  • Manage Campaigns
  • Lead Generation and Qualification

Consulting uses it to:

  • Create Quotes and Work Orders
  • Contacts Management

Administration uses it to:

  • Create Quotes and Work Orders
  • View Customer Activity
  • Contacts Management

When everyone uses the same tool, the entire company participates in the “customer relationship management” process.  So at any given time, when a customer calls, any KTL employee can view the customer record, gain immediate knowledge of the customer, and thus project a confidence that the customer’s need will be taken care of.
Remember, Dynamics CRM: “It’s not your Grandparents Tool!” Over the years, it has been enhanced; modified to keep up with new technology, ideas, and ways to do business in the modern day. If you have any questions or would like to test out our 30 day Free Trial of CRM, contact sales@ktlsolutions.com or call Gary at 1.866.960.0001.

GARY FRANCART | Director of Sales
Gary joined KTL in May of 2005 and has been continuously committed to ensuring a successful partnership and innovation of our customer’s business goals. His priority is to understand your organizational mission, vision, and strategic plan. Gary brings a wealth of knowledge to assist our customer’s product selection and implementation. With a visionary approach, he is able to ensure that KTL meets the ever-changing demands of technology business applications for complete customer satisfaction. Gary has over 18 years of technology sales and leadership – 10 of which were spent specializing in Business Applications such as Microsoft Dynamics, Acumatica Cloud ERP, CRM, and Business Intelligence solutions.

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