The sales processes involved in B2B - and, let's face it, some B2C - transactions can get quite complex, and often calls for a larger number of participants on both sides for the deal to succeed. Fortunately, there are tools to help with such challenges and one of them is a staple among many worldwide businesses: Microsoft Teams.
While handy for exchanging quick messages, it is not only the chat feature that sets Teams apart; it is the fact that all the other Office 365 products can be accessed from within the Teams environment, making it the perfect platform to manage your sales from one place.
Microsoft Teams was released along with the Office 365 productivity suite in 2016. It is an all-in-one collaboration tool that combines chat, audio, video, and data transfer. Whether you run a large organization or an SME, whether your staff works locally, remotely, or both, this tool has everything you could need to facilitate communication.
Its essential features are:
Chats
Users can exchange messages both one-on-one and in groups. In addition to formatting, emojis, and priority posts, Teams' chat has a slew of other modern messaging benefits. For instance, as chats remain permanent, users do not have to go digging through saved logs to find past conversations. During chats and conferences, users may also immediately share files.
Channels
In Teams, you can create channels that are public and available to all users, as well as channels that are private and focused on a particular group. The managers and administrators of the platform can set all the needed accesses for the users.
Meetings
A meeting can have up to 1000 users in attendance, with the option to chat or call in (audio and video). A channel's calendar may be used to set up planned video meetings, and users can launch independent meetings when the need comes up. Teams can also live stream conferences for up to 10,000 people at once.
Calls
Outbound calls can be made directly from the Teams app. When working from home or on the go, this is a great and reliable method to keep in touch with colleagues and clients who are far away.
Now that we’ve covered what it can do, let’s take a deeper look at how you can use Teams’ capabilities to help you manage your sales.
Collaborate and Communicate Effectively
When it comes to closing deals, the company's sales process is what makes it all work in the end. Prospecting, holding meetings and giving presentations, negotiating, and following up on new and existing customers are all part of this process, and each step requires effective communication. If your sales team is not working together during these various stages, it will be difficult to follow the client's journey. As a sales team, it will undoubtedly face the challenge of trying to get everyone on board to be aligned on the same objectives in terms of performance.
Thanks to Microsoft Teams, however, overcoming this challenge becomes much easier.
In addition, the platform provides two ways for you to interact and work with individuals outside of your business. External access (federation) allows you to locate, call, and chat with users working on other platforms. Meanwhile, guest access lets you add people to your Teams as "guests" via simply their email. This way, it makes it possible for you to collaborate with visitors in the same way as you would with other members of your team.
Managing tasks
Microsoft Teams is a logical choice for a communication and collaboration platform, especially if your company already uses Microsoft products. You and your staff will benefit from familiarity with Microsoft 365 tools and better Outlook integration that greatly facilitates communication across the organization.
Your sales team will also be able to stay on top of all the objectives that need to be completed with the help of the Tasks application that is included in Teams. To guarantee that all tasks are assigned and performed, Microsoft Teams blends individual task applications such as Microsoft To Do and Outlook with team tasks from Microsoft Planner. Tasks may be divided by team or account for owners to see, and directives can be issued to individual team members.
Training and LMS
It is essential to provide formal training on the platform as part of your company's adoption of the software. The more your organization starts to use Teams, the better they will learn how to make it work for them. Keep in mind that each person learns new technologies at their own pace, and it can take several training sessions for the knowledge to be fully absorbed.
Thanks to Microsoft Viva, an employee experience platform made to bring together diverse products from Microsoft into one unified digital experience (including a configurable content library unique to MS Teams called Viva Learning), Teams can be used to buff up an LMS (learning management system). In fact, with almost any major LMS in place, you can easily connect it to Microsoft Teams because of its complementary functions.
CRM Integration for Data Management
It is no secret that CRM systems have earned their place of significant importance in the way businesses operate, and Microsoft Teams is following the same path. As a result, it is only logical that integrating Teams with your CRM system would provide several benefits to your company.
The CRM will feed Teams a great deal of data, with the most popular being the customer record, which fits perfectly into the communications platform. Teams can also be organized in a way that corresponds with Opportunities, Suppliers, Projects and other types of CRM data.
Users can simply access client information and exchange documents directly within Teams thanks to the CRM integration.
Another benefit we get from this connectivity is collaboration across channels, allowing users to communicate between different processes and platforms, with customers and colleagues alike. Furthermore, a Microsoft Teams and CRM integration will empower the team to sell more by readily connecting with more prospects and improving their internal processes.
Make Use of Automation and Reports
Microsoft is constantly improving the features available in SharePoint, which has risen to become a leader when it comes to document management and collaboration. SharePoint is a dedicated platform of development and third-party apps that has become a cornerstone of the modern workplace, offering companies a solution for sites, pages, libraries, lists, and much more.
Much of the framework for Microsoft Teams and SharePoint is the same. You automatically get a SharePoint site when you establish a team in Microsoft Teams.
A Teams app or channel tab can then be used to integrate SharePoint. At that point, you can automatically link pages and lists, and automate the updates from your SharePoint site to your Teams channels via the SharePoint News app. This is a good way to benefit from the automation of communication, making sure that everyone is on the same page.
Meanwhile, adding Power BI reports to Teams is another sound practice to minimize having to switch between applications during meetings.
As Microsoft Teams' popularity grows, it is a good move to consolidate all report-related interactions and meetings in one place. Thanks to Power BI reports integration, this process reduces the chance of misunderstanding as everyone gets to view the same data from the same report.
Get the Most Out of Teams with a CRM Integration
Even though Microsoft Teams is a great tool on its own, it works even better when coupled with a comprehensive CRM in place. Within just a week, Gestisoft can get you all set up with a simple and ready-to-use CRM solution. Using our Level 1 Sales - a pre-configured Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales application and a proven deployment approach, we can have you up and running with a fully functional CRM in just seven days. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us for more information!
