Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales is a leader among the Sales Force Automation solutions

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales is a leader among the Sales Force Automation solutions, according to the recently released The Forrester Wave™: Sales Force Automation Solutions, Q2 2017.
The evaluation of the leading SFA solutions is based on the Forrester scale of 35 key criteria, including the current offering, the perspectives for development and the achieved market presence. The assessment is further complimented by a series of interviews with customers of various SFA solutions regarding their opinion on the usefulness of the software and its ability to satisfy the present and future needs of their business.
According to all of these criteria, the SFA solution of Microsoft finds its rightful place in the Leaders stack leaving behind many of the other key contenders in terms of present offering and vision for how advanced analytics will transform selling.
The Forrester report accents on the role of the modern SFA systems as a helpful tool in the process of customer engagement. In an age where the consumers actively influence the sales cycle the main aim of these solutions is to empower the sellers to create, manage and develop their contacts with their prospects and clients.
What characterizes modern sales automation solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales?
- Providing contextual experiences for various sales roles. There is no longer a one-size-fits-all sales rep. As newer roles emerge, like inside sales reps to more cost-effectively scale sales teams or customer success managers to drive retention and enrichment emerge, SFA vendors have built unique tailored experiences to better meet the specific needs of traditional and newer sales roles.
- Enhancing seller productivity. The biggest pain point around legacy SFA has been its negative impact on productivity, thanks in large part to the amount of manual data entry required by end users. Today’s tools offer capabilities to meet sellers where they are, whether on their mobile device or in the context of familiar applications such as their email or calendar.
- Cultivating an ecosystem of sales applications to boost seller effectiveness. The gaps in seller-focused functionality are plentiful. As a result, SFA vendors have tried to expand the footprint of capabilities they offer. For each, this has been a mixture of expanding their current offering, acquiring the missing pieces, and standing up application marketplaces for third-party solutions.
- Using AI and machine learning to guide selling actions. For years, sellers have been told they need to capture more data, but over that time, very few organizations have been able to understand the insights, and even fewer have been able to drive actionable recommendations against them. With customers craving insights, vendors have invested in delivering AI-driven recommendations and next-best actions to enhance the sales experience.
If you want to know more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales and how it can benefit your business, contact us now.
Source: https://reprints.forrester.com/#/assets/2/108/’RES136162’/reports