Microsoft Copilot for Sales is now generally available, and we are thrilled to bring this solution to clients. For organizations already using Dynamics 365, Microsoft Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales is now available to all Premium and Enterprise users.

For those using other CRM systems, such as Salesforce.com, Copilot for Sales is available to be licensed and includes Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, allowing enterprises around the world to take advantage of the latest generative AI capabilities in their sales processes, accessed through the everyday Microsoft Office applications users are already familiar with, including Outlook, Word and Teams.

With Copilot for Sales, organizations can now leverage the power of generative AI to streamline sales processes, automate tasks which were previously mundane and time consuming, generate summaries and reports in seconds, and be better prepared for customer meetings. With the ability to automatically generate proposals and customer communications, the productivity gains are significant, and the seamless integration with CRM systems enables even greater efficiency by removing the need to manually create updates and notes.

These enhancements to how sellers work allow them to spend more time where it matters; with their customers. The capabilities of Copilot for Sales to uncover insights and power relevance and personalization will help to significantly improve customer relationships and increase the chances of closing more sales opportunities.

The need for a considered approach
For most organizations, it won’t necessarily be as simple as buying Copilot for Sales licenses and leveraging the capabilities alongside Salesforce or other CRM systems, or switching on the capability in Dynamics 365 and expecting overnight change. Through our own experience, and that of working with clients, it’s clear you’ll need a considered approach if you’re to reap the benefits, increase relevance with customers and ultimately drive revenue growth. It’s vital to understand if your people, processes and data are ready.

So what can Copilot for Sales do for you? It’s not just about turning it on and hoping for increased sales or better seller performance. You need a thoughtful approach to make the most of this innovative solution. At Avanade, we suggest these 3 steps for success:

• Prepare: Assess your existing CRM systems for suitability, review data structures, sources and security measures, and assess the readiness and skills of your people
• Identify value: Consider and prioritize where you can add the greatest value to your organization through streamlining processes that enable your sellers to be more effective. Take an iterative approach to realize gains faster and incrementally.
• Educate and train: Ensure your people have the basic skills required and are given relevant training (prompts, ways of working) and coaching to focus on creating the value identified in the previous step.

Our own experience
At Avanade, we’ve been among the first to try Copilot for Sales in our own organization, and we’ve also helped clients understand the new capabilities they have access to. Many have been seeking guidance on the art of the possible to understand this rapidly evolving technology, while others are looking to take full advantage immediately in order to drive efficiencies, competitive advantage and business growth.

For our sales team at Avanade, we’ve reduced the workload for sellers with a range of time-saving features, helping them create and update contact records, summarize email threads, pull related data together, and improve email responsiveness. Even in the early stages of implementing Copilot for Sales, our sellers have been showing clients that they are top of mind while saving time and working more productively than ever before. Read the case study and watch the video now.

According to Andy Blevins, Industry Portfolio Lead at Avanade, “Since deploying Copilot for Sales, we’ve discovered that we have more valuable information about any given opportunity than we’d realized. The increased intent information from clients that we now have was only a dream before.”

To discover how we can help your business to create value from Copilot for Sales or Copilot in Dynamics 365, find out more about our services today.