The fact that we belong to a larger organisation gives our customers security.

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Verito delivers Microsoft Dynamics NAV to charity organisations and commercial trainers. For these sectors, they have also developed additional modules for NAV. The organisation was founded 20 years ago, is located in Apeldoorn and has 10 employees.

Support was decisive

Verito was one of the first partners who joined QBS Group. That was in the summer of 2013. According to Owe Loonstra, sales and marketing manager at Verito, the concept of QBS group appealed very much to them. Owe Loonstra: “We are a small organisation and we noticed that we received less and less support from Microsoft. We expected that QBS group could support us better. We thought that, by joining a larger organisation like QBS group we would have more control over what happens at Microsoft. Especially in the area of software and platform development.”

A lot of time saved

Verito calls the support from Partner Care ‘pleasant’. Owe Loonstra: ‘They help us quickly if we have any questions. They also inform us about Partner Promotions, so we know much sooner than before. One particular thing, which saved us a lot of time, was that they assisted us in the certification (CfMD) Microsoft program.’

Contacts with Microsoft

According to their own saying, Verito ‘gratefully’ uses the knowledge and experience available at QBS Group. Owe Loonstra: ‘QBS group supports us in complex sales processes. For example recently, we secured a major customer and QBS group supported us in the negotiations with Microsoft for that customer. In that three-way discussion we have reached a solution which was most beneficial to all parties. ”

More security for end customers

QBS group helped Verito win a new customer. Owe Loonstra: “For a potential customer, we organised a meeting at QBS group in Leusden. During that meeting QBS group told about their services. This really helped convincing the client to choose our services. The fact that we belong to a larger organisation gives them security. This gives us a stronger position as a small organisation.”

Informed of new developments

Owe Loonstra: “We see that as a partner of QBS group we are well informed of developments at Microsoft. For example, when it comes to product development and new releases of NAV. QBS group is very close to the fire and wants to share her knowledge. As as a partner we benefit from that.”

Start with automated testing in Dynamics NAV

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Nothing is holding you to get started with automated testing in Dynamics NAV

With NAV 2016 finally Microsoft has made their test toolset a standard part of the product. Given this fact nothing is holding you anymore from incorporating this tool in your product development, and even custom projects. It’s only up to you to decide to what extend you are going to do this. So get started and create a significant positive impact for your team’s efficiency and confidence.

Top 3 unutilized arguments to select Dynamics NAV

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Research learns us that Microsoft Dynamics partners show up on short lists more, than any other competitor. But have problems converting these leads into concrete deals. Sounds familiar to you?

Most Dynamics NAV partners focus their sales pitches on functions and features and target these pitches to the operative and tactical levels in the prospects organization. Unfortunately, by acting this way, they fail to utilize a series of powerful arguments that advocate for Microsoft Dynamics NAV over other competitors. And on top of that, fail to address one of the main concerns for the strategic level/the business owners.

In this video you’ll get an overview of the Top 3 most unutilized arguments to select Dynamics NAV. You will learn how to use them effectively in your marketing and sales processes. So that you will turn your Silver medals (second place) into Gold medals. If you’re interested in closing more deals, more easily – you definitely don’t want to miss this session!

QBS group has joined the Microsoft® Cloud Solution Provider (Indirect CSP) program

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Recently, QBS group has become a Microsoft Indirect CSP Distributor. Only a selected number of distributors have been granted this exclusive status by Microsoft and we are very proud that we are now one of them.

“Having QBS group as an Indirect CSP if of great value for the complete Microsoft Dynamics Partner community”.
Michael Hartmann SMB Partner lead at Microsoft

For you as Microsoft Dynamics partner means that you can now order Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 licences through QBS group. Which is convenient for you, since you will receive one purchase order for all licenses and we offer you support for these products. And of course you can benefit of our successful partner program with exclusief sercives which help you to increas you revenue and lower your costs.

Four reasons why you should add Dynamics CRM to your Dynamics NAV offering today!

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We live in the era of the customer. Nowadays, the customer is in control. The internet has created an extremely transparent market. Which means that customers have an endless variety of options to choose from. And when the customer isn’t satisfied, it’s easy to just choose another provider. This means nowadays that every organization has to do everything it can to make its customers happy. And to keep them happy! So it makes sense that your customers need the best possible IT tools thinkable to please their customers.

The reality is different. The majority of your customers started their Dynamics NAV implementation with matters like bookkeeping, order processing and warehouse administration. Most of the time, it took a while before the marketing and sales processes were automated. And often, Dynamics NAV was used for this as well. There were of course some good reasons for this: easy to implement, good integration and the same user interface. However, many marketing and sales people considered this as a weak compromise. After all, ERP was designed around structured ordering and delivery processes. Where as in CRM, information is mostly unstructured and customer centric.

The Dynamics NAV CRM module

All over the world sales and marketing departments of large and small companies understand that settling a compromise regarding the use of customer focused IT is no longer an option. They know that their company only has the right to survive in this new world if they use the best tools for sales, marketing, service and social. And unfortunately that tool isn’t the CRM module in Dynamics NAV!

Why you should embrace Dynamics CRM

These are the four main reasons why you should add Dynamics CRM to your existing Dynamics NAV offering today:

  1. Protect your existing Dynamics NAV customers! I predict that in the next three to five years every Dynamics NAV customer will purchase a professional CRM system. If you’re lucky your customers will buy Dynamics CRM. If you’re not so lucky, they will buy another system. For example Salesforce.com. ‘So what?’, you might think. Well, Salesforce is known primarily for its CRM offerings. But did you know that through her Force1 platform it also offers an ERP solutions, called FinancialForce? What will happen when your customer, who still uses an antique Dynamics NAV 3.70 version with a lot of expensive customisation, sees a recent version of FinancialForce?
  2. Increase your Dynamics NAV new business opportunities by broadening and strengthening your offering! More and more customers are seeking integrated solutions. Solutions that go beyond ‘just’ ERP. By adding Dynamics CRM and Office 365 to your proposition you will immediately become a more attractive party to do business with. Which will increase your ability to win new customers.
  3. Use Dynamics CRM as a ‘trojan horse’ for Dynamics NAV! You, unlike any other, know how hard it is to convince an organization to replace their existing ERP system. Offering a professional CRM solution however is an easier door opener. Surprisingly few companies are already using a structured CRM system nowadays. So Dynamics CRM can function as a ‘trojan horse’. You will sneak inside fairly unnoticed. You deliver Dynamics CRM to everyone’s satisfaction. And then start the ERP discussion. At much lower costs than the traditional approach.
  4. CRM markets grow much faster than ERP markets! In most European countries, today’s ERP markets are replacement markets. With an average revenue growth between 0 and 3 percent. That’s completely different for the CRM market. Microsoft expects a double digit growth for the next 5 years. So if you want to grow your business, can you afford to ignore the CRM market?

How do I find CRM competences?

Of course you have your hands full on your existing Dynamics NAV business. And you wonder how you can obtain the necessary CRM competences. We understand! That’s why we offer you a very comfortable entrance into the Dynamics CRM world. QBS group has recently decided to make her OneBizz solution modular. Which means that every Dynamics NAV partner can get going with OneBizz CRM and/or OneBizz 365 quickly.

This is what makes our offer to you more attractive:

  • Short implementations so you can deliver affordable and competitive solutions.
  • A special training program for you and your employees, which you can pay for with Quattro’s if you’d like.
  • If needed we can even provide you with a OneBizz Young Professional who has been trained by us and who can sees opportunities for you immediately.

After all, speed is important to prevent someone else to ‘steal your lunch’.

Want to know more?

Would you like to know more about the opportunity to add Dynamics CRM and Office 365 to your offering quickly and easily? Then please talk to your QBS contact person. Or send an email to my colleague Herman van Leeuwen via hvleeuwen@onebizz.com. And remember – the longer you wait, the more money you leave on the table!

Guus Krabbenborg

What Dynamics NAV Partners must change NOW

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Nowadays, new market-distorting business models buzz around. The so-called ‘disruptive models’ have a significant impact on pricing, quality, competition and law and regulation. Everyone is aware of the news about Uber’s taxi services and Airbnb’s accommodation services. But, what is the role of disruption in the ERP world? Is your company ready to cope with disruption?

The global ERP market we’ve known for years is no more. Today’s market is facing fundamental changes. These changes are so radical that it shakes up the whole ERP market indeed. Companies that want to survive have to be willing and able to adjust to these changes rapidly. Change or get lost!

These are the main transformations that we’ve observed during in these two years:

  1. Modern ERP buyers are risk averse.
  2. The IT department has a diminishing influence on the decision-making process. On the other hand, business people have a bigger influence.
  3. Subscription pricing really is the starting point for more and more buyers.
  4. There is a fast growing need for standardized solutions! (Experimenting with) customized solutions is losing popularity.
  5. Ranking arguments for choosing an ERP solution: speed of implementation (time to value) is getting the most important.
  6. Simplicity is always chosen over complexity.

Adfocom “Partner Care saved us a lot of time.”

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Adfocom is an IT service provider based in Alphen aan de Rijn, The Netherlands. They provide not only Microsoft Dynamics NAV, but also other services such as telephony and infrastructure. Their customers are located in floriculture, trade and rental. For floriculture they offer a NAV add-on; Greenline.

According to Jeroen Kersten, Sales Manager at Adfocom, his organisation needed a better support than Microsoft could offer. Jeroen: “For questions we didn’t have a good entrance at Microsoft. Communication was difficult. Then we got the offer from QBS Group. All the conditions stayed the same, but they did offer us many advantages. So we joined them. It could only get better. ”

More information

Since then the information has improved. Jeroen Kersten: “We can now go to QBS group for questions, for example about licenses. We also receive newsletters, in which we are informed about issues that are important to us. And we can participate in events such as QBShare.”

Help with licenses

Jeroen is excited about Partner Care & Licensing, the support department of QBS Group. Jeroen: “It’s nice that you can contact someone who knows all the rules and any exceptions. And that you actually know what that person looks like. Partner Care has helped us with a licensing issue that we had. One of our customers had taken over a company that used Microsoft AX software and had their own AX licenses. Our client used Microsoft Dynamics NAV. That had to be one system and the two licensing structures had to be merged. It was quite a hassle, but QBS group helped us very well and it saved us a lot of time.”

Leads by Telebusiness

Adfocom also uses the Telebusiness service from QBS group. Jeroen: “It has already generated leads for us. We started using this service because we wanted to approach a new market. Besides using TeleBusiness have also updated our website and we are going to use Adwords.”

Targeted calls

Telebusiness is more than just calling. Jeroen: “When we started, we bought a mailing list. This mailing list is first ‘enriched’ by QBS group; appropriate contacts have been added to the directory. So, you can access more targeted customers. This mailing list will be called once a week and we will continue to do so.”

Renew and integrate your Marketing and Sales process

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In today’s world, the ‘old’ guidelines for sales don’t cut it any more. You need agility and adaption to align with the new buying behavior. Therefore we need a new approach, says Marketing Manager Harco van Polen. He created what he calls the Integrated Marketing and Sales process. Download the handy guide now.

There are actually two compelling reasons to update and integrate your Marketing and Sales process. Allow me to elaborate just a bit…

Changing buying behaviour

The first one is the changing buying behavior we are currently experiencing with new customers. It is no secret that by the time they contact you, they are already at about 60% of their buying cycle. And yes, I state Buying cycle, because the prospect holds all the power. The days of the Sales cycle, where we were in the lead, are long gone…

So… what can you do to influence the prospect in the first 60% of his buying journey? Well, to be honest, Marketing has to do the heavy lifting here. Marketing is the new Sales during this phase. If we want to influence buying behavior, we need to be relevant. And if we want to be relevant, we need to help the prospect in his journey, educate him/her if you like. We need to tailor the prospect with the right message at the right time, when he or she is ready for it, not when we are. In short we need to nurture a prospect until they contact us.

And with this nurturing, we need to redefine the current Marketing and sales processes and integrate them to create a seamless prospect journey or buying cycle.

Cloud based products

The second reason is the cloud; well your cloud based product to be more precise. More and more QBS partners are adding repeatable solutions next to their existing projects. So in essence, they sell projects AND products. This presents a difficult challenge for Sales and Marketing. You want to differentiate the approach and timing of a buying cycle, but also want to make use of the same systems and tools. Maybe even the same people, although this should be a temporary grace period.

Preferably, you need to have one approach for both businesses, be it with a different timing aspects and some exceptions. And there you have it… the second compelling reason why we need to change the way we sell to accommodate the way prospects are buying.

The ‘old’ guidelines for sales

For years, Microsoft has (rightfully so) been pounding us with the Microsoft Solution Selling Process (MSSP), a full blown 9-stages sales trajectory for project selling. Next to that they hammered the world famous BANT-criteria to ‘qualify’ a lead. Both are widely spread and used in our community. Although the model is… somewhat inflexible, in the project business it was a guideline for many.

But in today’s world where you need agility and adaption to align with the new buying behavior, MSSP just doesn’t cut it any more. So Microsoft released the Accelerated Sales Process (ASP) (and some odd differentiations to it). But moving away from MSSP to ASP proofed a challenge for Project centric partners.

Right, so if I’m a QBS partner selling NAV projects and OneBizz (or equivalents products), I’m stuck in the middle.

That’s why we need the Marketing and Sales chunks integrated and accelerated. We need to adapt to the customer journey (which is not linear!), educate, nurture and sell… You definitely picked the right challenging business to work in…
Nurturing is for marketing, closing is for Sales. Buying cycles can take up to 2 years or 30 days… And we need to transfer from marketing to sales seamlessly. No matter what deployment you use.

A new approach

QBS has asked me to developed a what you might call an Integrated Marketing and Sales process.

Be warned, it’s not the silver bullet. It could however be a solid foundation for you to use the same resources, tools and systems for all your business. With it you will get an integrated insight in your integrated funnel. You will be able to have the correct conversation with your marketing and sales people when defining weighted or unweighted pipelines. And, you can accommodate the wishes of your prospects and customers.

In this process, we have clearly stated WHY the respective stage is there, HOW you should achieve the stated goals and WHAT you need to do to get there. We also explained the desired outcome and when to walk away, NOT moving to the next phase or stage. It also helps you determine what minimal information you should register in you (CRM) system.

And last but not least, we have incorporated ample time and structure for a fantastic hand-off between Marketing and Sales.

Go ahead, take a look and make use of it the way you feel would fit you. You can find the process below.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to help where I can.

Enjoy!

Harco

Download

Download the handy guide for Integrated Marketing & Sales. Do you want the printed version? Please contact us.

Strategic Offer or Cash Cow – Is your ERP system in a Dead End Street?

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2016 Will be the year in which the software-as-a-service model – simply put: the cloud – achieves its worldwide breakthrough for business software. But how will your software vendor respond to that? In this blog we’ve analysed the offerings of the larger ERP vendors for you and also provide you with tips for your own investigation.

According to Panorama Consulting, cloud computing is now well beyond the hype phase. The consultancy considers the purchase of a cloud-based ERP system to be just as normal as buying a car with 4 wheels. But how will your software vendor respond to this? Does your vendor have any cloud strategy at all? And if so, what does this strategy mean for the support of your current system and software versions? Not just today, but in the future as well. An analysis.

A rosy future is universally predicted for the market for cloud-based ERP solutions. A future so rosy that no serious vendor can afford to ignore this trend. This means that solution providers must make strategic choices. And the impact of those choices can be huge for your organisation! That’s why it’s now more important than ever to follow your vendor – even if you’re not yet using any ERP software from the cloud. Or even if you’re not even thinking actively about it yet! The burning question is: can you continue into the future without problems using your current system? Or should you be preparing seriously for the transition to another system?

Comparison with Y2K

In essence, for vendors, the transition to the cloud is quite similar to the year 2000 issues. Remember that? Everyone doubted whether traditional systems could function technically in the new century. All the vendors felt obliged to review their portfolio and make strategic choices. And that led to a huge restructuring of product offerings. The result was that many customers felt forced to switch to other systems much earlier than they had planned. With all of the attending financial and organisational consequences.

Strategic issues

It would appear that we are standing on the brink of a similar operation. Those vendors offering multiple and varying ERP solutions these days, in particular, must feel almost forced to rationalise their range for commercial reasons.

In addition, the vendors themselves must also answer a few critical questions:

  • Which of the current ERP systems are technically suitable for functioning in the public cloud as so-called “multi-tenant solutions”?
  • How large are the investments in these adaptations? And can those investments still be made profitable?
  • What should be done with the support and development of the traditional on-premise variants of the various ERP systems and system versions? What will this cost? And can those costs be justified from a commercial standpoint?

 

The position of the large ERP vendors

If we have a look at the large international ERP vendors, we see several of them offering multiple, often partially overlapping solutions at this moment. For example, Infor and Oracle’s many acquisitions have left them with a patchwork collection of ERP and CRM systems. A situation in which each solution also has multiple versions in use. Both companies require an actual alphabetic index in order to present their portfolios on their websites!

Some solution providers also make their traditional systems suitable for use in the cloud, as Microsoft does, for example. Still others, such as Sage and SAP, have developed entirely new systems for the cloud. For this group of vendors, particularly, the question arises about what the future of the “older” systems looks like. In vendor-speak: is your ERP solution one of the strategic systemsfor the future or can it better be labelled a cash cow? Often, the vendor’s website provides a first indication of this distinction. If your solution is not on the homepage, you have a good reason to worry. But if your solution is not mentioned on their website at all, you probably have a big issue!

Rough market analysis of ERP vendors

With my best interpretation, a first rough analysis of the websites of several leading ERP vendors reveals the following picture:

  • Infor provides and/or supports an impressive array of solutions. The Solutions page on their website boasts no less than 68 (!) different solutions in the domains of ERP, CRM, HCM, PLM, SCM and EFM. In several cases, it’s unclear exactly which of the solutions is being presented here. In any case, these include Infor LN (previously Baan), Infor LX, Infor M3 (previously Movex), Infor System21, Infor Pegasus, Infor Evolution and Infor SunSystems. From the website, it’s not immediately clear which solutions comprises the most strategic offering(s). But would really all 68 be of strategic value for Infor?
  • Microsoft supplies and/or supports four different ERP solutions: Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics GP and Dynamics SOL. The two last are in use in the English speaking countries only; the first two worldwide. Dynamics AX is offered to larger (international) companies. Dynamics NAV, GP and SOL are the solutions for the small and medium sized companies. Dynamics AX, NAV and GP are cloud ready and appear to be strategically important for Microsoft.
  • Oracle provides and/or supports the Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle JD Edwards, Oracle Peoplesoft and Oracle Fusion Applications, among others. For Oracle JD Edwards there are even two solutions: World and EnterpriseOne. Here, Oracle Fusion Applications would appear to be the main strategic platform for the future. Although the company seems to be struggling for many years in bringing this solution to the market.
  • Sage supplies and/or supports an impressive series of ERP solutions. It starts with Sage Line 50, Line 100, Line 200 and Line 300. These are their traditional product lines. On top of that there is a series of cloud offerings called Sage One, Sage Live, Sage Impact and Sage X3. The last one seems to be the strategic Sage offering. But is X3 the cloud solution that really has a fit with all their existing customers?
  • SAP provides and/or supports SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business All-in-One, SAP Business ByDesign, SAP Business One, SAP ERP and SAP R/3. SAP positions Business One as a solution for small businesess. All-in-One and Business ByDesign for medium-size companies and S/4HANA for enterprise companies. Business ByDesign seemed to be their strategic cloud offering. However, after various attempts in bringing Business ByDesign to the market, last year it was ‘moved’ to their partner channel. It’s unclear what the impact of that move is.

 

What’s your situation?

For many customer companies, their ERP system is the business’s beating heart. And that makes sense. Because in our rapidly changing market, the availability of the right information at the right time is strategically important. So you probably can’t afford to settle for less than the very best. If you want to avoid surprises, it’s a good idea to keep a close eye on your vendor. And to gain a clear view in the short term of what your system’s future looks like. More specifically: the future of the system version you’re currently using. So that you know whether you need to take action. Organisations that have larded their systems with a significant dose of customisation, particularly, would appear to be treading on thin ice.

The implementation partners of these ERP vendors should raise similar questions. Are your investments in capabilities and knowledge of your solution still well spend? And if unfortunately your not on the right track – does your vendor offer a partner business model for their new cloud solution anyway?

Practical suggestions

Here are a few practical suggestions for your own investigation:

  • Follow your vendor’s website closely. Is your system still being actively promoted to new buyers? Or is it no longer mentioned at all?
  • Be sure to visit the next annual customer day and ask pointed questions there.
  • Ask your vendor for the most recent version of his company’s product roadmap in order to see the concrete future plans for your system and version.
  • Investigate whether your system is already available in the cloud. Or whether that will soon be available. But also determine how long your system will continue to be supported as a traditional on-premise version.
  • Ask your vendor for a written statement about the strategic value of (the version of) your solution in his portfolio.
  • Get acquainted with your vendor’s user group. They often have a better overview of the developments. And you can also spar there with comparable customers.

 

Support versus continued development

In your investigation, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the distinction betweensupport on the one hand and continued development on the other. Naturally, every vendor will want to support his existing systems for a certain amount of time. With such services as a help desk, training and consultancy. It’s also perfectly reasonable to expect that a given period will occur for all current systems during which new, error-resolving versions appear – so-called “bug fixing”. However, the question of whether your vendor will continue to develop (the version of) your solution is crucial. Development which not only resolves bugs in new versions, but in which new functionality also becomes available. In which new versions of the surrounding systems are supported, such as the Microsoft Office tools. And in which modern technologies, such as new devices, continue to be made accessible. Including near-future things like speech recognition and handwriting recognition. Development that closely follows rapidly changing trends in Social, Mobile, Big Data and the Internet of Things. And in which legal and regulatory changes that are relevant to you still are implemented in your system pro-actively and in a timely manner. If your ERP system is strategically important to your enterprise, then this last variant is the only one that will satisfy you (in the future), right?

The importance of transparency

For an ERP vendor, it’s not exactly simple to offer perfect transparency, of course. After all, huge numbers of customers are involved. Along with considerable financial interests. But considering the strategic importance of this issue as your enterprise faces the future, it’s only fair to expect complete transparency from your vendor! So that you know exactly where you stand. And where you’ll be in the coming years. This is also a perfect occasion for vendors to demonstrate how transparent and mature they actually are.

I’d love to hear your findings!

Partner Master Class presents at eXtremeCRM EMEA event in Warsaw!

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The majority of the Dynamics CRM partner community in the EMEA region will travel east next week to visit Warsaw and attend their annual partner event called eXtreme CRM2016. Dutch training and consultancy firm Partner Master Class will be in Warsaw as well. First of all to be the co-trainer in the Cloud SureStep workshop for Dynamics CRM business leaders. Secondly to play a role in various round tables. And lastly to deliver a series of three presentations.

Cloud SureStep for Dynamics CRM

At this event Microsoft introduces the successful Cloud SureStep program (aka Road2Repeatability) to the European Dynamics CRM partner channel. This program helps partners prepare to build a repeatable business around Dynamics CRM Online. Over the last 4 years this program has been delivered to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV and GP (ERP) partner channel. Partner Master Class was an important delivery partner in that process to hundreds of Dynamics ERP partners in over 25 countries worldwide.

Guus Krabbenborg will co-deliver the 1,5 day Leadership track in Warsaw on Sunday afternoon and Monday – just before the official start of the conference. Over 100 attendees have already registered for this interesting workshop and many other partners are waitlisted.

Check here for details.

After this conference Partner Master Class will follow-up with the delivery of the full Cloud SureStep program including the Sales and Marketing tracks in many subsidiaries across Europe, Middle-East and Africa.

Round Tables

Like last year eXtreme facilitates a so called Executive Exchange. That is a separate track purely focused on Dynamics CRM partner executives. On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning two round tables are scheduled to discuss the impact of Cloud First, Mobile First for Dynamics CRM partners. Partner Master Class will contribute to these discussions.

Presentations

Guus Krabbenborg will deliver three different provoking business presentations at this conference.

This is how you implement Organizational Change successfully!

Good organizational change management is crucial for project success. Especially when you want to deliver Dynamics CRM OL solutions! This process starts at the strategic level of your customer’s organization. This session is all about implementing this organizational change in your projects.

Repeatability in Practice – Win more deals and grow faster in a Cloud First, Mobile First world!

This session gives you an overview of the Microsoft Cloud SureStep program that helps Dynamics CRM partners become more repeatable and successful. You’ll also hear first-handed experiences from a German CRM partner who already went down this road 2 years ago.

This is a co-session together with Dr. Manuela Schwarze, head of sales and business development of German KK IT Systems.

Which sales competencies bring success in a Cloud First, Mobile First world?

In today’s world customers buy in a different way. So we all need to adapt our sales strategies in order to stay relevant! But what does this mean for your current sales force? And what are the sales competencies you need to focus on to stay successful in today’s fast changing world?

Are you visiting eXtreme CRM EMEA yourself? Then do feel free to attend one of these sessions.

Top 7 Tips for Creating a Successful Newsletter

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Email marketing is a medium that has been pronounced dead many times, but the opposite is true. Email marketing is very much alive. Research shows that it is still the most successful form of marketing. ROI is high and many companies are still sending out newsletters. Create your own successful newsletter now. It’s easy with these top 7 tips.

Tip 1: determine your target audience

By determining your target audience first, you create an important framework, which determines what kind of content you need to create. So ask yourself: who is your target audience? What are they interested in? What information can you send them that could be helpful, interesting or maybe just entertaining?

Example:
Target group: customers with 50-100 employees
Vertical: construction companies
Contact: Finance Manager

Example of content:

  • Write a story about a successful conversation with a client.
  • A project has been completed and you want to share your most important learning points.
  • A new software update has been released. Explain what happened if you do not update the system.

Tip 2: determine your goal

What do you want to achieve by sending out a newsletter? Would you like your recipients to take action? Maybe request information, register for a webinar or read more on your website? Decide what you want to achieve with your newsletter before sending it. This will help you write a call-to-action and measure the success.

Your call-to-action

Your newsletter should contain at least one call-to-action. Keep it simple. Don’t confuse your recipients with too many options. Write you call-to-action as an imperative sentence.

Example goals and call-to-actions

Goal: create awareness for a new product / Call-to-action: read more
Goal: get in touch with customers / Call-to-action: contact me
Goal: sell a product / Call-to-action: buy now

Tip 3: write an attractive subject line

Spend some extra time on writing an attractive subject line. The subject line is the first thing your recipient will see. It’s the reason why he or she will or will not read your newsletter. You can also use a preheader, which is another sentence that will show when receiving a newsletter. The preheader can provide some extra information or contain a call-to-action.

Examples:

Questions:

  • Are you ready for…?
  • Do you have the right…?

Lists:

  • 5 Ways to …
  • 7 Steps to …

A bit of mystery:

  • The secret of…
  • What everybody’s talking about

Urgency:

  • Only one day left for this great offer!
  • Register now

Advice:

  • The best way to…
  • Examples of….

Tip 4: keep it short and simple

Keep your information short and simple. Your recipients don’t want to read lots of text. They want a text that’s short, well formulated and easy to scan through. The less phrases you need to convince your reader to click through, the better.

Tips for writing:

  • Keep your sentences active
  • Use paragraphs and titles
  • Talk benefits instead of features and functionalities
  • Be careful using jargon

Tip 5: measure your success

After you’ve sent your newsletter, it’s important to measure its success. This gives you important information that you can use to further improve your newsletters. You can see if your newsletter has been opened, if it has led to more visitors on your website or if people requested information or performed another action. With this information you can further improve your subject lines, the information you send and your call-to-actions.

There are different ways to measure the success of your newsletter. There’s the email marketing system you use. Most of them measure results like open rate, click rate, delivered and undelivered emails (bounces). You can also use Google Analytics. Google Analytics can tell how your newsletter has performed with regards to extra visitors to your website.

So set this up, you can add the following code to the link in your newsletter:

?Utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

So if, for example, your link is: www.name.com/gl/partner-service, after adding the code it will look like this:
www.name.com/gl/partner-service?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

To see the results, log in to Google Analytics and go to Acquisition > Source / Medium.

The results will look like this:

 

Don’t spam

Don’t spam people. Only send newsletters to people who are either a customer or who subscribed for your newsletter (opt in). If someone unsubscribes (opt out), honour that request. Legislation is strict and if you don’t want to get in trouble.

Tip 6: start simple

You don’t need a fancy email marketing tool to get started with email marketing and you don’t need to have knowledge of HTML. You can start by using your email client, such as Outlook or Gmail. If you do, remember to put your recipient’s email addresses in the BCC (!). You can also use MailChimp, which is a great email marketing tool and free up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month (2016).

Tip 7: start now

Newsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your (potential) customers. So don’t wait and start now! I hope with these tips you can set up a successful newsletter by yourself and if you need any more help, please contact QBS Marketing. Have fun!

The most overlooked cost item in ERP system selection

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During ERP system selection, the various costs and possible benefits are analyzed in considerable detail and then assessed for each vendor. Oddly enough, one important component is often completely missed during this process. Which one? The cost of the next ERP system!

The selection of a new ERP application is never done as a back-of-an-envelope exercise. After all, most organisations want to profit from the new tool for many years. Many prospective buyers tell us something like the following:
“From a bookkeeping standpoint, the investment’s term of depreciation is 5 years. But ideally we want to work with the new solution for 10 years or more”.

Anyone who wants to work with a system for that long must have a really good crystal ball. Because in 10 years’ time, a lot can change! What will the world look like in the year 2026? Which devices will we be working with then? How far will the technology be developed? And which parts of our future have yet even to be invented, developed and marketed? So there are plenty of questions, and from today’s vantage point we can only guess at the answers.

To get a handle on this challenge, it can be instructive to turn the clock back some 10 years. Can you remember the exact state of technology in 2006? No one had ever heard of tablets back then. Let alone the verb ‘swiping’! WhatsApp didn’t even exist at that point. Google was a relatively unknown company. And cloud technology was in its infancy. Perhaps this comparison provides you a bit of perspective into what we can expect in terms of new developments in the coming 10 years. But far more importantly – can you comprehend what all this means for your potential ERP suppliers? Consider the required competencies, for example; or the required R&D budgets, the availability of international sales channels or the necessary entrepreneurship and decisiveness, of course.

If you think about the future of ERP technology, you come to the conclusion that you are selecting more of an ERP concept these days than an ERP solution – a concept that is developing at a furious pace. And which must develop! Because vendors that fall behind or miss the boat at any time are quickly lost in this market. And the most painful bit: their clients are lost, too.

Companies that are considering new ERP solutions would do well to test their vendors’ degree of future-proofing rigorously. Do the vendors on your shortlist have any chance at all of surviving this rat race until 2026? Are they (sufficiently) profitable these days, for example? Do they have sufficient international scale? What is the size of their R&D budget? How innovative are they? And is a formal product roadmap available for the solution on offer?

By getting a good understanding of the prospective vendors’ commercial legitimacy during the selection process, you can prevent many unpleasant surprises in the future. However, if you fail to look to the future, then just make sure you include a huge sum in your budget for the next ERP system!

This blog was published on MSDynamicsWorld.com

NavAzure: ”Vi er en lille virksomhed med et stort organisatorisk bagland”

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NavAzure er en nyetableret virksomhed, som endnu kun har én medarbejder, nemlig Michael Francois Knudsen, som også er ejer og direktør. NavAzure har kun eksisteret siden april 2016, men er baseret på Michaels mangeårige erfaring med Microsoft Dynamics NAV. NavAzure er især skarp inden for kommunale løsninger.

“Vi har været QBS partnere siden april 2016 og er rigtig glade for det,” fortæller Michael Francois Knudsen, der kendte til QBS fra et tidligere job. ”For en opstartsvirksomhed som NavAzure er QBS partnerskabet optimalt, fordi vi herigennem får adgang til muligheder og viden, som ellers ville kræve en stor organisation eller indebære store omkostninger. Desuden oplever jeg, at jeg med QBS som organisatorisk bagland har tid til at fokusere på det forretningsmæssige. Og selv om jeg bliver en del af en større organisation, kan jeg fastholde ejerskabet til min forretning,” forklarer Michael begejstret.

Viden om licenser lige ved hånden

Michael er glad for, at det er så let at trække på viden om eksempelvis licenser. ”Jeg havde brug for at afklare nogle licensspørgsmål og var i den situation glad for, at det via QBS var hurtigt og let at få svar på mine spørgsmål. Det var tilfredsstillende at kunne give kunden svar hurtigt. Og rart for mig ikke at skulle bruge lang tid på opgaver af den type. Hvis jeg bare havde været mig selv, havde jeg ikke haft samme tyngde og havde ikke selv kunnet finde information så hurtigt.”

Jeg er blevet fagligt dygtigere

Selv om Michael har omfattende erfaring at trække på, oplever han også behov for yderligere kompetenceudvikling. ”Jeg har brugt mit QBS partnerskab til bl.a. at uddanne mig inden for efterkvalificering. Jeg oplevede helt klart, at jeg blev fagligt dygtigere. Herudover er det en fordel, at Quattros og optjent bonus gør det så let og attraktivt at benytte sig af uddannelse og de øvrige services,” siger Michael. ”Herudover kan jeg trække på QBS til fx at generere leads og til hjælp til at være synlig online. Det frigiver tid hos mig til at gøre det, jeg er god til ude hos kunderne.”

Del af et større netværk

”Der er vigtigt for mig, at jeg via QBS er en del af et større netværk, hvor partnere møder hinanden og kan dele erfaringer, viden og hjælpe hinanden på opgaver. Det er rart at mødes ansigt til ansigt, så vi kan tænke på hinanden i hverdagen, hvis vi støder på opgaver eller viden, der er relevant for andre partnere,” siger Michael.

”Det er også godt for kunderne. For i partnernetværket og hos QBS kan vi trække på forskellige kompetencer og ressourcer, så ingen opgave bliver for stor. Vi får et bagland af kompetente og erfarne ressourcer, så kunden har sikkerhed for, at når han handler med en partner fra QBS, er der – med næsten 60 QBS partnere i Danmark – altid nogen, der kan sikre opbakning for kundens løsning. Og for mig er det ikke vigtigt at eje den ressource, kunden måtte behøve, når jeg kan leje den efter behov, og jeg i øvrigt kan trække på nogle af de dygtigste folk i branchen.”

Adgang til support

”For mig er det vigtigt at vide, at jeg har adgang til support i hverdagen. Hermed ved jeg, at stort set uanset hvilket problem jeg måtte støde på, så kan jeg få hjælp til det og behøver ikke selv bruge tid på at jagte information inden for et så omfattende område som Dynamics NAV og Microsoft,” slutter Michael Francois Knudsen.

Eduard Dell appointed as Area Lead DACH

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Following the market entry of QBS group as Microsoft Dynamics SMB Distributor for Germany, we announce the appointment Eduard Dell (42) as Area Lead for the DACH Region per May 1st 2016. In his role Dell will lead the QBS activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Eduard Dell looks back on many years of management experience in the IT solutions business and the Dynamics partner channel. Dell has more than 15 year experience at Microsoft Germany, where he held various positions, holding responsibility for the growth of the ERP and CRM business. In his latest position as Partner Sales Manager, he was responsible for the SME business for Dynamics NAV and CRM, with a significant focus on the cloud transformation of the partner offerings. He brings a wealth of experience in the area of developing successful business for both Microsoft and partners.

“We are in times of great market changes that provide enormous challenges to our partners. I am therefore delighted that the proven QBS Partner Services and Support will now also become available to the Dynamics partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We will expand our team and further develop our services to further improve the support to our partners in the DACH region, leading to more business opportunities and an improved profitability. Our goal is building a strong QBS community which will serve as the foundation for the future success for all involved” said Eduard Dell.

Nelson Tavares de Silva, VP Channels at QBS group: “We are really delighted to welcome Eduard to QBS group. With his vast Microsoft experience, drive and passion we feel a big milestone has been set to support the long term SMB distributor business success in the DACH region. We trust that all German Microsoft partners see this as a positive signal and recognize that QBS group is making significant investments in people, local German services and repeatable cloud solutions like OneBizz into the DACH region, so we can start to “divide tasks and double the partner success”.

Make Money Using ISV Solutions

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Nowadays, as a Microsoft Dynamics partner you can’t do without Independent Software Vendor (ISV) solutions. We understand that you can’t automate all of your customer’s business processes by yourself. Now you don’t have to because there are lots of ISV solutions available that can help grow your business and make you money!

What are ISV solutions?

ISV solutions are additional software with which you can extend the standard functionalities of Microsoft Dynamics. There are horizontal ISV solutions, which can be used by companies in different industries. For example solutions for integration and e-commerce. Then there are vertical solutions, designed for companies in specific industries which automate industry specific processes.

There are four ways to make money with ISV solutions.

Implement ISV solutions

First of all, you can implement ISV solutions with your own customers. That way you get paid for doing the implementation. You also make money on selling the solution, which is usually a percentage of the purchase price. You receive a percentage of the annual maintenance fee from the ISV partner, which comes back every year.

Ka-Ching! (Can you hear that cash register already?)

Become an ISV partner

The second way in which you can make money is to become an ISV partner yourself. You get paid for selling your solution and for maintenance. Of course, a small percentage of that goes to the partners who have sold and implemented your solution but most of it goes to you. To become an ISV partner you need to register your solution with Microsoft and get CfMD certified.

Work with a competence center

The third way in which you can make money with ISV solutions is by working with a competence center. A competence center is a Microsoft Dynamics partner who helps other partners with the implementation of an ISV solution. They also deliver additional services such as support and pre sales. You can work with a competence center if you want to offer your customer a certain ISV solution but you don’t have the knowledge to implement it yourself.

Working with a competence center can help you make money more indirectly than the other options we mentioned. It will save you money, because you don’t have to invest in training. Your customer’s can rely on you to automate all of their business processes. You are their ‘trusted advisor’ when it comes to business software and they’ll remain loyal. Which ultimately will lead to more revenue because the next time they need a solution, you’re the one they’ll call!

Become a competence center

The fourth and final way to make money with ISV solutions is to become a competence center yourself. This is especially interesting if you have specific knowledge of an ISV solution which other partners don’t have. As a competence center you can help other partners with the implementation of an ISV solution with their customers. You make money for implementation, selling licenses, support and additional services.

We can help!

So don’t be shy about using ISV solutions, they are a great way to make money. Contact Sven Noomen if you’re looking for the right ISV solution for your customer or go to our marketplace for an overview of all ISV solutions from QBS group partners.

Without the help from QBS group we wouldn’t have succeeded.

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Blisss is a Dutch reseller of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. They have been working with Microsoft Dynamics NAV since 2008. Besides NAV they also build apps. Bliss is a fast growing company and employs a lot of young people.

An ‘in between’ party

Dirko Wijers, founder and owner of Blisss, decided to join QBS group soon after the establishment of QBS group in 2013. He explains why: “Microsoft is a very big company, and that makes the relationship with Microsoft very distant. Especially for small and medium sized partners. For them it’s often hard to cooperate with Microsoft and to find the right information and help. That’s why, as a small and medium sized business, you need an organization that’s in between. That supports you in all areas that are important for your business. Marketing, training, licensing, sharing knowledge with other partners, you can’t do it all by yourself. QBS group can support you with that, they are pragmatic and enterprising.”

Support by Partner Care

Dirko is very pleased with the support service of QBS group. Dirko: “I have good experience with Partner Care & Licensing. The lines are short, they help you quickly and they sort things out for you. The contact’s personal, you know their names. They have very good knowledge of licensing and they helped me very well with a licensing issue I had. That issue was that we were still using a former SPLA licensing model, because we have been working in the cloud for a long time. We needed to transfer to a newer model and with their help we managed to do it in three days. I’m convinced that without them we still wouldn’t have succeeded.”

Online traceability

Dirko regularly uses the services of QBS group: “We have participated in training courses and won clients through lead generation. Soon we will start with online marketing through QBS group. I find online traceability important. Because I think that a potential customer who approaches you himself, has more interest in your product than a customer gets approached by you, for example by cold calling. And the chances of you winning over this potential customer are much higher. That’s why I want to continue to improve our online visibility and QBS group can help us with that with their online marketing services. ”

Feeling of community

Dirko also would like to see Microsoft Dynamics partners work together: “You used to have a community of Microsoft Dynamics partners who worked together and shared knowledge. That is something I believe in. We are not competitors, but we pursue a common goal which is that Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be the most widely used ERP system in the Netherlands. I think QBS group brings back the old feeling of community. For example with an event like QBShare where partners can meet. But also by collectively buying services, which is cheaper than doing it by yourself. There is only one who does that and can and it’s QBS group. “

QBS group acquires Master VAR activities of Konica Minolta IT Solutions GmbH

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QBS group expands her activities to Germany and now represents the largest global Microsoft Dynamics Partner network with close to 300 Microsoft Dynamics partners in 14 countries

Leusden/Munich, January 2016

Quattro Business Solutions (QBS group), Microsoft and Konica Minolta IT Solutions GmbH have reached an agreement, under which QBS group takes over all Microsoft Dynamics Master VAR activities of Konica Minolta IT Solutions GmbH.

QBS DACH will be the new organisation taking care of the activities related to the role of QBS group as Distributor for Microsoft Dynamics in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

This step means an acceleration in the QBS DACH investments in people and local (German language) partner services, that will directly benefit the current 50 QBS partners and will strengthen the QBS community. Next to this it enables QBS DACH to scale up and welcome and support more Microsoft Dynamics partners from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Based upon the planned growth of QBS DACH and other regions, QBS group will support over 400 Microsoft Dynamics Partners and ISV Partners by the end of 2016, indirectly supporting more than 40.000 Microsoft Dynamics customers.

Joop van Voorthuijsen, CEO of QBS group: “I am very proud that we have reached this agreement and now also support many partners in Germany. In less than three years we have grown our organisation to now supporting close to 300 Microsoft Dynamics partners in 14 countries. This is a great achievement and I am proud of what our team has achieved. Recent information from Microsoft shows that on average QBS partners outperform non-QBS partners, underlining the success of our network. With the addition of QBS Germany as part of QBS DACH to QBS group, we have an even stronger foundation for future success for all stakeholders; customers, partners, QBS group and Microsoft.”

Thomas Kombrecht, Senior Product Marketing Manager of Microsoft Germany: “The goal of Microsoft is to consistently continue the two-tier distribution model for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV channel, which was already implemented in many other European countries. It should also be ensured that the service offering to the partners in the various countries is uniform. QBS group doesn’t interact directly with end customers and is ideally positioned to support partners in the Microsoft Dynamics area.”

Cloud SureStep Content Now on the DLP!

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Cloud SureStep courses are now available on the Microsoft Dynamics Learning Portal (DLP).

Cloud SureStep is a training program which has been designed to help partners in their journey to the cloud. You will be able to learn all about the ‘why cloud’ with content suitable for CxO level, Sales management, Marketing and Solutions.

QBS group partners with an Advanced and Extended Service Level Agreement have access to the DLP. More about our service Levels

Are you ready for the Cloud?

QBS can help you capitalize on the cloud with the following services and offerings:

  • Marketing & Lead Generation
  • Cloud SureStep training and certification
  • Cloud Azure deployment
  • Licensing questions
  • OneBizz Partner Program

Have a look on our website for more information about our Partner Services or ask your local Partner Account Manager.

To the Dynamics Learning Portal for Cloud SureStep

QBS group partners Rainbow Solutions and Quadira join forces

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Rainbow Solutions has started a full partnership with Quadira to offer and support Quadira’s Advanced-Forms® Output Management to their customers.

Advanced-Forms® is the Output Management solution for the easy design, enrichment, distribution and digital archiving of any document. Advanced-Forms® seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics software and is Microsoft certified (CfMD) for NAV2013, NAV2015, NAV2016 and AX2012. This has made Rainbow Solutions decide to add Advanced-Forms® as ISV solution for NAV to their NaviTrans solution. Rainbow will implement this total solution at their new customer Mooy Logistics.

Hajo Kanters, founder and CEO at Quadira: “Advanced-Forms® is the state of the art output management solution which we have developed based on a clear requirement of customers in several branches, such as the Dynamics NAV community. Many of those customers are looking for a solution with which they can easily create documents, add extra data to those documents and distribute them automatically in an digital format. Normally this can only be done through customization by specialists from the ERP partners. We noticed that among the Dynamics partners, such as Rainbow Solutions, there is a strong demand to minimize these activities as much as possible, so that they can focus on the ERP implementation itself. This has already been successfully revealed at several Rainbow Solutions customers. That is why Rainbow and we have decided to do this installation at Mooy Logistics together, in a partnership”.

Wim Korte, CEO at Rainbow Solutions: “We see a clear requirement in the Dynamics NAV market for solutions where users can easily digitize and automate the outgoing document process flow. Advanced-Forms® has already proven itself for several years now with a solid and highly skilled Quadira organisation”. ”We therefore have decided to include Advanced-Forms® in our total product portfolio and our total solution which we are now going to implement at our new customer Mooy Logistics”. “We are very enthusiastic about all the options and features that Advanced-Forms® offers and we look forward to a long term partnership. Quadira will fully train and certify our people, so that we can implement and support Advanced-Forms® by ourselves”.

More about Rainbow Solutions on our partnerpage

More about Quadira on our partnerpage

Creative Ways of Dealing with Your Capacity Problem

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A lot of Microsoft Dynamics partners are dealing with a capacity problem. Qualified and experienced specialists are scarce. Partners could do more business if they’d approach this problem more creatively. They could outsource to third parties, train juniors and make temporary use of resources from other partners.

As a Partner Account Manager I often talk to partners who are looking for experienced professionals. There’s a huge demand for technical consultants, functional consultants and developers. A problem so severe that partners sometimes even have to turn down projects. Or delay the acquisition of new projects. All of which have a negative effect on sales.

Not only is it hard to find the right people, but it’s also very costly. Recruitment agencies charge high fees. Specialists’ salaries are high. And it takes time and therefore money to get new people up-and-running in their new job. And just when your new specialist is finally billable, one of your own people receives a better offer and leaves. Meaning you have to start your search all over again.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a great solution for partners. There are a lot of specialised third parties available that can help you with tasks like upgrading and development. They can also do performance optimisation and even make functional designs. These parties, often abroad, are incredibly experienced and charge favourable rates, which are big advantages. Partners using subcontractors for those tasks in general work more effective and efficient and they are able to sell and implement more projects.

Juniors

Another solution is the use of juniors. Partners are often looking for highly experienced seniors to do all the work, but much of the work can be done by juniors as well. In projects I generally see seniors involved, maybe a few mid-level consultants. But no juniors. Assign at least one junior to every one of your projects. Get them involved. That way your more qualified staff have their hands free to do other work.

Getting juniors involved also helps to solve the problem in general. Because by doing so, juniors gain experience and have the chance to someday be seniors themselves. Especially if you offer them training and coach them on the job. In the long term that leads to more qualified specialists and a bigger pond to fish in. Juniors also will give a fresh view and new ideas in to your team, they aren’t spoiled with history.

Seniors should function more as a mentor or coach. These people are too scarce to do all the work by themselves. And by solely relying on them, you’re creating your own problem.

Resources from other partners

And last, but not least, you can also make temporary use of resources from other specialised partners. Customers are expecting more and more integrated business solutions. For partners it will be difficult to have enough capacity for all specialisms themselves. Pro-actively sharing (specialised) resources is an upcoming trend which partners should join.

So yes, qualified staff is hard to find. A problem which leads to extra costs and missed opportunities but let’s deal with it more creatively so not to stop us from achieving our ambitions.

Do you need more information or do you have any questions? I’m here to help so please let me know!