What does it really take to succeed in today’s competitive sales environment for Microsoft Business Applications?

Recently, Joe Padda, alongside Kevin Armstrong (CSO, FinListics Solutions), and John Doris (UK&I Sales Director at Telefonica Tech), explored this question in a panel discussion. With years of experience helping partners thrive, they reflected on what has changed, what has remained the same, and how sales teams can succeed in an increasingly competitive and technology-driven world.

So, whether you’re a Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation partner looking to modernise your sales approach, or you’re grappling with the rise of AI, here are some of our biggest takeaways from our recent webinar session.

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

1. The End of Perpetual Pay Days

The era of large, one-off perpetual license deals is long gone. Today’s SaaS world means customers commit to smaller user license counts at the onset, and license revenue depends on a successful and timely implementation. If we delay, or worse fail to deliver, we lose both revenue and trust.

2. Increasing Solution Complexity

Microsoft’s Business Applications have become incredibly rich in features and functionality, making them more powerful than ever. Whilst this is great news for customers, it’s a challenge for sellers. Increasingly, specialists are needed to help articulate and position the full value, making sales a true team, and in turn, a very expensive, sport.

3. More Informed and Demanding Customers

We’re no longer working with first generation business application buyers. Customers are well-informed, not only from their past experiences, but also due to the vast amount of information now available to them, making them aware of their options, and focussing them on achieving a faster Return on Investment. They have less time (or interest) for long, drawn out engagements, and the value for them to invest their time, must be clear from the very first conversation.

4. Time to ROI is Critical

Lengthy implementations are no longer tolerated. They were of course always a frustration but accepted to a point as it was the ‘norm’. However, in an increasingly AI world and a competitive vendor landscape providing feature rich, low cost and time to implement solutions, Customers are less accepting than ever. Even when investing in enterprise scale solutions, they want quick wins, minimum viable products, fixed price and pre-packaged solutions to deliver value, quick, with continuous enhancements delivered on an ongoing basis.

WHAT HAS REMAINED THE SAME?

Even with these changes, some fundamentals have remained the same, including some of the challenges that haven’t gone away.

Resource constraints remain a constant pressure point. The market is full of opportunity, but the limiting factor is always having enough skilled people to deliver effectively.

In real terms, day rates haven’t increased over the past 15 years and have actually decreased in relative terms when considering the significant year-on-year increase in salary costs, which has led to many Dynamics practices reporting less than 10% EBITDA – a very dangerous place to be, where one or two bad projects could send a business under.

Not forgetting the fundamentals of customer engagement. Certainty, transparency, and trust remain just as important today as they were 15 years ago. Sales cycles are still long with qualification often taking weeks, if not months, and win rates have not dramatically improved. Furthermore, Request for Proposals (RFPs) and product demonstrations continue to draw multiple partners into resource-intensive and expensive, engagements, with only one partner being the victor.

KEY PRINCIPLES OF CONTINUED SUCCESS

During the webinar, we discussed key principles of success, and based on our collective experience, we agreed that thriving sales teams are built on a few core principles.

Clear direction and a well-structured process that provides clarity and accountability, are essential. Following the process and using tooling that a business has invested in, isn’t optional, as the boat must always row in the same direction. Using a healthy balance of ‘carrot-and-stick’ to reward success, whilst holding teams accountable where process isn’t followed, maintains discipline and delivers high performance.

Continuous qualification is another cornerstone. The best sellers I’ve seen are as ruthless with their time, as the customers they engaged with, focusing only where they can win and drive the process with confidence, instead of simply taking part. Buyers respect sellers who add value at every stage and guide them through the journey with confidence. If the customer isn’t right for you, then you should be prepared to walk away from the deal as early as possible, and not run a time consuming and expensive process, when everyone’s time could be better spent on an engagement where there is a higher chance of success.

Professionalism and quality are equally non-negotiable. Every touchpoint, from the way proposals are written, to how presentations are delivered, shapes the perception of both the Individual and the Company. Customer confidence is built through delivering excellence and providing detail.

Finally, differentiation and integrity matter. Sellers must be crystal clear about what sets their company apart, and never mis-sell. Short-term wins achieved through misrepresentation, always backfire in the long run, leading to problem projects, unhappy customers, and a bad market reputation.

To support all of this, sales leaders have a responsibility to equip their teams with the right people, tools, and technology to succeed – it’s our responsibility to both guide and enable them.

DOES SALES LEADERSHIP DIFFER ACROSS DIFFERENT SIZED PARTNERS?

The panel have all worked across different sized partners, from start-ups, to mid-size and enterprise scale. Whilst the challenge may differ depending on the size and stage, for example:

• Start-ups: the focus is on building credibility and ‘earning a seat’ at the table – getting wins on the board as quickly as possible.
• Enterprise: continuing to deliver growth, whilst also supporting a large, mid-implementation customer base, brings its own challenges and pressures to keep the ‘hamster wheel’ moving.

Irrespective of size, every company from a sales perspective wants to win more deals and deliver more projects.

To do this, the same fundamentals apply – the need for a well-structured methodology, compelling proposition, and the ability to deliver value, FAST. Resource challenges never disappear; they are simply relative to scale.

WILL AI REPLACE THE NEED FOR SALESPEOPLE?

One of the most thought-provoking questions we explored during the panel was: In the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), do we even need salespeople anymore?

With AI tools able to analyse vast amounts of data, generate proposals, and even run prospecting campaigns at speed, it’s tempting to imagine a future where human sellers are replaced by algorithms. But in my opinion, AI is not a replacement, but an evolution. As I said on the panel, I fully agree with the famous quote, “AI won’t take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI will.”

The distinction lies in what AI can and can’t do. AI can surface insights, automate routine tasks and even suggest the next best action in a sales cycle; but context and judgement to interpret what businesses and people really need, still requires an element of human judgement. A good example I used was Material Requirements Planning (MRP) functionality, where customers often said that they didn’t trust the system to make wholesale decisions. I remember explaining that the system provided intelligent suggestions and did the heavy lifting, but the value came when a skilled professional applied their experience to those insights to make well-informed decisions. AI is no different – it will provide insights, but it will still need human interpretation and guidance – at least for the medium-term.

There’s also the ‘human element’ of engaging with people, especially when making such an important investment decision that could impact the future success of your business, something machines can’t replicate. Customers don’t just want data; they want to feel understood. Where investments are large and career-defining, empathy matters. Buyers want someone who can understand their need but also acknowledge their fears, to ensure alignment of goals. Trust is built on both data and people, whilst empathy is built through conversations, not code.

Something that is also close to my heart, and which you would have experienced if we have ever done business together 😊, is the art of negotiation. Data may inform a discussion, but this isn’t something that can be outsourced to a machine. Deals often hinge on nuance, reading the room, understanding pressure points, offering concessions at just the right time. AI can’t replicate the instincts and interpersonal dynamics that come into play across a negotiation table, nor can it reference back to those moments when needed in the future.

All this said, we agreed that sellers who don’t adapt and understand how to ‘talk’ and leverage AI, will find themselves left behind. Used well, AI becomes a co-pilot, removing administrative burdens, surfacing insights we’d otherwise miss, and helping us prepare more effectively for customer conversations. Sellers who learn to blend AI’s efficiency with human empathy will find themselves in an incredibly strong position, whilst others will soon become redundant.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Selling Microsoft Business Applications has evolved from chasing large one-time deals, to building and nurturing long-term, value-driven customer success in a SaaS driven world. Core ingredients of trust, clarity, professionalism and discipline, all remain as important as ever.

As sales leaders, our mission is to help our teams adapt and leverage technology to embrace changing customer expectations, whilst never losing sight of what truly matters – structure, culture, empathy, and delivering measurable value, FAST.

If you haven’t already done, please view the webinar to see everything we discussed in more detail: Watch the Webinar