Business applications implementation partners typically position themselves as ‘trusted advisors’ with their customers. However, while this approach is good, it can come across as primarily one-way, with the partner making most of the important decisions.
In this blog, Sara Cheaveau, our Chief Operating Officer, who has a wealth of experience within the Dynamics 365 ecosystem, discusses why a different approach, a ‘trusted partnership’, which fosters much more of a two-way relationship, can help achieve even better results.
Read on to find out more.
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A Collaborative Journey
In the complex landscape of Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementations, the term ‘trusted advisor’ is used a lot these days, especially in procurement cycles, by both partners (describing themselves) and customers (selecting a partner based on it). However, I want to make the case that this is too much of a one-way concept and therefore, may fall short of achieving optimal results. Ultimately, successful implementations require much more a collaborative, two-way approach, more of a ‘trusted partnership’, than an advisor.
Having seen the implementation process from both sides – firstly, as a Business Consultant managing processes for customers, and secondly, as Head of Pre-Sales, overseeing partner interactions, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of a more collaborative approach.
As a Business Consultant, I’ve seen things from the customer’s perspective, managing the process on their behalf and understanding what they want. Often, they didn’t have time on their side to run the procurement process or to drive the implementation, and they want a ‘trusted advisor’ (i.e. the partner) to take the lead with the promise by the sales team of cost and time control, a full solution delivered, and accountability.
Then, as a Head of Pre-Sales, I also saw it from the perspective of the implementation partner – a customer has a very detailed procurement process, huge documents to answer that can cover a massive(!) number of requirements, sometimes with little detail, but they don’t like the price, the contract structure offered or the internal resource commitments. It’s also a daily struggle to keep the sales team accountable to the promises they have made, when their mind has already moved on to the next piece of new business they are looking to sign.
Even from early in the project lifecycle, this can lead to a customer versus partner situation. By the time the project starts, the partnership isn’t always off on the right footing. Throw in a few change requests and a sales team that are no longer available, then the trusted advisor concept goes out the window. This can be frustrating for all parties involved.
Ultimately, successful implementations require far more collaboration between the customer and partner teams. Dynamics 365 implementations are intricate endeavours that extend far beyond simply setting up software – they involve reshaping processes, aligning technology with business goals, and driving organisational change. While a trusted advisor can offer valuable insights, a partnership that starts in the sales cycle and continues long after the go-live, is more efficient, ensures accountability from both sides, and leads to more successful implementations. A partnership aligns all parties involved towards common objectives. It’s not just about advising; it’s about co-creating success. The implementation partner and any additional third parties should become an extension of the customer team, invested in achieving tangible outcomes.
So how can you build trusted partnerships?
Transparency is the baseline, and it fuels trust. Both customers and partners should share their pain points, aspirations, and constraints openly. A risk can only be mitigated if it is known.
Below I outline four ways to drive transparency:
Scope management:
- Sharing – Customers should share the scope up front with the partner. If they don’t know what they need, they should ask the partner for help.
- Openness – Customers should try not to limit the partner in a sales cycle in finding out more information – it doesn’t benefit anyone.
- Clear deliverables – Both parties should have a clearly defined minimal viable product (MVP) and be clear what is non-negotiable and a deadline of when it should be implemented.
- Strong communications – Partners need to make sure the scope is communicated clearly to the consultants, and the same for the customer users in the workshops.
- Accountability – Partners should provide a very clear functional document that is signed off before the build phase.
Resource & timeline expectations:
- Clear expectations – Make sure the customer understands the resource expectations on them and how this impacts timelines and costs.
- Limitations – Ensure you understand any partner constraints in terms of start date.
- The right people – If a customer wants to meet the team before signing the contract, it is often much more beneficially to meet the Head of Delivery or Executive Sponsor rather than the Project Manager or Consultants. Even with the best of intentions, it is highly likely the core team will change before the project starts.
Cost control:
- Transparent costs – Everyone should be clear on how the cost has been determined.
- Audit trail – If costs change after Analysis & Design, there should be a clearly documented thread to show the differences.
- Things change – Ensure the customer understands that sometimes requirements become more complicated.
Contractual terms:
- Clarity – Both parties should be clear about what is and is not included in the Statement of Work.
In all of the areas above, both the customer and partner should engage in a continuous dialogue, providing feedback on progress, bottlenecks, and user experiences. An implementation thrives on this continuous loop of communication. For every customer and partner working together, the goal should be to run a successful implementation and build a long-standing relationship.
Driving trusted partnerships with GYDE365
At Seer 365, we have analysed the whole lifecycle of the implementation and beyond, and how we can drive these trusted partnerships. Our vision is to revolutionise the Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation model, from system evaluation through to deployment, empowering customers, and Microsoft partners alike to achieve greater success together.
The power of the GYDE365 platform is that it makes the customer and partner into one team by providing information in a consistent and transparent way. For example, both GYDE365-Discover and GYDE365-Design allows the customer enough time to think about their business requirements. Partners using the GYDE365 platform don’t just ask for fundamental design decisions in a workshop and request the customer’s immediate answer, then document it as it is highly likely that an immediate answer will change once the customer has had time to think about it in relation to other areas, which would inevitably lead to a change request. GYDE365 allows the partner time to review the scope, highlight the high complexity items and add their expert opinion.
Here are some additional ways that I consistently see GYDE365 driving the pillars of transparency and trusted partnerships:
- Understanding the financial impact of their decisions:
GYDE365 uses the MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Will not) rating to measure requirements and each decision has a cost associated to it. The output document then shows a detailed breakdown of the costs and effort with each requirement. This allows the customer to manage their business case and understand the impact of their decisions.
- Follow the journey of the requirements:
Customers and partners can follow the journey of the requirements from the sales cycle all the way into system build, and beyond. At key points in the project, partners can easily explain cost differences so that customers can make informed decisions.
- Identify the need for third party ISVs:
In the GYDE365 output document, if there is a requirement for a third-party ISV, relevant ISVs are identified. As well as identifying the ISVs, it also outlines the upfront costs and the value they provide. This is all included at the start of the project rather than waiting till the project has been signed off. This helps to build trust, by being upfront, instead of letting the customer know later and needing to do a later change request.
- Automated output reports:
Instead of having to produce all the documentation yourself, our GYDE365 platform auto-generates it based on the answers given by partners’ end-customers – a clear RFP with a scoring matrix that is not onerous on any party.
- Answer the hard questions up front:
By answering the hard questions from the get-go, covering areas such as the business case, timeline expectations, and budgets, it provides both parties with the opportunity to be transparent. The customer can be honest and open about their requirements, and the partner is able to be to be completely transparent back.
Adopting trusted partnerships
In my current role as Chief Operating Officer at Seer 365, it makes me so proud to see our partners really adopting this ‘trusted partnership’ approach. The partners using our GYDE365 platform for their customer engagements can provide information in a consistent and transparent way – from the initial request through GYDE365-Qualify, into the sales process using GYDE365-Discover and continuing throughout the implementation using GYD365-Design. Daily, I see end customers, project managers, delivery heads, sales leads, ISVs, consultants, and developers who are truly benefiting from trusted partnerships with the help of our GYDE365 platform.
Find out more about our GYDE365 platform and how you can transform your Microsoft Dynamics 365 projects: Book a Demo
Written by Sara Cheaveau
Sara Cheaveau, our Chief Operating Officer, has over 10 years experience within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ecosystem. Prior to joining Seer 365, Sara worked for several leading Microsoft Dynamics partners as an Operational Lead and Head of Pre-Sales and Engagement. She now plays a key role in the running of Seer 365 and managing our GYDE365 platform.