Getting down with the Dynamics team

Today we wanted to talk about Vicki Brocks’ passion for Microsoft Dynamics 365, we sat down for a chat with her to get the full story about working in the Dynamics team at Westcoast Cloud, and why she gets so much satisfaction from helping partners to sell Dynamics applications.

‘I love the Dynamics team,’ she says with a laugh. ‘They’re great. And Dynamics as a product fascinates me, challenges me. I guess that’s why I enjoy what I do so much.’

As one of our resident Dynamics experts, it’s on Vicki to help partners get to know the platform, to understand how it works, what it can do and how it can benefit them as well as their clients.

Streamline sales, customer service and marketing

So just what the hell is Microsoft Dynamics 365, anyway? Vicki describes it to us as both a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool and an Enterprise Resource Planning solution (ERP). The CRM side of Dynamics connects and streamlines a business’s sales, customer service and marketing teams.

Companies use Dynamics’ CRM applications to track and prioritise their sales leads, to win more new business, and to keep things all warm and fuzzy with their existing customers.

The ERP applications help businesses to manage their shared and back-end services. Things like finance, HR, supply chains and production. Traditionally, departments like these tend to have their own independent management systems, which inevitably slows everything down and makes everyone want to scream.

We love Microsoft Dynamics 365 because it unifies every business function under one solution. You don’t even have to do away with existing management systems that certain teams want to carry on using. Third party software can be integrated into Dynamics and made to work well with all of the hundreds of things Dynamics does.

“You don’t realise how much Dynamics brings to your business until you start selling it.”

‘Dynamics is definitely a beast!’ Vicki says with another laugh. ‘There’s so many apps in Dynamics that it can sometimes feel overwhelming.’

Dynamics is undeniably large and complex, but Vicki has it all figured out and can help partners to understand the many ways that Dynamics can be useful to their clients, as well as the various rewards on offer for those that sell Dynamics.

‘The Dynamics margins for partners are big,’ Vicki confides. ‘And then there’s all the Microsoft incentives and rebates that also come with selling it.’

It’s clear to us that even Vicki can’t always believe how beneficial it can be to be a Dynamics reseller.
‘You don’t realise how much these applications bring back into your business until you start selling them,’ she says.

And selling Dynamics is something of a speciality for Vicki. She and her team work closely with partners who want to grow their businesses with new revenue streams, training them on Dynamics, jumping on calls with end users, and supporting deployments.

‘A big part of understanding Dynamics is recognising a Dynamics opportunity,’ Vicki tells us. ‘When you talk to your customers, listen out for their pain points. If they’re struggling to stay on top of their pipeline or to keep their customers organised, that’s an opportunity to tell them about Dynamics CRM.’

“We’ve got all the Dynamics tools, resources and support you need.”

Just as we’re looking to wrap things up, and our minds start leaning towards what to have for lunch, we decide to ask one final question – have there been any really good success stories since you’ve been in the Dynamics team?

‘Ooh, yes!’ Vicki beams at us instantly, and we put all thoughts of sandwiches aside for a moment. ‘There’s one partner I had who wasn’t selling any Dynamics at all to begin with. So I worked closely with him, built the relationship, trained him up on Dynamics and got him through his exams. Now he’s at the level where he’s deploying Dynamics by himself, so he doesn’t even need us that much anymore!’

As well as being a key figure in our Dynamics department, Vicki is also a member of our SureStep team. SureStep is our programme for helping partners earn their Microsoft accreditations and qualifications. They’re there to make sure partners can develop, learn and grow their reputations in the cloud industry.

Along with her team, Vicki helped the partner in her success story go from Dynamics zero to hero in just 18 months. If that sounds like something you’d want to do, Vicki would love for you to reach out to her.

‘It’s absolutely fine if you don’t understand Dynamics,’ she reassures us. ‘You’re not alone, honestly. We have the tools, resources, the expertise and the support. So just give me a shout!’

We ask Vicki one final question – is she ready for lunch?

Her smile is answer enough.

Here’s how to get in touch with Vicki:

Vicki.Brocks@westcoastcloud.co.uk