Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 in 24 Hours

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be up and running with Dynamics CRM 4. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, this book offers a quick way for you to get started with Dynamics CRM by leveraging real business examples, practice exercises, and big picture theory. In addition to learning how to use the core application, you will develop a deeper understanding of how Dynamics CRM fits into today’s business needs.   Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the questions, issues, and tasks most common to Dynamics CRM. Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you build and test your knowledge. By the Way notes present interesting pieces of information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.   Learn how to… Orchestrate a successful CRM project Identify building blocks of Dynamics CRM Automate processes Create and manage your business units and users Use and maintain security roles Redefine an account Import new contacts and distribute leads Create marketing campaigns and capture the results Convert a lead to an account and contact Configure your display Capture contact and activity details Email directly from Dynamics CRM Master scheduling Integrate Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Excel and other applications Create simple workflows Customize and add utilities

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 Part I: Introduction to the Business Use of Microsoft Dynamics CRM HOUR 1: What Is Microsoft Dynamics CRM? 3     Overview of the CRM Industry..............................................................................3     CRM Software Is Multidimensional ......................................................................4     Successful CRM Projects ........................................................................................8     Department Roles: Different Perspectives ..........................................................10     Executive Summary: Key Points to Remember ..................................................14     Workshop ............................................................................................................15     Q&A ....................................................................................................................16     Quiz......................................................................................................................16     Answers ................................................................................................................17     Exercise ................................................................................................................17 HOUR 2: The Basics: The CRM Functionality Vocabulary 19     Key Building Blocks of Microsoft Dynamics CRM ..............................................19     Record Types ........................................................................................................27     Workshop ............................................................................................................28     Q&A ....................................................................................................................28     Quiz......................................................................................................................29     Answers ................................................................................................................29     Exercise ................................................................................................................29 HOUR 3: The Business Roadmap 31     Fundamentals ......................................................................................................31     Deeper Look at Business Process ........................................................................32     Capturing Processes ............................................................................................36     Workshop ............................................................................................................39     Q&A ....................................................................................................................39     Quiz......................................................................................................................40     Answers ................................................................................................................40     Exercise ................................................................................................................41 HOUR 4: Infrastructure Choices 43     The Cloud, the Data, the Software......................................................................43     How It All Works Together ..................................................................................46     Microsoft Dynamics CRM Infrastructure Components ......................................46     Asynchronous Services and Microsoft Workflow Foundation ............................51     Diving into Development ....................................................................................52     Integration Options ............................................................................................52     Big Business Versus Small Business ....................................................................52     Workshop ............................................................................................................53     Q&A ....................................................................................................................54     Quiz......................................................................................................................55     Answers ................................................................................................................55     Exercise ................................................................................................................55 Part II: The Structure of Microsoft Dynamics CRM HOUR 5: Security 57     How It All Comes Together..................................................................................61     Business Units ......................................................................................................63     Users ....................................................................................................................64     Security Roles ......................................................................................................74     Maintaining Security Roles..................................................................................78     Sharing Records ..................................................................................................84     Teams ..................................................................................................................87     Workshop ............................................................................................................90     Q&A ....................................................................................................................90     Quiz......................................................................................................................92     Answers ................................................................................................................92     Exercise ................................................................................................................93     Scenario................................................................................................................93     Possible Solution ..................................................................................................93 HOUR 6: Managing Leads 95     A Little History ....................................................................................................95     Importing New Leads ..........................................................................................96     What Data to Capture and the Import Process..................................................97     Distributing Leads..............................................................................................106     A Deeper Look at a Lead ..................................................................................106     From Lead to Account: Convert ........................................................................109     Workshop ..........................................................................................................112     Q&A ..................................................................................................................113     Quiz....................................................................................................................113     Answers ..............................................................................................................114     Exercise ..............................................................................................................114 HOUR 7: The Account in More Detail 115     Account Form ....................................................................................................115     Account Data ....................................................................................................119     How the Account Relates to a Few Other Entities (Record Types)....................125     What the Account Can Impact ........................................................................127     How the Account Can Be Redefined ................................................................127     Workshop ..........................................................................................................128     Q&A ..................................................................................................................130     Quiz....................................................................................................................130     Answers ..............................................................................................................131     Exercise ..............................................................................................................131 HOUR 8: The Sales Funnel 133     Sales Styles and Choices ....................................................................................133     Automating the Sales Process with Workflow ..................................................139     Editing an Existing Workflow ............................................................................147     Workshop ..........................................................................................................148     Q&A ..................................................................................................................149     Quiz....................................................................................................................149     Answers ..............................................................................................................150     Exercise ..............................................................................................................150 HOUR 9: Marketing Campaigns 151     The Campaign ..................................................................................................151     Creating and Tracking a Marketing Budget ....................................................167     Capturing the Results ........................................................................................168     Tracking the Steps, Activities, and Tasks ..........................................................172     Summary............................................................................................................173     Workshop ..........................................................................................................173     Q&A ..................................................................................................................174     Quiz....................................................................................................................175     Answers ..............................................................................................................175     Exercise ..............................................................................................................176 Part III: Getting Started Using the Software HOUR 10: Entering Data as a Salesperson 177     A Month in the Life of a Salesperson................................................................177     Capturing a Lead, Entering a Lead ..................................................................178     Converting a Lead to an Account and Contact................................................182     Final Planning ..................................................................................................190     Workshop ..........................................................................................................192     Q&A ..................................................................................................................192     Quiz....................................................................................................................193     Answers ..............................................................................................................193     Exercise ..............................................................................................................193 HOUR 11: Configuring Your Interaction with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 195     Basic Configurations..........................................................................................195     Default Attributes ..............................................................................................211     Workshop ..........................................................................................................219     Q&A ..................................................................................................................220     Quiz....................................................................................................................220     Answers ..............................................................................................................221     Exercise ..............................................................................................................221 HOUR 12: Contacts and Activity Capture 223     Capturing Contact Information........................................................................223     Related Contacts: Tracking Relationships ........................................................232     Activities ............................................................................................................234     Workshop ..........................................................................................................241     Q&A ..................................................................................................................242     Quiz....................................................................................................................242     Answers ..............................................................................................................243     Exercise ..............................................................................................................243 HOUR 13: Emailing from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 245     Capturing Email ................................................................................................245     One Quick Message ..........................................................................................246     Doing a Blast of Emails ....................................................................................248     Canned Spam Act Compliance ........................................................................255     Microsoft Dynamics CRM Outlook Address Book ............................................255     Configuring Email Based on Your Preferences..................................................255     Workshop ..........................................................................................................256     Q&A ..................................................................................................................257     Quiz....................................................................................................................257     Answers ..............................................................................................................258     Exercise ..............................................................................................................258 HOUR 14: Word Mail Merge 259     Mail Merge Templates ......................................................................................259     Creating a Template Using an Existing Word Template ..................................262     Managing Templates ........................................................................................264     Managing Data Fields ......................................................................................266     Enabling Macros Within Microsoft Word 2007 ................................................268     Workshop ..........................................................................................................280     Q&A ..................................................................................................................280     Quiz....................................................................................................................281     Answers ..............................................................................................................281     Exercise ..............................................................................................................281 HOUR 15: Outlook Integration 283     Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook Options ................................................283     The Synchronizing Architecture ........................................................................284     Synchronizing Data ..........................................................................................285     Mobility ..............................................................................................................293     What to Watch Out For: Troubleshooting Microsoft Outlook ..........................294     Workshop ..........................................................................................................295     Q&A ..................................................................................................................296     Quiz....................................................................................................................296     Answers ..............................................................................................................297     Exercise ..............................................................................................................297 HOUR 16: Workflow: Creating Simple Workflows 299     What Is Workflow? ............................................................................................299     Internal Alerts Based on Specific Criteria ........................................................304     Using Workflow to Automate ............................................................................307     Workshop ..........................................................................................................314     Q&A ..................................................................................................................315     Quiz....................................................................................................................315     Answers ..............................................................................................................315     Exercise ..............................................................................................................316 Part IV: The Support Department HOUR 17: Support Management 317     Contracts ............................................................................................................317     Maximizing Support Profitability and Effectiveness ........................................322     The Subject ........................................................................................................324     Utilizing the Knowledge Base ............................................................................325     Workshop ..........................................................................................................328     Q&A ..................................................................................................................329     Quiz....................................................................................................................329     Answers ..............................................................................................................330     Exercise ..............................................................................................................330 HOUR 18: Contracts, Cases, Tickets, and Capturing Time 331     The Hierarchy of Contracts, Cases, and Time ..................................................331     How Cases Are Used ..........................................................................................337     Proactive Versus Reactive ..................................................................................338     Adding Workflow to Close a Case ....................................................................339     Queues................................................................................................................341     Workshop ..........................................................................................................344     Q&A ..................................................................................................................344     Quiz....................................................................................................................345     Answers ..............................................................................................................346     Exercise ..............................................................................................................346 HOUR 19: Scheduling 347     Scheduling in General ......................................................................................347     Getting Started with Scheduling........................................................................347     Viewing and Managing Schedule Conflicts ......................................................351     Setting Up Scheduling........................................................................................352     Workshop ..........................................................................................................362     Q&A ..................................................................................................................362     Quiz....................................................................................................................363     Answers ..............................................................................................................363     Exercise ..............................................................................................................363 Part V: Reporting HOUR 20: Utilizing the Power of Microsoft Excel with CRM Data 365     Key Concepts and Caveats ................................................................................365     Exporting the Right Data: Using Advanced Find ............................................367     Exporting a Static Worksheet ............................................................................372     Exporting a Dynamic Worksheet ......................................................................374     Exporting Data for PivotTable Analysis............................................................375     Adding Outside Data ........................................................................................377     Reusing and Sharing Your Spreadsheets ..........................................................377     Using a Dashboard ............................................................................................378     Workshop ..........................................................................................................378     Q&A ..................................................................................................................379     Quiz....................................................................................................................380     Answers ..............................................................................................................380     Exercise ..............................................................................................................380 HOUR 21: Reporting 381     Running Reports ................................................................................................382     Creating Your Own Report with the Report Wizard ........................................389     Share a Report with Other Users ......................................................................394     Add a File or Web Page as a Report..................................................................395     Create Report Snapshots (On-Premise Only) ....................................................397     Tips for Keeping Reports Organized..................................................................397     Custom Reports That Don’t Use the Report Wizard ........................................398     Workshop ..........................................................................................................399     Q&A ..................................................................................................................400     Quiz....................................................................................................................401     Answers ..............................................................................................................401     Exercise ..............................................................................................................402 Part VI: Expanding the Application HOUR 22: Integration to the Other Applications 403     Bridge Software ..................................................................................................403     Points of Connect ..............................................................................................404     Integration to External Web Sources ................................................................405     Integration to Accounting Applications ..........................................................405     Some of the “Integration” Independent Software Vendors ..............................407     Data Migration ..................................................................................................408     Data Import/Data Migration Tools from Microsoft..........................................410     Workshop ..........................................................................................................411     Q&A ..................................................................................................................411     Quiz....................................................................................................................412     Answers ..............................................................................................................412     Exercise ..............................................................................................................412 HOUR 23: Microsoft Dynamics CRM Utilities You Can Add 413     Enhancing Contact Information ......................................................................413     Business Intelligence in Microsoft Dynamics CRM ..........................................415     Enabling Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Mobile Devices ..................................419     Database Tools and Utilities..............................................................................422     Compliance and Auditing Tools........................................................................425     Workshop ..........................................................................................................426     Q&A ..................................................................................................................427     Quiz....................................................................................................................427     Answers ..............................................................................................................428     Exercise ..............................................................................................................428 HOUR 24: Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a Development Framework 429     Options: What Can Be Changed? ....................................................................429     When Microsoft Dynamics CRM Is a Good Fit ................................................438     When the Core of Microsoft Dynamics CRM v4 Might Need Additional     Architecture and Design....................................................................................440     Skills Required: Who Can Make the Changes ..................................................441     Workshop ..........................................................................................................442     Q&A ..................................................................................................................442     Quiz....................................................................................................................443     Answers ..............................................................................................................443     Exercise ..............................................................................................................444