Sales Module Lifecycle from Scratch in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Sales Module Lifecycle from Scratch in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based suite of business applications(like sales, marketing, customer service, finance, supply chain management & more) that helps organizations improve operational efficiency and customer experiences. In this blog, we will be exploring the sales module life cycle from scratch. The Sales module in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is one of the most widely implemented components of the platform.

Below is an overview of major modules in Dynamics 365 and their purposes:

1. Dynamics 365 Sales -  Helps organizations manage customer relationships and sales processes.

Key Features:

• Lead and opportunity management.
• Sales forecasting and analytics.
• Pipeline tracking.
• Integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator for better prospecting.

2. Customer Service - Enables businesses to deliver efficient and personalized customer support.

Key Features:

• Case and knowledge management.
• Omnichannel support (email, chat, phone, social media).
• AI-driven insights and sentiment analysis.
• Service-level agreements (SLAs) and entitlements.

3. Field Service - Optimizes field service operations by managing service delivery, technicians, and resources.

Key Features:

• Work order management.
• Scheduling and dispatch.
• Inventory management for parts.

4. Finance and Operation - Facilitates financial operations, reporting, and decision-making in organizations.

Key Features:

• General ledger and accounts payable/receivable.
• Budgeting and forecasting.
• Expense management.
• Global financial compliance and governance.

5. Supply Chain Management-Manages supply chain operations and optimizes inventory and logistics.

6. Marketing - Helps organizations engage customers and nurture leads with personalized marketing campaigns.

Refer this Microsoft documentation to learn more - Microsoft Dynamics 365 documentation

1. Lead

A lead represents a potential customer or sales opportunity. It is typically the first stage in the sales process and serves as a placeholder for unqualified or initial customer information. It can originate from various sources, such as marketing campaigns, website inquiries, trade shows, referrals, calls.etc. It contains information about a potential customer or business interest that is not yet qualified as a sales opportunity.

Scenario - Imagine you’re planning to purchase a laptop. You visit various dealerships like  HP, Dell, Apple, Samsung and Asus. At each dealership, sales executives enter your details into their CRM system, creating a lead.

Firstly, a new lead is captured in the system. Sales teams assess the lead's interest, budget, need,timeline and based on this it's Qualified or Disqualified

Activities such as sending emails, scheduling calls or 1:1 meetings are logged.

When a lead shows intent to purchase, it is qualified and converted into:A contact, account and opportunity.

Lead Qualification

When a lead is qualified

Lead ->contact details ->converted -> contact 

Lead -> company details->converted -> Account 

Lead->converted -> Account opportunity

1. Automatic Record Creation

Upon qualification, the following records are created automatically:

• Contact: If the lead represents an individual, their details (e.g., name, email, phone) are copied to a new Contact record.
• Account: If the lead is linked to an organization, a new Account record is created. (if you don't enter details of company, the account wont be created)
• Opportunity: An Opportunity record is created to track the sales potential for the lead.

2. Data Mapping 

Data from the lead record is mapped and transferred to the new Contact, Account, and Opportunity records. For example: 

Lead's name → Contact's name 

Lead's company name → Account name 

Lead's purchase interest → Opportunity's description

3. Status Update

• The lead's status changes to "Qualified", and the record is effectively closed.
• Qualified leads are no longer visible in the active lead views but remain available in the "All Leads" and “Closed Lead” view for historical reference.

You can see which records will be created once the lead is qualified. Once the lead is qualified you can see the associated contact and account.

Lead Disqualification

• When a lead is marked as "disqualified," it is effectively removed from the sales pipeline.
• The lead's status changes to "Disqualified", indicating that it won't be pursued further.
• Reasons for disqualification are typically captured in the system, such as: Lost, Cancelled, Not interested, No COntact
• Unlike qualification, disqualification does not create or affect Contact, Account, or Opportunity records.

• The lead record is not deleted; instead, it remains in the system with a "Disqualified" status (for reporting and auditing purposes, such as tracking disqualification trends or re-engaging disqualified leads in the future)
• You can Reactivate a closed lead and do the action again.

2. Opportunity

Opportunity is a 2nd phase of potential sale. Sales teams further develop opportunities by associating them with products, price lists & customer preferences. It is possible to have more than one opportunity associated with an account or contact, relating to different products or services.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 automatically creates opportunities once leads have been qualified, ensuring no opportunities are missed. 

Note -  not all opportunities are qualified from leads and can also be added manually directly into the system.

It  must be associated with one account or contact. An account and a contact may have links to multiple opportunities.

competitor  - Opportunities contain competitor information that helps you to analyze and find effective selling strategies.

products - Each opportunity may have multiple products associated with it. An association between an opportunity and a product is represented by the opportunity product table.

Close - When you close an opportunity, an opportunity close activity is created. It's represented by the opportunity close table. By closing an opportunity, you deactivate it, but you don't delete it. This gives you an option to reopen it later.

What Happens When an Opportunity is Won?

Marking an opportunity as Won indicates the successful closure of the deal.The opportunity status changes to Won and system updates the actual revenue and actual close date fields based on the deal value and closure timing.

What Happens When an Opportunity is Lost?

• The opportunity status changes to "Lost".
• The opportunity remains in the system but is categorized as lost.
• Activities linked to the opportunity (e.g., tasks, emails) are retained for historical purposes but are no longer active.
• are used for insights into sales performance: Trends in lost deals. Competitor performance. Common reasons for loss.

3. Quote

• A quote is a formal offer for products or services proposed at specific prices and related payment terms that are sent to the customer. You can create a quote, save it as a draft, and specify whether it's active or closed
• You can build a quote by selecting products directly from the product catalog, specifying the price list & entering the requested number of units

• you can also apply discounts
• If a quote is created from an opportunity, Dynamics 365 Sales uses the products associated with the opportunity as the basis for the draft. When a quote is converted to an order, the user can keep the opportunity open or close it. If the user closes it, the final revenue amount is recorded.
• A quote can be associated with the following tables: products, price list, competitors, opportunity, customer , notes and attachments,etc 
• Try Creating a Quote inside the opportunity. This new quote will copy all the information from opportunity.
• There are two ways for products to be manually added to a Quote. It can done either by selecting from an existing Product Catalog or can be manually written in.
• Activating a Quote: When a quote is ready to be sent to a Customer the Sales Rep can press the Activate Quote button on the ribbon. Once the quote is activated it is placed in a read-only state thus making it uneditable.

• Sales teams can create multiple quotes for the same opportunity to offer different options or revisions.
• Quotes remain in "Draft" status until finalized, allowing modifications.
• Revise quotes based on customer feedback or updated requirements. Revision ID is changed after each modification of quote.
• You can share the quote as by exporting as PDF or directly mail them

Product

Products means the items or services being offered to the customer within an opportunity. Managing products at this stage ensures accurate pricing, forecasting, and alignment with customer needs.

• You can select Existing Products or create new product to offer to customer
• You can set the pricing, quantities and discount for the product,

4. Order

Once a quote is accepted, it can be converted into an order automatically. The Order phase represents a critical step in the sales process, transitioning from a customer's agreement to purchase (quote acceptance) to the fulfillment of the sale.

• Orders can be created:

• Directly from a Quote: If a quote is accepted, it can be converted into an order.
• Manually: Sales teams can create standalone orders if necessary.

• Orders inherit:

• Customer details and shipping details.
• Products, pricing, and discounts from the quote or opportunity.
• Terms and conditions.

• Order Status Lifecycle:

• Draft: The order is still being finalized or reviewed.
• Active: The order is confirmed and ready for fulfillment.
• Fulfilled: The products or services have been delivered to the customer.
• Canceled: The order is no longer valid or is rejected.

Once the order is fulfilled, an invoice can be generated and sent to the customer.

What Happens When an Order is Completed?

1. Fulfillment: The order status is updated to Fulfilled. The related opportunity and quote (if applicable) are marked as completed.
2. Revenue Recognition: The revenue from the order is finalized and reflected in sales reports. Follow-ups or surveys can be triggered to assess customer satisfaction.

5. Invoice

The Invoice phase is the final step in the sales process, where the organization formalizes the financial transaction for the products or services delivered to the customer. It involves creating, sending, and tracking invoices to ensure proper payment and revenue recognition.

• Invoices can be generated automatically from an Order once it reaches the fulfillment stage.
• Alternatively, they can be created manually for custom billing requirements.
• Information from the Order is copied to the invoice, including: Product details, Pricing and discounts, Billing information.
• Invoice Number Generation: A unique identifier is assigned to the invoice for tracking and auditing.