{"id":5137,"date":"2020-03-03T09:13:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=5137"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:21:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T20:21:21","slug":"transforming-sales-at-microsoft-with-ai-infused-recommendations-and-customer-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/transforming-sales-at-microsoft-with-ai-infused-recommendations-and-customer-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming sales at Microsoft with AI-infused recommendations and customer insights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MicrosoftPeter Schlegel\u2019s job is to build trust with Microsoft customers, and he\u2019s using AI to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecialists are solution sellers,\u201d says Schlegel, a data and AI specialist for Microsoft Digital Sales. \u201cWe help customers solve problems with an eye toward helping them move down the path of digital transformation. To do this, we also must develop high-quality relationships with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schlegel introduces customers to Microsoft technologies that can help them efficiently address their business needs. He says that he and other solution seller specialists can identify opportunities for sales based on customer purchase history, Microsoft Azure consumption levels, and workload usage.<\/p>\n

However, it can be challenging for Microsoft sellers to holistically understand their customers because of the company\u2019s scale and the broad set of rich products it offers to customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could do this manually, but it would consume most of my time,\u201d Schlegel says. \u201cIf a tool gives me recommendations, I could spend more time with the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enter Daily Recommender, an internal AI solution that uses Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, and an AI interface to provide data-driven recommendations to sellers based on over 1,000 data points per customer, including past purchases, marketing engagement, and digital and local event attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of companies invest in AI solutions,\u201d says Praveen Kumar, a principal program manager in Microsoft Digital. \u201cThe primary differentiator is that Daily Recommender presents specialists and account executives with meaningful data, insights, and artifacts so they can make the right decisions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Learn more about how Microsoft Digital developed Daily Recommender.<\/a> Learn how Microsoft Digital modernized the toolset Microsoft sellers use.<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

Scoping customer conversations based on past engagements<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily Recommender uses internal and external data points such as current consumption levels, licenses, customer interactions with marketing material, and machine learning techniques such as collaborative filtering and natural language processing to identify the next logical product recommendation for the customer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe help customers achieve the solutions they intend to build in the most efficient way using Microsoft technologies,\u201d says Siddharth Kumar, a principal machine learning scientist manager who works on the team that provides machine learning solutions to Daily Recommender. \u201cWith these curated recommendations, sellers can spend less time creating sales pitches and focus on having meaningful and useful discussions with customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

These recommendations and insights are presented in a curated dashboard, which is available to the entire Digital Sales team.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say a Microsoft account team is responsible for over 100 customers,\u201d says Salman Mukhtar, the director of business programs for the Digital Sales team.<\/span> \u201cDaily Recommender gives you access to product recommendations for the accounts across your solution areas. The app also provides a rationale for the recommendation, what material you can use, and a suggested action date. It takes the AI to the last mile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using Daily Recommender, account executives and specialists work together to understand what may be top of mind for the customer, review product recommendations, identify the right customer contacts, and provide customer-centric recommendations based on the customer\u2019s needs and interests.<\/p>\n

For example, say a customer downloaded a piece of Microsoft content showcasing how to move legacy SQL servers to the cloud. Daily Recommender could prompt a specialist to provide that customer with resources for cloud migration and suggest that they unlock the advanced capabilities of the cloud by investing in a business intelligence tool like Microsoft Power BI.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin minutes, I have a clear picture of what\u2019s currently driving the customer and how I can structure my conversations based on their current consumption and interest in Microsoft products,\u201d says Alexander Mildner, an account executive for Microsoft Digital Sales. \u201cIf I had this two and a half years ago, my life would have been easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equipped with this data, sellers and account executives can collaborate and connect customers with Microsoft resources, products, and specialists to achieve their projects\u2019 goals. Specialists can work with customers to create execution plans or discuss the technical details of implementation, often within their area of expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollaboration is an essential part of an account team,\u201d Mildner says. \u201cThe more insights you can use as a specialist or account executive, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Committing to continuous improvement over time<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Daily Recommender, one out of every three recommendations qualifies as a sales opportunity. This is almost four times higher than the industry average of 6 to 10 percent. The app becomes more intelligent over time as it continues to learn from seller actions and sales outcomes. The team also takes a hands-on approach to improving Daily Recommender by analyzing clickthrough and seller action data and soliciting feedback through in-person roadshows, emails, and community calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we will look back in a year or two, and we won\u2019t be able to imagine a time before this tool,\u201d Mildner says. \u201cI\u2019ve already seen the progress that the tool has made in the past two years, which tells you how strong its AI is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daily Recommender was built for the Microsoft Sales team by Microsoft Digital as part of an ongoing effort to transform the tools and processes that the company provides for its sales force.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a sales model that requires sellers to do active prospecting at scale, we needed a robust and AI enabled solution that would help sellers quickly identify and actively engage with the customers to make faster buying decisions,\u201d says Hyma Davuluri, a principal program manager in Microsoft Digital. \u201cThis led to the development of Daily Recommender, which enabled sellers to identify and act on sales opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The journey to create and improve Daily Recommender has been educational for Mukhtar and the team. They have learned that the best way to improve the experience is to create synergy across business groups, sellers, and AI experts.<\/p>\n

The result?<\/p>\n

The Digital Sales team was able to transform the sales process with AI.<\/p>\n

Mukhtar says that supporting this collaboration took time, but it started with bringing people together to invest in changing the way the Microsoft sales teams organized and approached their customers for prospecting new business.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanging people\u2019s behavior isn\u2019t easy,\u201d Mukhtar says. \u201cWe focused on bringing together different stakeholders to invest in changing our processes. We found that value is really unlocked by how well you bring together AI and the sales process, seller behavior, and customer needs and integrate into a modern app.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Related<\/p>\n