We have not lost a CRM deal to Salesforce since Microsoft CRM Online was released. Not once.

We've watched that trend build for years, and it comes down to a simple combination: a connected system, a price that makes sense, and a team that stays involved after the sale. Today, roughly 30 to 40 percent of our Business Central customers add Dynamics 365 Sales (CRM) as part of their project, and manufacturers, engineers, and construction firms are leading that charge.

It wasn't always this easy to make the case.

The old reputation around Dynamics ERP and CRM integration

There was a time when connecting the ERP side of Dynamics to the CRM side meant friction, and we heard about it constantly. We competed with Salesforce years ago when Dynamics CRM was still an on-prem product, running an older version, and Salesforce often won those deals. We didn't see the success we wanted.

Pricing didn't help the case either. On-prem Dynamics CRM was a harder sell next to a platform with Salesforce's name recognition, even when the total cost of ownership told a different story.

How we close CRM deals against Salesforce today

The shift has been complete, and it isn't about any single fix to the integration. It's a combination of a much lower price point, an easier connection between Dynamics 365 BC and Dynamics 365 Sales CRM, and ongoing Microsoft investment in the product itself. Licensing plays a real role too. A full Dynamics 365 Sales license adds a relatively small amount on top of a full Business Central license (especially with current “Bridge to Cloud” discounts), which makes the bundle an easy call for a lot of buyers.

Our support model matters just as much as the price. We regularly work with companies that came to us after buying Salesforce directly and getting stuck. Salesforce struggles with implementation and enhancements once a company is up and running. People buy it, use it in a fairly narrow way, and never figure out how to take it to the next level. Because the platform is expensive, we see a lot of Salesforce customers stop right there. They're functional, but they never get help pushing further, and nobody comes back around to ask if they should.

That's the gap we close. With us, you get a team of people, including our cell phone numbers, and every client conversation includes the solution architect who will actually build your system, not just sell it to you. You're not calling an 800 number and hoping for the best.

We run client success check-ins at no charge, specifically to catch that same gap between a company that's using Dynamics 365 CRM and one that's actually getting value from it.

Being functional isn't the same as taking full advantage of the investment, and we make a point of asking that question before a client falls behind rather than waiting for them to ask us.

Results: fewer integration complaints, more CRM connections

That undefeated record against Salesforce is the number that stands out, and it dates back to when Microsoft introduced CRM Online, the cloud version of Dynamics CRM. The integration complaints that used to come up in every sales conversation have largely disappeared since then. Part of that is the native connector Microsoft built between BC and CRM, and part of it is that cloud-to-cloud connections are simply easier than the on-prem versions we used to troubleshoot years ago.

What AI and Copilot mean for BC and CRM going forward

We expect the gap with Salesforce to keep widening as Microsoft builds AI directly into the Dynamics 365 CRM experience. Copilot can already summarize sales calls automatically and update the CRM record without a rep touching a keyboard, and it can draft a follow-up thank you email after the call. That kind of manual work used to eat up a meaningful share of a salesperson's day.

For manufacturing and engineering companies already running Dynamics 365 Business Central, the case for adding Dynamics 365 CRM keeps getting simpler: a connected system, a lower price, and a partner who checks in before you fall behind on using what you bought. We've seen firsthand what that looks like when BC and Dynamics 365 Sales are set up right from the start instead of bolted together after the fact.

Ready to see what Dynamics 365 CRM can do for your company? Get in touch with Dexpro Dynamics.