I delivered two presentations at the Directions 4 Partners 2021 event in Milano. One of them about the importance of C-level education.

Unfortunately, most Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners still seem to ignore their customer’s management during the implementation phase. And fail to really inspire and engage them. That is actually pretty weird since these C-level people have both the position and the power to make your implementation processes smooth and eventually more successful.

So why not make them supporters? By making 'C-level inspiration' a standard part of your implementation methodology. Consider an Executive Change Masterclass as the first step of your projects. And on top of that: ask sharp, brutal questions. Don't be satisfied with the first answers but dive deeper. Avoid making any assumptions! And do not talk product. Instead, talk about the new behavior and expectation levels of their customers, about improving their customer happiness and about the organizational conditions needed to achieve that. Discuss the generic project risks and how to best avoid these. Make crystal clear what their jobs and responsibilities are. And finally, inspire them to co-create their best project ever!

Oh – this approach works of course best without immediately showing your D365 solution set!

One of the most effective advises from my Milano session is making one (1) person at C-level responsible for the final project outcome. So that you have at least one influential person on the customer side who can’t sleep at night if problems arise. And who is both motivated and able, after attending your Executive Change Masterclass, to fix these problems. And prevent new ones. In my experience, this small change will increase your chance for a successful project with at least 30 (!) percent. That is worth it, huh?

So what do you do today to involve the customers' management in your projects?

Curious what C-level education could look like? Check this: Help your customers succeed.