The Best of the Best - Microsoft CRM E-Learning

The Best of the Best - Microsoft CRM E-Learning
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Microsoft Resources

The majority of reliable e-learning resources from Microsoft CRM are available directly from Microsoft. Some resources are for pay while others are available without cost. In some cases, businesses may be eligible to receive discounts on training materials. Here, we take a look at six of the ten best resources to help you learn Microsoft CRM.

Whether you are trying to learn at your own pace or provide training for your employees, choose your desired courses or course plan from Microsoft Dynamics E-Learning. You can browse the e-learning catalog to choose single courses to focus on specific skills or purchase a training plan which includes multiple courses. Pricing varies greatly, though special pricing is available for businesses and organizations.

Some of the best training comes from individual users, just like yourself, who experience specific issues. Community e-learning is not only free, but targets issues that are more important to the average and advanced users. If you create an account in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Community, you will be able to ask questions yourself and simultaneously gain access to the full community of blog posts, questions and answers. You’ll also be able to learn more about CRM in general.

If you are looking to customize Microsoft CRM to your specific business needs, the training resources available through Microsoft’s MSDN network are perfect. The best resources available here are technical articles and training manuals. The articles are free, but you must enroll in a service plan through the Microsoft Dynamics E-Learning site in order to access the free training manuals.

As a side Microsoft CRM e-learning resource, the MSDN network also offers a free blog. The blog is written and maintained by the Microsoft Dynamics CRM team that updates and develops the software. The blog is full of tips and tricks for learning and using the software, including news about any updates or new versions.

If reading text and viewing screenshots doesn’t exactly help or just seems boring, there is yet another option. Though articles are available as well, you can find many video tutorials in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Resource Center. Please note that you may have to register for a Windows Live ID, which is free, to access some training.

The final resource available from Microsoft is CustomerSource. You must have a CustomerSource account, which is purchased through your business or organization. You also need a Windows Live ID. Through CustomerSource, you access training and support, including access to the Microsoft CRM knowledge base.

For many of the for-pay resources, your best option is to sign up for a service plan through Microsoft. For one flat fee, you have access to training manuals, CustomerSource and the full e-learning catalog. Other benefits include discounts on individual training materials, free demos and additional videos not available through free e-learning.

Image Credits: Microsoft Dynamics Logo / MicrosoftELearning.com

Tech Target’s Search CRM

Tech Target is focused on providing mainly free Microsoft CRM e-learning resources. When you first visit the site, you are asked to create an account to view anything more than an overview of the training. You can do this, which is free, or continue to scroll about midway down the page to access training materials without registering. The great thing about Tech Target’s Search CRM e-learning is it applies not only to Microsoft CRM, but to CRM in general.

You will see CRM guides and tutorials for other types of CRM software. Tutorials and e-learning are divided into easy-to-use categories to help you quickly find the Microsoft CRM resources.

YouTube

While most people wouldn’t think about finding tutorials for business software on the popular video-sharing site, YouTube provides invaluable, free e-learning through videos created by other users. Videos provide you with the ultimate step-by-step learning necessary to fully grasp tasks. Though you can search YouTube yourself for specific tutorials, the following three channels offer some of the best tutorials.

The Streamline Solutions channel takes you through setting up Microsoft CRM and creating new modules. Videos run anywhere from approximately five minutes to a little over ten minutes. The tasks discussed are shown in real time as if your were using the software on your own computer.

Democrmonline’s channel provides great e-learning videos for very specific tasks, such as configuring business units, applying field levels and auditing. Most videos run anywhere from three minutes to almost fifteen minutes. The channel has began updating more often, with some videos uploaded only a few days ago.

Though the first two channels are good, some of the absolute best Microsoft CRM tutorials are available on PythagorasCRM’s Microsoft Dynamic CRM channel. This channels has more tutorials, focused on targeted and general tasks. Video times vary greatly depending upon the complexity of the task.

In order to get the most from YouTube channels, subscribe to be notified when the latest videos are uploaded. You will only receive notifications for the channels you subscribe to. If you want to have the videos on hand to watch offline as well, download the videos for free to watch anytime.

References

Microsoft Dynamics e-learning, at https://www.microsoftelearning.com/

Fagundes, Alex. CRM 2011 Auditing Best Practices, at https://community.dynamics.com/product/crm/default.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Training Materials and Information, at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/bb456480.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Team Blog, at https://blogs.msdn.com/b/crm/

SearchCRM, CRM Learning Tutorials and Guides, at https://searchcrm.techtarget.com/feature/CRM-learning-center

StreamlineSolutions on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/streamlinesolutions

DemoCRMonline on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/democrmonline

PythagorasCRM on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/PythagorasCRM#p/u

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Resource Center. at https://rc.crm.dynamics.com/rc/regcont/en_us/op/articles/downloads.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics Service and Support, at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/customersource.aspx