Copilot Podcast: Microsoft’s Justin Coaxum Explains How Microsoft Copilot Enhances Seller Experience

In episode 12 of the “Copilot Podcast,” host Aaron Back is joined by Justin Coaxum, Technical Sales Director, Microsoft. The two discuss how Microsoft Copilot has enhanced the Dynamics 365 Sales (and seller) experience, how this has shifted conversations with customers, and the new skills that Copilot has prompted users to have.

This episode is sponsored by Community Summit North America, the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft Business Applications ecosystem, taking place Oct. 13-17, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Register today to connect with thousands of users across the Microsoft business applications ecosystem at the for user, by user event.

Highlights

00:50 — Justin is a Technical Director at Microsoft, leading its Global Black Belt team. Global Black Belts are an overlay to the company’s sales organization, focusing on landing strategic deals with customers, as well as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and Microsoft Copilot.

01:28 — Aaron references the rise of Copilot over the last several months and asks Justin to elaborate on how the conversations he’s having with customers have shifted. Two years ago, Copilot wasn’t being broadly discussed. In mid-2022 when large language models and generative AI burst onto the scene, conversations with customers began to shift. Fast forward to 2024, customers are now bringing up generative AI — and more specifically, Microsoft Copilot — “with their own expectations.”

06:15 — Justin notes a challenge that many CRM users face today — user adoption. Release Waves that have been made available over the years work to address these challenges, and Copilot has proven to be another valuable tool in increasing user adoption. Two major themes that Copilot addresses in the CE/CRM space are:

• Providing sales-specific coaching tips to the seller
• Helping sellers adapt to the technology and creating a seamless user experience across apps

10:47 — Within the context of Dynamics 365 Sales, the benefits of Microsoft Copilot are two-fold. The technology aids users in gaining insights into a customer’s buying intent and can also provide the seller with recommended next steps, relevant content, and new opportunities. These enhanced recommendations “meet sellers where they are” in their sales journey — rather than giving them a library of content to sift through, Copilot surfaces relevant content at the right time.

15:43 — What new skills has AI prompted users to have? With its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, Copilot technology can be implemented swiftly and easily. Where users struggle, explains Justin, is rolling out the technology in a way that’s effective. For end-users, Justin stresses the importance of learning the basics, such as prompting. Similarly, decision-makers must carefully consider the application of this technology before investing in and implementing it and developing a comprehensive strategy around it.

21:40 — In closing, Justin shares a customer success story around Copilot from Netlogic. The company’s business development team implemented Copilot to generate meeting summaries and draft notes back to customers, saving each seller 30 minutes a week.

‘They’re not doing the burdensome, arduous task, like we were talking about in the beginning, but they’re doing what makes them great at selling. And that, of course, has an impact on the bottom line as well.”

Stream the audio version of this episode here: