Struggling to show your clients the real value of Copilot for Microsoft 365? The good news is small to medium business (SMB) employees want to use AI tools. According to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Annual Report, 75% of people are already using them at work. This rapid rise in the popularity of generative AI tools also presents a prime opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs). This is your chance to position your MSP as a leader in this space.
With integrations across Microsoft 365 apps, Copilot for Microsoft 365 has a wide range of uses tailored to different departments. While the applications of Copilot will vary depending on what functions are represented in your customers’ businesses, it’s safe to say that Copilot has got them covered. But, where to start?
As an MSP, along with building your Copilot offer and familiarizing yourself with security best practices, a key part of reselling Copilot is being able to show your customers why a tool like Copilot for Microsoft 365 is worth their investment.
To help you do that, we’ve compiled two use cases you can use to help build a strong case for improved adoption practices. Discover how to effectively use Copilot for Microsoft 365 and effectively show the value of Microsoft’s AI assistant to your customers. Ready to transform your clients’ businesses and drive significant ROI? Let’s dive in.
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Maximize your clients’ ROI with Copilot
Part of leading conversations about Copilot for Microsoft 365 with your customers is discussing ROI. Before adoption, any business wants to know how it will be worth their while and what they’ll get in return—whether that’s more time to focus on high priority tasks, financial return or better employee experience.
A good way to frame this conversation is asking customers to think about where productivity is lost today. Having concrete examples of what tasks Copilot can help with and potential time saving opportunities will ensure you’re equipped to have the most productive conversation possible around Copilot adoption.
How to use Copilot for Microsoft 365
We’ve chosen two departments standard in most SMBs—sales and HR—to provide scenarios to share with your end-customers about how they can find value in Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Use case scenario #1: Sales
Key challenges
Sales teams are spending too much time on administrative tasks that take them away from closing deals, working opportunities and increasing revenue.
Tasks that can result in productivity loss and cause pain points for a sales team at an SMB include:
- Drafting emails
- Creating proposals
- Writing reports
- Data analysis
How can Copilot help?
Let’s consider an account manager who needs to create a customized sales pitch for a prospect. This involves research, data analysis, putting together a presentation, and follow-up. Here’s how Copilot can help.
Creating a customized sales pitch
Ask Copilot to summarize an annual report or press releases, cutting down on research time by finding annual spending changes or new product release information from lengthy documents without having to read the whole thing.
You can also use the information already gathered in sales calls by asking Copilot for a summary of the account and use CRM insights with Copilot for Sales.
- Review and summarize recent activity: Prompt Copilot to create a point form summary based on recent email threads then ask Copilot to create talking points for your upcoming meeting based on this information. Save time searching and get a more complete picture of the sales process so far.
- Update slide deck: Use Copilot in PowerPoint to create new slides with the information gathered. You can also add visuals that represent the industry of the prospect to personalize it more.
- Summarize meeting: After the call, use Copilot in Teams to generate a meeting recap with key points and action items for next steps. Spend the time you would have spent listening to the meeting recording working on action items instead.
- Create a proposal: Use Copilot in Word to generate a proposal draft. Ask Copilot to improve specific sections and focus on specific topics to improve the quality of your proposal and cut down on time spent writing.
Overview of benefits for using Copilot for Microsoft 365 in sales
Less time spent on research, writing and creating presentations helps employees work more efficiently and focus on revenue generating tasks. This contributes to both an improved employee experience and positive impacts to your customers’ bottom line. The team can work on more opportunities and focus on closing more deals and increasing revenue per sale.
Use case scenario#2: Human Resources
Key challenges
Human resources teams are busy navigating a constantly shifting business landscape, along with hiring challenges, changing employee expectations and varied work models. Their tasks are largely manual which can lead to inefficiencies and errors.
Tasks that can result in productivity loss and cause pain points for an HR team at an SMB include:
- Content generation (ex: internal communications, policies, job descriptions)
- Data analysis
- Writing and responding to emails
How can Copilot help?
Imagine an organization undertaking a review of their benefits and compensation. For HR, this involves a ton of research, getting buy-in from internal stakeholders, revising internal documents, and communicating the changes. Here’s how Copilot can help.
Streamlining an organizational benefits and compensation review
Cut down on research time and ask Copilot to research the latest industry trends and data regarding compensation and benefits. Use the information Copilot provides to generate data on average salaries for different roles and more and organize that data in a format that’s easy to present and share.
- Create an executive summary: Use Copilot in Word to quickly synthesize the findings from the research into a summary that can be shared with stakeholders.
- Turn documents into a compelling presentation: Use Copilot in PowerPoint to generate a slide deck from meeting notes and documents to present findings and get buy-in from stakeholders.
- Revise policy documents: Update compensation and benefits policy documents with Copilot in Word using existing documents (like the executive summary you already created).
- Communicate changes: Use Copilot in Outlook to draft an email to managers outlining all changes to compensation and benefits.
Overview of benefits for using Copilot for Microsoft 365 in HR
For busy HR teams, saving time on critical processes like this one contribute to a positive employee experience. This can improve employee satisfaction and general morale not just within the HR team, but across an organization as new policies and programs can be rolled out quicker.
Build your own Copilot use cases
While these are just two examples, Copilot has so many applications. This can be overwhelming for an MSP who is just getting the Copilot conversation started with their customers. The best approach is to lean on your advisory role as their IT and business partner. Work with your customers to determine their needs and build tailored use cases to respond to their challenges and showcase product value.
You can use the framework of the case studies above to build your own use cases based on your customers’ needs. Focus on challenges, figure out ways that Copilot can help customers respond to those challenges and then highlight the benefits.
Trying Copilot for yourself is also a great way to get first-hand experience, develop your own use cases for your business and authentically sell Copilot as you speak from experience.
For more examples of how Copilot can benefit an organization, check out Microsoft’s scenario library.
Simplifying Copilot for Microsoft 365 for MSPs
Driving Copilot adoption doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Sherweb’s team of experts is here to help you every step of the way. We’ve been mastering the Microsoft ecosystem since 2005 and we have the expertise and the resources to help you get more from Microsoft and Copilot for Microsoft 365.
If you’re looking for an experienced partner you’ve come to the right place!
Want to stay on top of Microsoft Copilot developments? Ready to experience the future of work? Copilot is now available for MSPs to offer to their customers via Sherweb’s portal. Not yet a Sherweb partner? Getting started is easy, learn more about the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program at Sherweb.
Sherweb is committed to helping MSPs not only make the most of their Microsoft relationship but capitalize on opportunities that will drive growth for their business as well. As Copilot for M365 rolls out and evolves, we’ll continue to provide updates and assist partners and their customers in leveraging this AI technology for their benefit. Our expert team will guide you through the implementation process and help you unlock the full potential of this revolutionary tool.
