As we continue our Bid Lifecycle series, I would like to highlight an opportunity that many Microsoft Partners are not fully leveraging, earning incentives during the pre-sales phase. One of the biggest challenges in selling Microsoft Solutions, specifically Business Applications (ERP, CRM & Power Platform) is the length of the sales cycle. From discovery sessions and requirements gathering to solution design and stakeholder alignment, it can take several months before a deal is finally signed.

But what if your pre-sales efforts could generate value before the contract is awarded? Microsoft provides a range of incentive programs designed to reward partners who influence customer decisions, drive adoption, and accelerate the use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solutions.

For partners focused on Business Applications, these engagements can include: Business Applications Pre-Sales Advisor Incentives, Dynamics 365 CSP Incentives – Indirect Reseller and Dynamics 365 CSP Incentives – Direct Bill. More importantly, opportunities within your pipeline can qualify for funded pre-sales engagements that help customers visualize their transformation journey while enabling partners to earn along the way. Some of the pre-sales funded engagements include; ERP Envisioning Workshops, CRM Envisioning Workshops, Business Central Immersion Briefings

These engagements do more than support your sales process. They help customers clearly define business outcomes, build stakeholder buy in, and accelerate decision making while creating additional value for your organization.

For many African Microsoft Partners, pre-sales activities are often viewed as a cost of acquiring business. However, when aligned with Microsoft’s incentive programs, these engagements can become a strategic investment that strengthens customer relationships, improves win rates, and unlocks additional revenue streams.

The question is; Are you intentionally aligning your bid lifecycle activities with the incentive opportunities available to your business? As we get ready to start FY27 we look forward to explore different sessions on AI, Security, Cloud and partner growth as we get the strategies and playbooks to lead Frontier Transformation.

https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/partnership/partner-incentives

At Tech Bid Strategists, we help Microsoft Partners build stronger opportunity pipelines, position winning solutions, and maximize the value available throughout the entire bid lifecycle.

Let’s connect. How are you leveraging Microsoft’s pre-sales funding and incentive programs to accelerate growth and improve bid success rates?

Cheers to the new week!