In the previous sections, we have seen how effective the solution selling concepts can be to align the seller with the customer's needs. Solution selling helps the solution provider build a trusting relationship with their buyer, and facilitates a working relationship between the seller and buyer to craft a common solution vision for the mutual benefit of each other. As a company, Microsoft prides itself in ensuring that the customer's needs are at its forefront, and in turn helping its vast partner ecosystem to also operate by this credo. To facilitate that mission, Microsoft adopted the solution selling method and fashioned it within the constructs of its internal and partner-sales mechanisms. This method, known as the Microsoft Solution Selling Process (MSSP), is the subject of this section.

Specifically within the ERP and CRM business solutions' arena, MSSP has been systematized to help Microsoft Dynamics Partners and Microsoft's internal teams through...