Partner Article

Want to improve your sales? Simply take a tablet

Every now and then a piece of technology comes along that is a game changer. Technology that rips up the rule book and that changes the way we do things forever.

I firmly believe the new era of tablet technology falls into this category. Since I have been using the iPad, I have seen it transform the way I sell, and this is no overstatement.

In this article I outline the ways in which the iPad is able to genuinely improve both the sales process and sales methodology. I also explain why you should consider using tablet technology as an integral part of your sales strategy, and if you already have such a device, the best apps for you.

I should point out that the apps featured below are reviewed on the iPad format, but may also be available on other formats and for other tablets.

So, what’s so special about the iPad?

Practicality: its small size takes up a fraction of a laptop, handy for transporting in a briefcase or carrying in your hand. Also it fires up instantly In front of a customer and is ready for action at the press of a button. Much more practical than a laptop and less prone to crashes etc. You no longer need to carry round a separate diary, laptop, calculator, pen, phone, order forms, customer records, Dictaphone, and note taking folio. The iPad does it all in one compact device.

It’s a complete mobile office suite: You can use it to take notes, for presentations, send and receive faxes / emails, surf the web, make and receive phone calls, write and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations (and yes in Word, PowerPoint and Excel formats), view and create PDF docs, invoice customers, read books, sync your outlook calendar and email, and get documents and order forms signed. Let’s look at a few of these functions in greater detail:

Presentations - Apple’s version of PowerPoint is called keynote and is available to download for a small fee from iTunes. It’s fully compatible with PowerPoint (you can import from and export to PowerPoint if required). I find keynote to be particularly good and is better in my opinion than PowerPoint. I find that it looks more modern, is ‘cleaner’ and more professional with a much improved range of animations and transition effects. My presentations have never looked better, and you can even connect your iPad to an external projector if required using an additional connector cable.

Note Taking - Up until now there hasn’t really been a better way of taking notes than pen and paper. There are of course limitations to this method. Paper can get lost or damaged, it has to be scanned (always a hassle) if you wish to transmit it electronically, or either posted or faxed if you wish to send it to another destination (slow and not always convenient). The iPad changes all of this. You can take notes on the iPad using a separately available stylus and I find this to be no less convenient than using conventional paper. It helps of course if you have the right note taking app. There are plenty to choose from. The iPad comes with an inbuilt app aptly called ‘notes’ but there are much better apps out there. I personally think that ‘Noteshelf’ is the best of the bunch. It allows you to use different ink colours, paper types and pen nibs, email your notes, erase notes, insert clip art, symbols and images, save to PDF and export to other applications and cloud based storage such as dropbox. Think of it as writing on electronic paper.

Sign Forms / documents - I have worked with many sales people that have to post or fax signed order forms back to ‘head office’ which is time consuming and delays the customer order unnecessarily. Snail mail can be slow and fax is not always convenient, or comes through in a poor quality the other end.

Processing orders is made easy on the iPad. The sales person simply uses a PDF of the order form and imports into a handy app such as ‘soft sign’ (other apps are available but this I think is excellent, and at less than a fiver, very well priced). Soft sign allows the user to write on the order form just like conventional paper, and allows the customer to sign it.

This method is as legally binding as signing paper, and allows the order to be emailed back to HQ straight away. It’s not uncommon for the customer to then be sent a professional ‘thank you for your order’ email within minutes of the sales person leaving. How professional and efficient is that?

Essential iPad Business Apps:

Dropbox – Sync all files and documents effortlessly between PC and iPad by storing files on the ‘cloud’

Skype – A clever way to (almost) transform your iPad into an iPhone. Take and receive calls on the go, and even make calls for free.

iBooks – Not dissimilar to Amazon Kindle in that it enables you to read books on the go, but even handier is that this app stores all of your important PDF documents in one place (on a metaphorical bookshelf)

iWork Suite - (Keynote, Pages and Numbers) – the Apple versions of PowerPoint, Word and Excel.

Flipboard – Blogs, facebook updates and tweets have never looked better. This app is simply beautiful in design and a pleasure to use.

Wunderlist - One of the best task manager /’ to do’ apps out there.

Softsign – Get contracts and order forms signed electronically

Noteshelf – Make notes as easy as using pen and paper then email them anywhere or save as a permanent record.

Roambi – The slickest way by far of presenting graphs, and statistical data

Dragon Dictation – Write letters and emails by speaking them. Schimples.

Not only does the iPad make things easier for the salesperson (less clutter and things to carry / paper to lose), it also enhances the sales process by being quicker,slicker and more professional. Tablet computers also enhance the customer experience (by getting orders etc processed more quickly) so it really is a win/win.

Tablet technology is here to stay. It therefore makes sense to embrace the technology now than wait – after all the chances are that your competitors already have, and are reaping the rewards.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peter Rabbage .