Technology Every Salesperson Needs in Their Arsenal

Modern technology has made it much easier for the on the road salesperson to stay connected with their home office.  It ensures that your virtual office has the same kind of access that your main office does.  

Soft Phones

softphones are the new office phone.  when you hit the road selling, it pays to have the ability to get phone calls and voicemails and also make calls as if you are in the office.  With softphone software and a voip phone system you make that happen.  simply download the app and configure the system to use with your existing phone.  The application virtualizes your phone extension in your office on your smart phone.  The advantage to using this technology is that when you make a call from dubai or san francisco it will look like you are call from your office in lancaster, pa.  

Chat Collaboration Software

keeping track of your team and staying on top of company news sometimes takes technology quicker than email, and more efficient than phone calls.  Chat Software can come from a variety of vendors and is ubiquitous. depending on the type of business and team you have the right answer can be as simple as facebook messenger or as complex as your own hosted rocket.chat. 

VPN

VPNs are the best way to work remotely while on the road.  you have the ability to access the home office network as if you were there. being on the road and having access to everything back at the office makes sharing and access documents much simpler. For companies that are concerned about security, it is a good way to ensure proper precautions are taken to reduce the chance of your company data getting released accidentally, and put’s you in charge of keep your company secrets, not some faceless corporation.  

Cloud Storage

Let’s face it faxes are dying if not dead already, and many companies today don’t even have a fax. let alone most consumers.  Cloud storage, and emails are the replacement.  need to pull a company for or letterhead while on the road?  Get it right from your cloud drive.  working with your team to put together a quote? create a shared folder to access all the project documentation.  Working with a company stuck in the 1980’s that still send faxes? no problem have your cloud storage server receive all faxes.  Once it is stored on the cloud you can easily add it your CRM, ERP or Accounting system.  Cloud storage can also be used to back up your computer system to facillitate faster restorations if your computer ends up dying or getting damaged,  it also allows you to sync information between devices, you can access documents on the fly with your smartphone or tablet.  

Cloud based CRM

CRM is essential for keep track of contacts.  and having access to them on the road makes it so much easier.  there are hundreds of cloud based crm systems.  Some are open source and some are proprietary,  the best one for you is the one that makes you sell better.  an IT Solutions Company can help you implement one and make sure you always have access to it. CRM systems are typically contact based or company based.   Choosing the right style of CRM is highly dependent on how you do your sales.  In in a contact based system the data is organized arround the contact.  these system are typically best when the business is not as important as the individuals within the business.  However once you want to track business or organization metrics it becomes clumsy and a business centric CRM system starts making more sense.   In a future article we will be covering both systems in depth.