Skip links

apps

Controlling the cloud

by

Put a single presentation on the cloud and 10 salespeople will eventually turn it into 10 if not 100 different versions. At first glance, cloud-based systems seem to be part of the problem, not part of the solution.

But there are ways to harness the cloud, take back control, and keep tabs on which of our materials are being used most often and most effectively.

As you build mobile apps for your sales team, look for the following:

+ Synchronization: Updates/edits pushed to devices automatically

+ Ease of use: Accommodates your least technical salesperson

+ Future-proof: Expandable and customizable

The cloud will hold more and more of our applications and data. If we can’t escape it, we might as well be in control of it.

Novelty is sustainable

by

Remember your last technology purchase? Was it the latest flat panel TV? A new tablet or smartphone? Lucky you. Feels like technology is changing so rapidly that we can have that excitement once a month forever.

Our apps can be a continuous source of excitement and productivity as well. Canned apps are plentiful, but are less likely to satisfy since their one-size-fits-all design typically doesn’t address our specific needs.

Custom apps, on the other hand, can be an ongoing source of conversation and utility. There’s no substitute for a purpose-built tool that users experience and after doing so, can become instrumental to future improvement and function.

Our apps can generate steady increases in productivity if we design, deploy and iterate with the expectation that novelty is sustainable.

You can’t put the cloud in a box

by

I was rummaging through a box in my basement and it was like a trip down technology lane: a Palm PDA, modems, PCMCIA cards, and just about every kind of serial, parallel and obsolete cable you can imagine. All that cutting edge technology (at the time). In a box.

Technology continues to evolve and create uncertainty for those of us that are tasked with deploying it. One consolation is that the increasingly dominant part of the investment, the apps, now live, evolve and get better…on the cloud.

Thinking about custom apps for productivity and salesforce enablement? More and more your tools can adapt and grow with you. More and more they live on the cloud. And more and more you can’t put them in a box.

How to pay for a custom app project (3rd in a series of 3)

by

Prove the productivity

A B2B sales team’s custom selling tool saved them 30-45 minutes per day per rep, making the ROI on their project just 18 days. Need proof that a mobile project will save time and drive sales? Plenty of data exists, but every situation is unique and so your app strategy will be too. Build mobile tools with tracking and analytics and soon you’ll know exactly how your technology investment is faring and what adjustments are needed to get even more out of it.

In a sales setting, one of the greatest opportunities for mobile technology is to increase the speed at which our salespeople can sell. Get started by shifting funds from antiquated methods and apply technology that accelerates the sales cycle while collecting proof that shows the investment is succeeding.

How to pay for a custom app project (2nd in a series of 3)

by

Rethink trade shows tools

Did we really just spend six figures for 15 hours of exhibit time? How is it that we’re challenged to show ROI for every aspect of our marketing budget yet exorbitant trade show spending persists? It’s a merry-go-round that we can’t stop riding. “Trade shows are expensive, but if we don’t go, our customers will think we’re not serious about the segment.” Maybe, maybe not, but if we’ve got at least one more show on the calendar, let’s make the most of it.

How about this year we build some tools that last longer than a hospitality suite hangover? Instead of building another single-use display, put a tablet in the hands of those manning the booth and they’ll be ready to present images and video clips of what’s new and different. Do you have customers that have good things to say? Bring a dozen short testimonial videos and play one for a prospect. Have a new technology that’s better explained with pictures? Show diagrams and animations and replace confusion with comprehension.

You can build mobile apps in the context (and budget) of a trade show and take home impactful tools that can be used all year long.

Your phone is now waterproof

by

Smalltalk at the MIM office last week included the story that Apple’s iOS7 update would make iPhones waterproof. And while many people figured it was a hoax, other folks actually believed it. Really.

But maybe it’s not as crazy as it sounds. The metal and glass rectangles in our pockets perform little miracles day in and day out. There’s the miracle of being connected to every other human being worldwide. And the one of being able to access nearly every information resource that ever existed within 2 seconds. Why shouldn’t we expect to be able to dip our phones in a fish tank after a software upgrade?

A handful of folks may have had to replace water-damaged phones, but they’re also the ones that are more likely to believe all of the other little miracles. And maybe they’re putting them to use to win business away from us. Suddenly I don’t feel so smart. Suddenly I’m feeling optimistic about the next software upgrade making my phone waterproof.