Opportunity Knocks
With a tablet, a sales guy can walk into a new prospect business with a tablet and: show a presentation, have a client interact with product features, show product images and price sheets email them on the spot.
If the sales system is set up for mobility a sales person could calculate costs, make estimates and have clients sign contracts for orders right in that office.
If I’m a company with a sales force, I’m thinking “Gold Mine.”
Tablets will change how companies do sales, no question.
We’ve been in a paper based sales system since…well since Egyptians tracked bought and sold inventory on it. We’ve seen a move towards paperless, but the technology that made it possible was still clunky and impractical for mobile sales. I mean what business owner wants to wait for a sales guy’s laptop to boot up just to see some product shots or a video? No, it was better to send him a link online that he could view later.
Now a sales person doesn’t have to miss the opportunity to watch it with him. It’s all readily available without all waiting and you can interact with it!
Hands-on swiping through interactive catalogs, image libraries and videos make products are making it more engaging and when planned properly it’s a dead ringer for a sales team.
Why aren’t we seeing them being used more?
Sure there are some companies and industries who’ve seen the potential and are using tablets for business. But with the forecast of 1/3 people having tablets by 2015 I find it interesting that I’m not seeing more examples of companies getting a jump on this for a head start on the competition.
Looking for examples
It isn’t just about a cool design or the newest tablet you are using. It’s how the tablet is used to support the sales activities and process that sets a company apart.
I’m heading off to the Adobe Max conference in 2 weeks to learn advanced mobile publishing. Much like the print world had to adapt after the introduction of web sites, graphics designers like me are having to rethink how audiences view and now interact with what we create.
I’d like to go with some examples of what’s being done on the sales front with tablets in businesses.
I welcome any stories of businesses who are using tablets for sales well. Do you have any?
