Using the iPhone as a tool for selling?
Posted by Jeff Cress on Monday, September 21, 2009
Under: Sales
As I prepare to head to head to the Commission Junction University conference one of the trade show prep items on my list it to figure out how to use my snazzy new iPhone 3GS as a sales tool so I don’t have to lug my massive 17″ laptop with me. In many ways it is an amazing device, however I am not sure if it is up to the challenge of supporting all of my essential sales tasks while on the road.
Here are the ideas and results so far:
1) Email:
One of the tools I’m using to set up appointments at the conference and stay connected to the office and family back home is email. While my personal gmail is easy to get via the browser, my work Outlook email is on an exchange server that does not store messages. Since I don’t have a .pst file on my iPhone, I’m stuck with crippled email access to pick up new messages as they arrive, but no access to old messages. This is somewhat of a Fail, in my opinion, but I’ll have to deal with it.
2) Skype:
Another mixed bag here, I think. I use Skype to talk to a few overseas clients/prospects so that neither of us have to foot a huge phone bill. It would be less than ideal if I am unavailable to these folks while on the road. Yes, there is a Skype app on the iPhone that allows free Skype calls. However, the app restricts calls to WiFi. I have no idea what kind of WiFi access I can expect on this trip, so I’m leaning towards saying that the iPhone isn’t up to the task for this. Sad really, as the hardware is capable, but a business decision by AT&T/Apple artificially limited functionality.
3) Presentation aid:
Here is my idea… I meet a prospective new client at the trade show and want to use some of my electronic sales aids to help clarify a point or guide a discussion (I tend to be a fairly visual person). In person I would reach for my trusty powerpoint deck on the laptop, or if we are on the phone I might initiate a GoToMeeting so that the prospect can see what I’m looking at on my laptop. I have tried using my standard slide deck on the iPhone and found that most of the slides do not look right. So, it looks like if I want to have my deck and view it too, I’ll have to either lug the laptop, create paper copies (how archaic!), or rework the deck so that it displays properly on the iPhone. Another Fail for iPhone.
4) Browser:
I’m in the internet marketing business, so the thought of traveling without internet access is just crazy. The Safari browser does reasonably well at adapting larger screen content to the smaller screen. However, the one HUGE drawback is the lack of support for Flash. You would be surprised how many websites use flash to deliver rich content… and subsequently show NOTHING on the iPhone. Apple? Come on! This is insane. Since I’m only out of town for a couple of days, I may be able to get by without the laptop, but in general, this is another FAIL.
5) Twitter:
Yes, this Sales Guy is trying to build an online presence for interacting with clients and prospects via Twitter. And so far, not having great results. Every day I clear out piles of “someone that wants to sell me teeth whitening is now following me on twitter” messages, and automatic Direct Messages from people that I’m following. Pretty much all low/no value stuff. True as that may be, I can’t ignore it and risk missing a REAL message that is hidden amongst the static. Tweetdeck for iPhone is OK, and HooteSuite works fairly well via Safari. Given the limitations of the screen size on the iPhone, I think this is a success.
6) Calendar:
Out of my daily routine, in a different state, living from a suitcase, meeting new people, attending seminars, finding my way around… I’m getting disoriented just thinking about it. My trusty calendar has the potential to keep me on track. I’m loading my appointments in Outlook, which syncs to my google and iPhone calendars. I just tweeted a question to the event organizers asking if they have the full event schedule as a downloadable calendar. Wouldn’t that be SWEET! Otherwise I’ll be constantly looking at my paper calendar to see whats next. How 1990s? I think the iPhone succeeds here, just waiting on the event to give it the data.
7) GPS:
The flight arrives in LAX, then we drive to the conference, and crash at a different hotel at night. Quite a few opportunities to get lost. Between the iPhone gps, map app, and google’s directions I hope to be OK. I’ll give the iPhone hardware full props here, but again am annoyed that the software is intentionally crippled. And no, $100 for the tom tom app is highway robber, I’m not playing that game. No real turn by turn directions on the iPhone, although the hardware would support native turn by turn, with text to speech directions. Nice Apple. Thanks for shafting your customers by crippling the device, then creating a monopoly in the App store so that your chosen partner can have a monopoly. I want to call this a fail because I am ticket at Apple. However, I’ll still be able to use the gps to get where I’m going, just not with easy turn by turn guidance as we drive.
Eight) CRM: (thanks WordPress for making my 8) look like a smiley face with sunglasses)
Props to Pipeline Deals for providing an iPhone app for our CRM software. I’ll be able to keep up with all of my prospect history and record new notes while I’m out. The small screen will make typing difficult, but given the physical restrictions of the device, this looks to be a success.
9) Phone:
Yep, I almost forgot that one. I’ll forward my office phone to my iPhone and should have fairly seemless phone coverage. What sales person can live without phone coverage, these days.
10) LinkedIn:
I manage a group on LinkedIn called Affiliate Marketing for eMerchants (if you are an eMerchant, you should join!). While I can be away from my profile for a couple of days, I really want to stay on top of anything that pops up in the group. the iPhone LinkedIn app is way too limited. Looks like I’m stuck with using LinkedIn via the browser and doing lots of zooming. Not a fail, not a blazing success. Hopefully manageable.
Ok, what did I miss?
Did I get something wrong? I am a rookie iPhone owner. Did I miss something that might make my live easier? Let me know.
As of this moment, I’m leaning towards taking my chances with just the iPhone and no laptop. I bet the conference has an internet kiosk set up somewhere if I absolutely have to get online and the iPhone won’t cut it.
Jeff Cress, the Sales Guy
www.twitter.com/AffiliateMgt
Here are the ideas and results so far:
1) Email:
One of the tools I’m using to set up appointments at the conference and stay connected to the office and family back home is email. While my personal gmail is easy to get via the browser, my work Outlook email is on an exchange server that does not store messages. Since I don’t have a .pst file on my iPhone, I’m stuck with crippled email access to pick up new messages as they arrive, but no access to old messages. This is somewhat of a Fail, in my opinion, but I’ll have to deal with it.
2) Skype:
Another mixed bag here, I think. I use Skype to talk to a few overseas clients/prospects so that neither of us have to foot a huge phone bill. It would be less than ideal if I am unavailable to these folks while on the road. Yes, there is a Skype app on the iPhone that allows free Skype calls. However, the app restricts calls to WiFi. I have no idea what kind of WiFi access I can expect on this trip, so I’m leaning towards saying that the iPhone isn’t up to the task for this. Sad really, as the hardware is capable, but a business decision by AT&T/Apple artificially limited functionality.
3) Presentation aid:
Here is my idea… I meet a prospective new client at the trade show and want to use some of my electronic sales aids to help clarify a point or guide a discussion (I tend to be a fairly visual person). In person I would reach for my trusty powerpoint deck on the laptop, or if we are on the phone I might initiate a GoToMeeting so that the prospect can see what I’m looking at on my laptop. I have tried using my standard slide deck on the iPhone and found that most of the slides do not look right. So, it looks like if I want to have my deck and view it too, I’ll have to either lug the laptop, create paper copies (how archaic!), or rework the deck so that it displays properly on the iPhone. Another Fail for iPhone.
4) Browser:
I’m in the internet marketing business, so the thought of traveling without internet access is just crazy. The Safari browser does reasonably well at adapting larger screen content to the smaller screen. However, the one HUGE drawback is the lack of support for Flash. You would be surprised how many websites use flash to deliver rich content… and subsequently show NOTHING on the iPhone. Apple? Come on! This is insane. Since I’m only out of town for a couple of days, I may be able to get by without the laptop, but in general, this is another FAIL.
5) Twitter:
Yes, this Sales Guy is trying to build an online presence for interacting with clients and prospects via Twitter. And so far, not having great results. Every day I clear out piles of “someone that wants to sell me teeth whitening is now following me on twitter” messages, and automatic Direct Messages from people that I’m following. Pretty much all low/no value stuff. True as that may be, I can’t ignore it and risk missing a REAL message that is hidden amongst the static. Tweetdeck for iPhone is OK, and HooteSuite works fairly well via Safari. Given the limitations of the screen size on the iPhone, I think this is a success.
6) Calendar:
Out of my daily routine, in a different state, living from a suitcase, meeting new people, attending seminars, finding my way around… I’m getting disoriented just thinking about it. My trusty calendar has the potential to keep me on track. I’m loading my appointments in Outlook, which syncs to my google and iPhone calendars. I just tweeted a question to the event organizers asking if they have the full event schedule as a downloadable calendar. Wouldn’t that be SWEET! Otherwise I’ll be constantly looking at my paper calendar to see whats next. How 1990s? I think the iPhone succeeds here, just waiting on the event to give it the data.
7) GPS:
The flight arrives in LAX, then we drive to the conference, and crash at a different hotel at night. Quite a few opportunities to get lost. Between the iPhone gps, map app, and google’s directions I hope to be OK. I’ll give the iPhone hardware full props here, but again am annoyed that the software is intentionally crippled. And no, $100 for the tom tom app is highway robber, I’m not playing that game. No real turn by turn directions on the iPhone, although the hardware would support native turn by turn, with text to speech directions. Nice Apple. Thanks for shafting your customers by crippling the device, then creating a monopoly in the App store so that your chosen partner can have a monopoly. I want to call this a fail because I am ticket at Apple. However, I’ll still be able to use the gps to get where I’m going, just not with easy turn by turn guidance as we drive.
Eight) CRM: (thanks WordPress for making my 8) look like a smiley face with sunglasses)
Props to Pipeline Deals for providing an iPhone app for our CRM software. I’ll be able to keep up with all of my prospect history and record new notes while I’m out. The small screen will make typing difficult, but given the physical restrictions of the device, this looks to be a success.
9) Phone:
Yep, I almost forgot that one. I’ll forward my office phone to my iPhone and should have fairly seemless phone coverage. What sales person can live without phone coverage, these days.
10) LinkedIn:
I manage a group on LinkedIn called Affiliate Marketing for eMerchants (if you are an eMerchant, you should join!). While I can be away from my profile for a couple of days, I really want to stay on top of anything that pops up in the group. the iPhone LinkedIn app is way too limited. Looks like I’m stuck with using LinkedIn via the browser and doing lots of zooming. Not a fail, not a blazing success. Hopefully manageable.
Ok, what did I miss?
Did I get something wrong? I am a rookie iPhone owner. Did I miss something that might make my live easier? Let me know.
As of this moment, I’m leaning towards taking my chances with just the iPhone and no laptop. I bet the conference has an internet kiosk set up somewhere if I absolutely have to get online and the iPhone won’t cut it.
Jeff Cress, the Sales Guy
www.twitter.com/AffiliateMgt
In : Sales
Tags: affiliate marketing browser calendar cju commission junction crm email gps iphone linkedin pipelinedeals powerpoint presentation safari sales selling skype trade show twitter
Jeff Cress: “The Sales Guy” is one of a kind.
Driven to succeed and fascinated by the sales process.
Always looking for a way to help people, and make an honest living… you know, the way sales should be done.
