Sales Automation

What's the best time management tool for the sales entrepreneur: the almighty computer or the personal planner? The debate continues. I have witnessed and have been a part of many lively discussions weighing legitimate pros and cons of the laptop computer as a time management tool.

My position is this: Computers are great for certain tasks but time management isn't one of them. In spite of all our wonderful technologies it appears that the good old pencil and paper system is still viable. More and more professionals who were initially romanced by time management software programs are returning to the convenience, simplicity, and portability of the personal planner. I'm not suggesting people are littering our highways with abandoned laptops, but they are learning to work in harmony with a laptop or a palm pilot and pencil and paper. The ideal system seems to be a combination. It's no longer an either-or decision. Don't compromise your productivity by restricting yourself to only one system. Incorporate the tools that work best for you, maximizing your limited selling hours. Caution: Donít get overly seduced by technology and look like some sort of technological rambo. KISS.

Bear in mind that my comments are directed at outside salespeople. I appreciate that a computer-based time management program may be appropriate for inside salespeople, while a portable time-management system may be redundant. However, you may want to consider a smaller version of a personal planner or a palm pilot to organize your activities outside the office.

As a sales entrepreneur, your computer should be viewed as a portable database, allowing you to work in the field and access or update customer files utilizing a good contact management program. This allows you to retrieve important information prior to your appointment, including current account data, inventory levels at the warehouse, available shipping dates, price levels, and data specific to your customer. You can also store and retrieve such pieces of information as the name of your customer's spouse and children, dates of their birthdays and anniversaries, hobbies, outside interests, and favorite summer activities. You decide what data are relevant. There are several good contact management programs available. I prefer Maximizer and ACT, because both programs offer a host of features to manage your account base, saving valuable selling time.

The computer can be a great asset when utilized outside the customer's office, but it can become a liability in the customer's office. Sometimes a laptop just isn't convenient and may even be cumbersome, intrusive, and time-consuming. Laptops should be used in a customer's office only with permission, whereas you don't need permission to work with a planner. The big plus of a planner is that it's quick, convenient, portable, and useable anytime, anywhere.